Places to Go, Things to Do

Baseball exhibit and more during December

The Baseball Hall of Fame's "Baseball as America" exhibit opens this month at the Missouri History Museum. It promises to thrill local baseball fans of all ages.

But, there are plenty of other things for St. Louis area kids to enjoy during their school holiday breaks in December.

There are so many different things to do that Young Saint Louis.com this month has expanded its information about "places to go, things to do."

Besides the things in this feature, there are three other longer December articles which include ways you use your free time during the holiday break.

Ann Seebeck is a St. Louis author who for many years has published a book, "Favorite Places to Go with Kids in St. Louis." At YSL.com's request, she has picked a dozen places that are especially suited for families to visits in December. (To read, click here.)

Also, the children's book staff of the St. Louis County Library has selected a group of books that will make good reading for the holiday time this month. (To read about those selections, click here.)

Although there's no scheduled event, St. Louis kids might like to stop at the Lewis and Clark Nature Center in St. Charles. Workmen will be repairing the boats used by reenacters who are duplicating the famous 1804-06 trip from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. (To read about the needed repairs after a year on the river, click here.)

Besides those in-depth articles, check out the following interesting places and things:

Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit

The Missouri History Museum will be the site for the "Baseball As America" exhibit. That's the traveling exhibition put on by the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

It opens in St. Louis on December 19. It will be here until next April 24.

In addition to hundreds of items of national baseball memorabilia, the museum has a special extra exhibit from the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. (YSL.com published a longer preview article last month. To read that, just click here.)

For other information about the exhibition, visit www.mohistory.org.

Skate with Santa

The St. Louis County Parks will host two "Skate with Santa" events during December.

The Kennedy Recreation Complex in south St. Louis County will have its event on Sunday, Dec. 12, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. There will be candy canes, cookies and music in addition to the skating fun.

For information and directions, call (314) 894-3089.

At the North County Recreation Complex, the Santa skating event will be Sunday, Dec. 20, from noon to 2 p.m. You can also get your photo taken with St. Nicholas.

For information and directions, call (314) 355-7374.

In both cases, there is no registration and only the regular admission is required.

For other county park information, visit www.stlouisco.com/parks.

Boys-only Recycling Camp-in

The St. Louis Science Center will host an unusual overnight event on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 3-4. It runs from 5 p.m. Friday through 10 a.m. Saturday.

The event is open to school-aged boys up to 6^th grade and their parents or adult leaders/sponsors.

The theme of the camp-in is "Recycling." You get to explore the galleries and delight in special hands-on activities. You can play in the Discovery Room and receive a souvenir patch and certificate. There is also an OMNIMAX film also.

There's an evening snack and a morning breakfast. The cost is $30 (with discounts for Center members).

Pre-registration is required. Call (314) 289-4424 or toll-free 800/456-SLSC, Ext. 4424.

Art Museum's Family Fun

The Sunday Fall Family Fun events at the St. Louis Art Museum feature the theme, "Illumination."

Kids will create their own illuminated masterpiece. The event goes along with the museum's "Painted Prayers" exhibit. Family Fun will be held Dec. 5, 12, 19 and 26, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The event features hands-on activities, gallery games and demonstrations.

Admission is free and no registration is needed. Also, all materials are provided free.

Trapping clinics offered

If you would like to learn a new outdoor activity, you might like to try the two-day trapping clinics offered at two different Department of Conservation Outdoor Education Centers.

The first one will be Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 4-5, at the Busch Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center. Both sessions start at 9 a.m.

The second one will be Thursday, Dec. 16, and Saturday, Dec. 18, at the Henges Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center. The Thursday lecture is from 7-9 p.m. while the Saturday field trip is from 6 a.m. to noon.

At the Busch event, kids will cover such subjects as trap types, how-to-do sets, skinning, fleshing and stretching of skins. Participants complete a hands-on overnight set and then return the next morning to check traps and finish pelts.

For registration and directions, call (636) 300-1963 Ext. 251.

At the Henges event, you'll cover the basics of trapping raccoons, beaver, muskrat and coyotes. The participants are in the field on Saturday morning.

For registration and directions, call (636) 441-4554.