If your toddler’s itching to get some fresh air, and Dad’s armchair shows a permanent rear-end dent, it’s time to head to the hills! Pyramid Mountain offers a terrific “Tyke Hike” especially for the little ones, ages 2 -to-5, accompanied by an adult. Saturday, 10am. Cost $2. Pre-registration required. Call 973-334-3130 

Maple Sugaring at Great Swamp (Chatham)

Learn how to tap maple trees, collect sap, and make syrup over a wood-fired evaporator. Best of all, taste test different syrups at the end (pancakes not included!) Saturday and Sunday, 2pm. $3./person. To reserve, call 973-635-6629. 

Ice Festival at High Point State Park (Sussex)

What better way to teach your kids about snow and ice than to venture to the coldest spot in New Jersey? Join the Friends of High Point State Park for a day celebrating the slippery stuff. Conditions permitting, you can catch old-fashioned ice fishing demonstrations on Lake Marcia. You'll also be able to warm up with a cup of hot cocoa by the fire in the Interpretive Center while learning more about High Point ice and snow, and lending your lungs to a sing-along. Other icy activities may include ice skating, snow sculpting, or snowflake cutting. Saturday 10am-3pm Call 973- 875-1471 or e-mail highpointprograms@gmail.com. (NOTE: If weather conditions are unsuitable on Saturday, January 23rd, the Ice Festival will take place on Sunday January 24th.) 

Drop-In Activities at Newark Museum (Newark)

Satisfy both the fashionista and the chemist in your family by participating in this weekend’s activities! Check out the exhibition, “Glass Beads of Ghana,” to discover the 400-year-old tradition of making beads, then design your own bracelets from colorful glass beads. Or enjoy “Carnival of Chemistry,” where kids experiment with everyday chemicals (slightly more safely than in your guest bathroom!). 1-4pm. FREE with suggested admission. Adults/$10. Children/$6.

Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother (Upper Saddle River)

“Princess and the Frog” didn’t satisfy your daughter’s need for a princess fix? Head over to this live show which promises laughs and surprises as Cinderella searches for her fairy godmother. Includes singing, dancing, and lots of audience participation. Saturday, 1pm and 3pm. $12./person

4th and 5th Grade Spelling Bee (Summit)

Between the movie, “Akeelah and the Bee,” and Broadway’s “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” spelling bees have become a spectator sport! If your family loves words, come watch some old-fashioned, competitive fun at this kids’ spelling bee. Approximately 85 students from five public elementary schools and two private schools from Summit will be participating. Saturday, 10am. Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School Auditorium. 

Passport to Discovery—Australia Day (Cherry Hill)

While a trip to Australia to celebrate its official national day sounds ideal in the midst of a chilly New Jersey winter, the airfare’s downright mad! The Garden State Discovery Museum offers the next best way to party down-under-style through a fun-filled imaginary adventure to the Australian Outback, replete with Jubilee, a song and dance koala bear. Crocodile Dundee not included! Saturday, 11am-4pm. Performance at 1pm. NOTE: All Bindy and Steve Irwin products will be 50% off! 

Jewish Tree Festival—Tu B’Shevat (Morristown)

Head to the Frelinghuysen Arboretum to take part in Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish celebration of trees. This day marks the beginning of a "New Year for Trees," during the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep. Join in storytelling, crafts, and a sampling of Israeli fruits, nuts and other foods. Following the Hebrew tradition, each girl will plant a cedar, and each boy will plant a cypress, which they then may take home. Children 6-and-up only. Sunday, 1-4pm. FREE (Supplies limited.) 

Rumplestiltskin (Branchburg)

If your kids have heard every Disney story ad-nauseum, it’s time to return to the classics! Charm your children with this timeless fairy tale about an impish dwarf, acted out by master puppeteer Matthias Kuchta as he brings his soft, life-sized puppets to the floor (and into the audience) in a truly memorable show. Sunday, 1pm and 3:30pm. $12/person. Call 908-725-3420. 

One World, One Sky and Extreme Planets Planetarium Show (Trenton)

Had enough of trekking into NYC for planetary excursions? Avoid the traffic and still take in a top-notch planetarium experience at the New Jersey State Museum. Your toddler (age 3-6) will love the One World, One Sky show where Big Bird and Elmo take kids on an exciting journey of the sun, moon, and stars. 1pm and 3pm. If you have older kids, Extreme Planets will help them discover life on other planets. 2pm and 4pm. Both shows Saturday and Sunday; $5./adults, $4./children under 12. (NOTE: Planetarium Box Office opens 30 minutes prior to each scheduled Sky Show. Show tickets sold on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the show.)