Places to Go, Things to Do

Winter events and Eagle Watching Days

January is the heart of winter in St. Louis and there are some neat events and activities of interest to kids and their families. But, there are also some things that hint of spring.

There's the Eagle Watching Days at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. But, this year, Young Saint Louis.com also has a lineup of other eagle watching sites in the metro area.

You might like to try The Loop Ice Festival in University City or the Winter Zoo activities at the St. Louis Zoo.

There's still time to take ice skating lessons at two St. Louis County parks. Third session lessons run into February.

On the "hint of spring" side there is the Soulard Mardi Gras events and also the Maple Sugar tree tapping at Rockwoods Conservation Area.

(Each month, YSL.com puts together a listing of Places to Go; Things to Do that will interest kids and their families. We try for events that are fun and usually inexpensive.)

Metro-area Eagle Watching

The two-day Eagle days at Old Chain of Rocks Bridge will be held Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 19 and 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

This event takes over the whole bridge with a variety of activities sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Trailnet.

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge is an ideal eagle-watching site because many eagles nest in trees near the bridge. A number of viewing scopes will be available to help kids and their families get up-close views.

A group of Lewis & Clark re-enactors will have a camp set up and an educational tent will be set up with a live eagle show every 20 minutes.

For information, call Trailnet at (314) 416-9930 or visit www.trailnet.org.

There are a number of other activities during January at other excellent eagle-watching sites:

The Loop Ice Festival

The Loop Ice Festival will be held Saturday, Jan. 12, in the Loop Neighborhood of University City. Hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Admission is free. There will be ice sculpture, snowboarding, music, games and arts and crafts. In addition, there will be a chili cook-off.

For information, call (314) 727-8000 or visit www.visittheloop.com.

Delta Dental Winter Zoo

The Delta Dental Winter Zoo activities at the St. Louis Zoo will be held on Sundays, Jan. 13, 20 and 27 from noon to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

There will be family fun activities and indoor entertainment.

For information, call (314) 781-0900 or visit www.stlzoo.org.

Ice skating lessons

Ice skating lessons are available at the North County and Kennedy recreation complexes during January.

At the North County complex in Veterans Memorial Park, 3rd session lessons are Wednesday, Jan.2-23, and Saturday, Jan. 5-26. For information, call (314) 355-7374.

At the Kennedy complex in Wayne C. Kennedy Park, 3rd session lessons are Saturday, Jan. 5-Feb. 23; Monday, Jan. 7-Feb. 18, and Wednesday, Jan. 9-Feb. 20. For information, call (314) 894-3088.

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

Soulard Mardi Gras

Since Easter is early this year, the Mardi Gras season in Soulard starts in January. The event runs from Friday, Jan. 18, through Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Some of the special events include Taste of Soulard, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27; the Barkus Pet Parade and Wiener Dog Derby on Saturday, Jan. 27; the Grand Parade on Saturday, Feb. 2, and the Fat Tuesday Parade on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

For information, call (314) 771-5110 or visit www.stlmardigras.org.

Maple Sugar tree tapping

Although the weather outside tells of more winter, Missouri's maple trees aren't fooled. In January, they are starting to get ready for the growing season.

In January, the trees start to pump nutritious sap from the roots to the branches. That's when humans take time to tap the trees and siphon off sap for making maple syrup.

Kids and their families can watch on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the Rockwoods Conservation Area in west St. Louis County. The program is from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

You won't see any syrup making at this session. That happens at another Rockwoods demonstration in February.

Registration for tree tapping starts on January 9. For information, call (636) 458-2236. For other Missouri Conservation Area events, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/stlouis.

Butterfly House's family fun weekend

The Butterfly House in Faust Park in Chesterfield plans a "Hot, Hot, Hot" family fun weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day.

In the wintertime, one of the big attractions is the 85-degree temperature needed to keep the butterflies happy. But, there also will be plenty of family fun and games.

Admission is $6 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and $4 for kids 4 to 12 years of age. But, if you purchase a Missouri Botanical Garden membership, you get a same-day admission pass for free.

For information call (636) 530-0076 or visit www.butterflyhouse.org.

EveryDayCircus

If the weather's too wintry for you, it might be a good time to try a session at the EveryDayCircus at the City Museum.

Admission to circus performances are free with the regular admission to City Museum. The performances are Wednesday through Sunday.

The shows feature clowns, stilt walkers, jugglers, magicians, mimes, performing parrots and dancing dogs.

For information, call (314) 645-4445 or visit www.everydaycircus.net