Weekend Plans: Kids Exchange, Gustafer Yellowgold, family game night, more

Friday is a free day at Mordecai Historic Park near downtown Raleigh. The park will offer free guided tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Walk through the antebellum plantation house and thee other historic structures. Tours begin on the hour and half hour. Read my earlier post for details and information on its Valentine Trolley.

The Kids Exchange consignment sale at the N.C. State Fairgrounds opens to the public on Friday. Public shopping hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday when some items are half off. Read my earlier post for details and shopping tips. And check our consignment sale database for a list of all of the sales in the region.

The Museum of Life and Science in Durham will host a Family Game Night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday. Design, create and take home your own game or play classic games and new ones. The museum provides the games and snacks. You bring your family. It's for all ages. Reservations are required. Call 919-220-5429, ext. 313. The cost is $5 for the general public.

Gustafer Yellowgold returns to The ArtsCenter in Carrboro on Saturday. This multimedia presentation includes live music from creator Morgan Taylor and his moving musical storybooks on screen that tell the story of Gustafer, a little yellow guy who originally came from the sun. It's 11 a.m. Saturday. It's a great, mellow show. Tickets are $8 for kids, $10 for adults and $32 for a family four pack. Kids 2 and under are admitted free. For more information, read my earlier post. I highly recommend Gustafer and I hear tickets are selling fast.

The World's Toughest Rodeo stops at the RBC Center for a show at 7:30 p.m., Saturday. The show features top professional cowboys competing in bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding and bull riding. Thanks to WRAL-TV and FOX 50, kids 12 and under will get 1/2 price tickets on regular-priced $18 or $35 seats. They must be accompanied by an adult ticket.

Glee Kids is offering some mini-photo sessions with photographer Abigail Blosser. Kids can pose with their loveys. It's from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, Saturday, at the Chapel Hill store. Read my earlier post for details, including how to register for a slot.

Meredith College will host a day of dance on Saturday with a variety of workshops for all ages, starting at age 2. It's a great opportunity for kids, who are interested in dance, to get a taste. Registration required. Read this earlier post for details.

This is the final weekend for Rembrandt in America at the N.C. Museum of Art; Race: Are We So Different? at the Museum of Life and Science; and Genghis Khan: The Exhibition at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill reopens this weekend after being closed for most of the month for regular maintenance.

At Quail Ridge Books and Music on Wade Avenue in Raleigh, a Bad Kitty costumed character will make a visit at 3 p.m., Saturday. The popular picture book and chapter book character is back in "Bad Kitty for President." On Saturday, kids can learn about the electoral process in a fun way. Note: The author won't be there, just a costumed character. For kids ages 6 and up. At 7 p.m., Monday, the store will host author Daniel Handler and illustrator Maira Kalman, who bring their new novel "Why We Broke Up." Handler might be best known by another name he's written under - Lemony Snicket. The new book is for ages 15 and up. This is a signing line ticket event, which means you'll need to buy a book to get a ticket for the signing line.

Montessori Community School in Durham will have an admissions open house from 2 p.m to 4 p.m, Sunday. Prospective parents and their children are invited to attend.

Triangle Community Birth Stories will feature women's birth stories at 4 p.m., Saturday, at The Diapering Doula.

And since many of our kids have Monday off from school, I'll note that Marbles Kids Museum will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.