10 cool events for kids at libraries, zoos, and science museums

Boston Lights is at Franklin Park Zoo through Nov. 15.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

CREATEDBY FESTIVAL In honor of Mass STEM week, Boston Children’s Museum has planned almost a full week of events to encourage creativity and education. Typically, the annual fest is held at the museum, but most happenings have moved online this year for safe social distancing. Artists, technologists, and other creatives will collaborate on workshops, demonstrations, and science-based lessons all accessible from your computer. Select events will occur at the museum throughout the week including a robotics demonstration on Oct. 20 and an exploration of steampunk art and design on Oct. 21. Oct. 19-24. Free with RSVP. Boston Children’s Museum, 308 Congress St. createdbyfestival.org

Boston Children’s Museum has a robotics demonstration planned for its 2020 CreatedBy Festival.Courtesy Boston Children's Museum

MEET YOUR MAKERSPACE In this offering from Boston Public Library’s Teen Tech Seminar Series, attendees can learn a thing or two about hands-on crafting. In collaboration with community organization PIC, the library will host a virtual tour — just for teens — of Artisan’s Asylum in Somerville. Artisan’s Asylum is a community-based makerspace for visual artists, engineers, and other creatives. The tour will feature Artisan’s Asylum education director Anne Wright, interviews with numerous creatives, and an eyeful of their workspaces. Oct. 21, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Free with RSVP. bpl.com

This mural by Miss Zukie and JPO is one stop of the Street Car Art Tour.Renana Kehoe/Parent Tours

STREET CAR ART TOUR Take a good, long look at the city of Lynn’s best public art. This tour, designed specifically for families with young children, will explore numerous downtown murals while prompting conversations about graffiti and street art. Registrants will arrive at the provided starting point and drive together to each stop, never leaving the comfort of their own cars. Audio information about each work will be provided via a group phone call. Participants are welcome to ask questions. And the presence of babies is not only allowed — but encouraged. Oct. 24, 11 a.m. Tickets $12, pre-registration required. eventbrite.com

NIGHT OF A THOUSAND FACES Get ready to solve a mystery with the New England Wildlife Center. The organization’s annual fund-raiser usually sees close to 4,000 in-person visitors, but has been moved online this year because of the pandemic. This year’s attendees can log into a Facebook Live event for “The Mystery of the Owl and the Pumpkin,” a whodunit adventure featuring a pumpkin pie fight, crashing cars, a dirt-bike mishap, and much more. Oct. 24, 7 p.m. Free. facebook.com/NewEnglandWildlifeCenters

HARVEST FEST Celebrate the fall season at Southwick’s Zoo. This daylong festival will combine music, craft vendors, and all your favorite regular zoo happenings. Presentations by zookeepers will happen throughout the day — with topics including enrichment for monkeys and apes, meet the parrots, and “creepy crawlies up close.” Timmy Brown, Ayla Brown, and Rob Bellamy will provide some live tunes throughout the day. Costumed children ages 3 to 12 will receive free zoo admission with the purchase of an adult ticket. Oct. 25. Tickets $25, pre-registration required. Southwick’s Zoo, 2 Southwick St., Mendon. southwickszoo.com

Malden Public Library hosts a virtual sing-along with Matt Heaton.South Shore Conservatory

SING-ALONG WITH MATT HEATON Get your groove on with a virtual performance by singer/songwriter Matt Heaton. Open to all ages, this event will have attendees dancing and singing to rockabilly music suited for all listeners. Older family members should pop in, too, as Heaton often mixes a wry sense of humor with child-friendly tunes, making him a hit across generations. Oct. 28, 11 a.m. Free. maldenpubliclibrary.org

VIRTUAL HAUNTED ESCAPE ROOM Missing the thrill of a haunted house this season? Look no farther than Dover Town Library’s virtual haunted house escape room. Through Zoom, groups of no more than 10 participants can guide a librarian throughout an actual escape room, searching for clues, solving riddles, and hopefully discovering a way out. The librarian will be attendees’ eyes and ears inside the room, so they must collaborate to escape before time runs out. Oct. 29, 3:30 and 5 p.m.; Oct. 30, 3:30 p.m. Free with RSVP. dovertownlibrary.org

THE SPOOKY SLIMY SCIENCE OF MAGIC This event from Metropolitan Waterworks Museum is perfect for anybody who ever saw a magic trick and wondered how it worked. Geared to children ages 3 to 10, the Halloween adventure starts with a reading of “Bartholomew and the Oobleck” by Dr. Seuss. After that, education staff will demonstrate how common magic tricks are actually produced through science. Children will have the chance to make their own oobleck slime and explore the museum’s exhibitions. Oct. 30, 3:30 p.m.; Oct. 31, 10 a.m. Tickets $5. The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, 2450 Beacon St., Boston. eventbrite.com

A detail from the large-scale relief produced by the MFA's 2020 Exchange Code program.Courtesy Sarah Pollman

EXCHANGE CODES For the past seven months, young creators worked with artist Sarah Pollman at the Museum of Fine Arts on a large-scale relief that captures the interconnectedness of human history through the exchange of materials and ideas. After touring the museum for inspiration, the group landed on pairing their final relief with a historical map of early global trade routes. This exhibition marks the 15th year of the museum’s community arts initiative, a program designed to introduce children to critically observing and making art. Nov. 11-April 11, 2021. Tickets $25 or free with membership. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. mfa.org

BOSTON LIGHTS More than 50 lantern displays portraying everything from flora to ferocious lions will be on display across the Franklin Park Zoo’s 72-acre grounds. Visitors can walk through an illuminated 66-foot long tunnel, observe traditional Asian lantern scenes, and catch a glimpse of a dramatic 197-foot-long dragon lighting up the night sky. Bonus: Musically-inclined attendees can create a tune on a large step-and-play piano. Through Nov. 15. Tickets $19.95. Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Road, Boston. zoonewengland.org