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Fun & Free Things to Do with LA Kids This Weekend: JPL, Elmo & The Bolshoi Ballet: June 9 - 10

6/7/12 - By Toby B

Step aside, Dance Moms; out of the way, Soccer Moms: it’s time for Science Moms to take center stage. That’s right, this weekend we are blinding you with science*. We've got astrophysics; we've got oceanography; we’ve got paleontology, environmental sciences, agriculture, and veterinary medicine. We’re looking at the science of celebrity (stretching it too far?) and taking you on a train ride, (cause, you know, engineering). We’ve even thrown in a little culture, just to class up the joint.

Sky’s the limit? Ha! Try the edges of our galaxy, or better yet, the very beginnings of our universe. At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's annual open house, kids can chat with bona fide role models: working scientists. These are the folks who send probes to other planets, who use state-of-the-art technology to peer across the universe. The projects they work on today will inform the textbooks we read tomorrow. And they’re more than happy to talk to your kid about his battery made out of a potato.

If all this science talk has got your head spinning, why not set the rest of your body in motion as well**? Well, not your body exactly, but rather the ones belonging to the prima ballerinas of the renowned Bolshoi Ballet. This weekend the Bolshoi performs the quintessential ballet Swan Lake at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. (Happy now, Dance Moms?)

Keep reading for our utterly scientific list of the most super-fun events this weekend...

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

ALL WEEKEND

JPL Open House - Pasadena
Robots, rockets, and lasers: it’s NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s annual open house! Come meet the scientists on the cutting edge of space exploration.

The Bolshoi Ballet's Swan Lake - Downtown
Based on Russian folk tales, Swan Lake tells the tale of a princess who is turned into a swan.

Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music - Downtown
Won’t you tell me how to get to … the Nokia Theatre? Elmo and his friends sing about their love of music. Come early to play in the Sesame Street Play Zone where you can sit in Big Bird’s nest or pop out of Oscar’s trash can.

California Honey Festival - Fillmore
Ride the Fillmore & Western Railway to Bennett's Honey Farm, and learn all there is to know about honey! (Hint: bees are involved).

SATURDAY JUNE 9

Family Festival - West Los Angeles
Click!  Take a pic! The Getty explores celebrity and image in this free family festival.

National Geographic Little Explorers World Oceans Day Celebration - Multiple Locations
Kids can learn about whales, dolphins, and other marine animals at this free program at Pottery Barn Kids.

LA Sanitation South Central Yard Open House - Downtown & Torrance City Yard Open House - Torrance
Trek on over to the latest Sanitation Yards to open up for families to tour.

Banfield Pet Hospital FutureVet Camp - Pasadena
Think you’ve got what it takes to be a veterinarian?  A real veterinarian leads kids in activities that teach about animal care.

Grand Opening of the New Santa Monica Mountains Visitor Center - Calabasas
King Gillette Ranch opens its new net-zero visitor center with tours and ranger-led activities.

World Oceans Day - San Pedro
The Cabrillo Marine Aquarium celebrates World Oceans Day with a scavenger hunt, a special storytime, beach clean-up, and arts and crafts.

Mad Scientist Experiments at Vroman's Hastings Ranch - Pasadena
Bwa ha ha! The mad scientist has taken over Vroman’s Hasting Ranch.

SUNDAY JUNE 10

Kids ROCK! Music & Eco Festival - Mid-Wilshire
Go outside! Learn! Play! Listen to the Verve Pipe! Kids can learn to care for the Earth while having fun at this free festival.

Ice Age Encounters at Page - Mid-Wilshire
A saber-toothed tiger and her cub are waiting to make your acquaintance at the Page Museum. Good kitty.

Los Angeles River Ride and Family Ride - Griffith Park
Big folk can ride alongside the LA River, but the action is in Griffith Park for the under 7 set. Kids can ride an enclosed 2k path and participate in fun games and activities.  Be sure to check out Latino Arts and Culture Family Day at the Autry afterwards, to learn about the restoration of the Los Angeles River and its importance to the Latino Community.

As always, there are many more activities listed on our daily events calendar. Whatever you choose to do this weekend, our hypothesis is that you will have an awesome time. Now go out there and prove us right!

 

*  Not literally: hopefully you heeded our eclipse warnings about not looking directly at the sun.
** Newton's First Law of Motion, more or less.