Places to Go, Things to Do

Teen reading week, kids' concert and more

The St. Louis County Library system has a whole list of neat events set throughout the month of October. Also, there are lots of outdoor activities scheduled while St. Louis still has beautiful fall weather.

Each month, Young Saint Louis.com gives you a variety of events and activities that are of special interest to kids and their families. Be sure to check this feature every month to find out fun things available throughout the metro area.

Check out details of October events:

St. Louis County Library's "It's Alive"

National Teen Read Week is scheduled for October 17-23. But, the St. Louis County Library are celebrating all month with fun events at various branches.

These included appearances by Mad Scientists as well as workshops on hula dancing, calligraphy, making miniatures, salsa dancing and face painting. Each subject will be covered in multiple appearances as different branch libraries.

For detailed schedules, visit the library's website at www.slcl.org. Or you can call (636) 227-9630. Also, be sure to check at your local branch library for details.

The Mad Scientists will help out create foggy dry ice storms and special bubbly showers. You might even get a taste of a special "burp" potion. These appearances celebrate National Chemistry week, which is also set for October 17-23.

The hula dancing workshops include information on Hawaiian words, costumes and instruments. The basics of both Hawaiian and Tahitian dances will be taught.

Jugglers Jeff and Jamie Kurth make up the comedy team Bazoink. They teach both beginning and intermediate juggling.

Professional dancer Kelly Brown will be on hand to give salsa dancing lessons. You'll learn four basic steps in that type of dancing.

Barb of Funtastic Faces will also give lessons in face painting at various branches.

Carter & Connelley in Concert, Oct. 9

Singer-songwriters Carter and Connelley will provide a free evening of "environmental music with a message." The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center in Kirkwood.

Reservations may be obtained by calling (314) 301-1500.

The duo performs acoustic rock and bluegrass music, with spoken interludes. They have a special interest in Native American beliefs. Their CD, "Songs from the Seventh Direction" takes its title from a Lakota Indian legend.

Their compositions often focus on the rivers, forests and prairies of the Ozarks.

Fall Learning Labs, begin Oct. 9

The Gifted Resource Council will hold its fall Learning Lab classes. The classes are held on six consecutive Saturdays, beginning Oct. 9.

The Learning Lab sessions are held at Wydown Middle School in Clayton. For details, visit the group's website at www.giftedresourcecouncil.org.

A wide variety of classes are available, ranging from language, photography, robots, chess, ceramics and even detective lessons.

The six classes cost $90. There are some scholarships available. For information, call (314) 962-5920.

A GPS hiking opportunity

The St. Louis County Parks Department has a special Backcountry Navigation 101 class, which includes the use of global positioning technology on nature hikes.

The GPS class will be held Saturday, Oct. 16, from noon-2 p.m. at the Greensfelder Park Learning Center in West County. Another class will be held in November. For information, call (636) 391-3474.

A River to River Bike Ride

Trailnet's October kids' event is the River-to-River Bicycle Ride on Sunday, Oct. 10. Easy routes on flat grounds are offered. The ride routes are 23, 29, 51 and 69 miles.

All of the routes start from the KATY Trail trailhead in St. Charles. The routes follow in the footsteps of the Lewis and Clark explorers.

For information on this and other Trailnet rides, visit www.trailnet.org/events.html.

More Sci-Fi Outdoor movies

The St. Louis Science Center will have two more showings in its Sci Fi Film Fest series in October.

On Friday, Oct. 8, the film, "Journey to the Far Side of the Sun," will be shown outside of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium in Forest Park.

On Friday, Oct. 15, the final film in the series, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," will be shown.

The film showings are free and start at 7:30 p.m. A fun "space-themed" cartoon precedes the feature films.

Suson Park Farm Fair

The 3rd annual Suson Farm Fair will be held Saturday, Oct. 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is a good time for a visit to the Farm at Suson Park, located in the popular South County park.

For information and registration, call (314) 638-2100. There is fun for kids of all ages.