It's the last week before midwinter break gives public school kids nine days off. But if you want to kick off the fun a little early, there are some cool things to do this week, like exploring the Brooklyn Children's Museum's brand-new interactive installation or indulging in a sugar-fueled Valentine's Day workshop at Chocolate Works.

Of course this being winter, snow is in the forecast again. If the weather keeps you housebound, be sure to check out our enriching list of indoor boredom busters.

Although we only highlight one event per day in this post, you can find plenty of other options in our Event Calendar and Winter Fun Guide.

Even while Boston deals with historic amounts of snow, there are still plenty of things to do this week. As long as the weather cooperates, exciting events for families include the final games in the annual Beanpot hockey tournament. February is also Black History Month, and one of the don't-miss events is the 7th Annual Black History Month Celebration this Thursday.

Other picks this week include a performance of the Monkey King Puppet Show to celebrate the Chinese New Year and several activities to get your family ready for Valentine's Day. Read on for our picks of the week, and don't forget to check out the full events calendar for each day. Please check with the event venues for snow cancelations before heading out this week.

Whether you’re looking for traditional music and dance, a parade, a big Chinese New Year festival complete with a Lion Dance, or simply a fun craft to celebrate the the Lunar New Year, Boston has it all. Check out these great picks for families to celebrate the Year of the Goat.

You’ll also find links for cooking traditional recipes for kids, children's books about the New Year, and visiting Boston’s Chinatown. 

Mine is a bowling family... not a bowling league with scores close to 300 kind of bowling family, but bowling is a thing we like to do. Living in lower Fairfield County, we check out the ultra hip Bowlmor Lanes in Norwalk. 

What do you like most about Facebook?  Reconnecting with friends you haven’t seen in years, the ability to spy on your old boyfriend’s wall (not that I ever did that or anything), or that browsing through Facebook can give you access to so much information? As a mommy of two special needs children, Facebook has become a wonderful source of info and resources. Many of the following FB pages also have corresponding websites, however, “liking” them will result in the information being sent directly to you, instead of you having to visit all the websites to obtain it. 

Well, at least the snow looks pretty. That's what I keep telling myself as my daughter and I try to navigate slushy corners and slippery curbs. We're hoping for a snow-free (or at least ice-free) February break when we'll finally have enough free time to check out all of the cool museum exhibits, children's film festivals and family theater shows we've been writing about.

If you just can't take winter anymore and need to get out of town, our Travel site has a roundup of last-minute February break getaway deals including Disney, the Berkshires and ski resorts. Don't want to stray so far? You'll find lots of day trip inspiration on our tri-state area sites, like maple sugaring on Long Island, great small towns to explore in New Jersey and 100 things to do with kids in Westchester.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week: