A mishmash of family fun and news

Safari story time: Kids and their families can enjoy a day of reading and festivities at Honolulu Zoo

Honolulu Zoo brings books and animals together for its first Wild About Reading day from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 15.

Featured storytellers, including Jeff Gere, Susie Roth, Nancy Lipsett and Vicky Dworkin, will entertain guests with zoo-themed books. Select readings take place every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Keiki Zoo.

Throughout the day, keiki can enjoy face painting, animal crafts and games, interpretive talks and performances by Uncle Wayne Watkins and the Howling Dog Band on the main lawn.

The first 500 families admitted will receive a free copy of "Chee-Lin: A Giraffe’s Journey," by local children’s author James Rumford.

The Honolulu Zoo Society’s Wild About Reading event is free with zoo admission: $14 general ($8 kama­aina); $6 children ages 3 to 12 ($4 kama­aina); children 2 and under free.

Visit www.honoluluzoo.org/read or call 926-3191, ext. 114, for more information.

Nina Wu, Star-Advertiser

Puppets, crafts mark Persian New Year

The Honolulu Museum of Art’s Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday events offers admission for free, but now you can get a "two-fer."

The monthly event has expanded to Spal­ding House, the museum’s Makiki Heights facility.

This month’s event, scheduled for March 16, gives participants a chance to celebrate the Persian New Year, known as Noruz (also spelled Nowruz).

Spalding House will feature master storyteller Jeff Gere performing puppet shows of "Arabian Nights," the fanciful tale about a Persian maiden who tells stories to save her life. Gere will perform in Spal­ding House’s permanent installation of David Hockney’s set for the opera "L’enfant et les sor­ti­leges" ("the child and the spells").

Artist Lisa Shiroma will teach children how to use dyed rice grains to make goldfish mosaics. Goldfish are a symbol of happiness in Persian culture.

The main museum will host performances of traditional Iranian music and readings of Persian poets to mark Noruz, which symbolizes the spring equinox and is celebrated as the new year in many Central Asian cultures.

Artist Ryan Higa will teach kids to decorate papier-mache eggs, and fabric artist Nicole Higa will demonstrate how to use Persian designs commonly seen on carpets to make yarn paintings. There will also be presentations about Noruz history and philosophy, and the museum’s monthly gallery hunt will focus on the Islamic collection.

Activities begin at 11 a.m. and end at 3 p.m., and the museum will be open until 5 p.m. The museum is at 900 S. Bere­ta­nia St. There will be free shuttle service between the two sites from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit honolulumuseum.org or call 532-8700 for information.

Steven Mark, Star-Advertiser

Bishop Museum will make science fun for its 125th

The theme of this year’s Science Alive! Family Sunday March 16 is "Then and Now" in celebration of Bishop Museum’s 125th anniversary.

It’s a full day of family-friendly science activities for both keiki and grown-ups.

Children can visit various stations around the museum’s campus to learn about botany (plants), entomology (insects), malacology (shells) and more.

They will have the opportunity to peer through microscopes and go on a native plant scavenger hunt. There also will be interactive displays and coloring and craft stations.

Visitors will gain insight into the history of the museum’s natural science collections while learning about changes in scientific methodology.

Bishop Museum partners with community groups, including the Conservation Council for Hawaii, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii Nature Center and others for the event.

Science Alive! Family Sunday takes place 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center and on the Great Lawn at Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice St.

The event is free for kama­aina and military and includes access to the museum’s collections and planetarium.

Visit www.bishopmuseum.org or call 847-3511.

Nina Wu, Star-Advertiser