Spring Weekend Lands Triangle Kids Fun!

Spring is here with lots of fun for kids in the Triangle. This weekend, your choices are wide open. In Raleigh, check out the Huck Finn Fishing Derby, Marbles Kids’ Museum Wild Water Weekend or the St. Patrick Day’s Parade. In Chapel Hill, get ready to meet the famed astronomer Galileo or visit the Green Thumb Market at Kidzu Children’s Museum. And in Cary, the Easter Bunny arrives at Cary Towne Center.

Shelley Lake in Raleigh will be teaming with action on Saturday as the site for the Huck Finn Fishing Derby, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. You’ll find 6- to 12-year-olds angling for fish in the lake as they hope to reel in prizes in the largest, smallest and most fish categories. The day has a Mark Twain theme, so visitors are encouraged to dress for the occasion, and prizes will go to the best Huck Finn look-a-likes. The whole family can enjoy games, hayrides, arts and crafts, nature education and food. The event is sponsored by the Raleigh Parks and Recreation, the National Recreation and Park Association, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

On Saturday and Sunday, Marbles Kids Museum and IMAX Theatre is hosting a campus-wide weekend-long event, Wild Water Weekend, featuring water-based IMAX films and hands-on activities for the whole family. Kids and families can dive into 3-D underwater IMAX films, dig for shark teeth, experience underwater critters in a touch tank, make water wheels, discover North Carolina lighthouses, meet the Terrific Turtles and be inspired by water experts.

Also in Raleigh on Saturday, check out the Southeast’s second-largest St. Patrick Day’s Parade, featuring more than 4,000 marchers, including bands, floats, military units and entertainment celebrities.

Over in Chapel Hill on Saturday, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., get up close and personal with astronomer Galileo Galilei at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center as educator Michael Neece portrays the famed Italian scientist. The Meet a Scientist program allows children and their families to explore the latest scientific discoveries with a different scientist every month. For more information, call Morehead Planetarium Guest Relations at 919-962-1236.

At Kidzu Children’s Museum, children can learn about growing at the “Green Thumb” Garden-to-Table Market exhibit as they follow the voyage of produce from garden to dinner plate. Kids are invited to plant, tend and harvest produce to sell in the Farmers’ Market. Or, fill up a basket and head to the Millhouse Kitchen, where young chefs can pretend to whip up unique culinary creations to serve at the Kitchen Café.

And over in Cary, guess who’s hopping into town especially for kids? The Easter Bunny will land the Cary Towne Center!

You'll find even more family-friendly events and kids camps in Carolinaparent.com’s Spring Guide and Calendar.