Kids Off The Couch March Radar: From A Dan Zanes Ticket Giveaway to Daylight Savings Time!

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 06, 2011 (Press-News.org) Yesterday's New York Times Science section had a cool article about Academy Award winner, Natalie Portman. Turns out Oscar's black swan was a finalist in a national Intel high school science contest, and then went onto Harvard. The article quotes one of her professors as saying that, despite Natalie's active movie career, she never missed a deadline at school. We knew we liked that girl! Next week, we're writing about girls and science, so stay tuned.

PRE-SCHOOL and ELEMENTARY -- Caterpillar Adoption Days: Observation is the core of the scientific process, and we have a great way to start good science habits in your kids. Each March, Kidspace Museum in Pasadena hostsCaterpillar Adoption Days, allowing children to bring home a larva that will hatch into a butterfly under their eyes. Caterpillar adoptions begin on Saturday, March 19 and continue through the weekend of April 14 and 15, when the Grand Butterfly Release will take place. Click here to read our Popcorn Adventure about this great LA tradition.

TICKET GIVEAWAY - Dan Zanes: UCLA Live presents Dan Zanes & Friends at Royce Hall on Saturday, March 19 at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. UCLA Live favorite Dan Zanes and his band perform exuberant, handmade music for enthusiastic crowds of kids and kids at heart. The audience is invited to sing along with gusto before things heat up and ultimately evolve into an all-ages dance party. Click here if you'd like to be entered to win a Family Four Pack to the 2:00 show.

ELEMENTARY - Build a Better World: As part of the Build a Better World component of Noah's Ark at the Skirball, local charities participate in activities at the museum. From March 15-20, Habitat for Humanity will be on site, so drop by and learn how building houses can change the world.

ELEMENTARY - World Culture Watch: We're planning a summer vacation so thinking of exotic foreign locales is right up our alley. The Music Center hosts a varied series of free concerts throughout the year, and next up is A Gaelic Gathering and the Tinkers on March 19th at 11:00 AM at theWalt Disney Concert Hall. Experience the world in your kitchen by clicking here for a slide show of global soup recipes from our fave new cooking site, Fine Cooking. Or, to explore the world's museums from the comfort of your chair, check out Google's new Art Project. (Careful, you could get lost in here).

ELEMENTARY -- The Bard Still Rules the Box Office: Gnomeo and Juliet surprised everyone by beating out Hall Pass last weekend, so if your kids are tuned into the Shakespearean storyline, have them check out A Noise Within's latest production of The Comedy of Errors, playing now through mid-May.

MIDDLE SCHOOL - Jazz at the Fowler: The Fowler debuts a stellar collection of photographs and documents in Jam Session: America's Jazz Ambassador's Embrace the World, an exhibit that will include several live jazz sessions over the course of the five-month show. We'll keep you updated on the ongoing family programming, which starts March 20 with Kids in the Courtyard: Peanut, Peanut Butter... and JAZZ.

MIDDLE SCHOOL - Monopoly Goes Digital: We loved the media kerfuffle last month when Milton Bradley announced a new version of its most famous board game. Monopoly Live will be available in the fall for $50, and pundits caution that making monopoly digital will eliminate the human element -- all that cheating, dealing and rule bending that kids learn to deal with during hours spent playing unsupervised games. For another humorous take our rapidly changing landscape check out this hilarious article, 8 Skills Our Parents Had that We Don't on a cool site called Matador and consider teaching some of these essential skills to your kids. (Or let the grandparents do it for you!).

TEENS -- Open Mike and College Night: We're obsessed with NBC's show,Parenthood, and love the storyline about Amber, a teenager who loves to play guitar. If your teens have the hankering, have them come out to a Teen Open-Mic Night at the Skirball Cultural Center, from 4:00 - 7:00 PM on Wednesday, March 23. If you're ramping up to the college process, our friends at Team Tutors have a special evening for you with a NYC-based admissions expert on March 23. Click here for details.

TEENS - Design Driven: Family Flicks at the Hammer is showcasing the Films of Charles and Ray Eames on Sunday, March 20 at 11:00 AM (free). Teens intrigued with design will also like the new exhibit at the A & D Architecture and Design Museum on Wilshire, Soupergreen.

DATE NIGHT -- Liz Taylor in Iran: Both Liz and the turbulent state of Iran have been in the news lately, so it's an interesting time to check out a series of photographs of Elizabeth Taylor taken by a young Firooz Zahedi on a 1976 trip to Iran. At LACMAthrough mid-June.

Outtakes: Our new obsession? The new blood orange flavor at Pinkberry. If you loved last week's Popcorn Adventure on LA's food trucks, check out TruckIt Fest this Sunday, March 6 from 11:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. There's still time to register for the LA Marathon. Consider walking the fabulous new route from Dodger Stadium to the Santa Monica Pier on March 20. And finally -- Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 13. Don't forget to push those clocks forward!

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