FAMILY
The Age
Saturday March 19, 2011
WILD THINGS EXHIBITTHE Arts Centre's Wild Things: Animals on Stage exhibition features creatures that kids might know from various stage or TV productions Ossie Ostrich, the Mock Turtle from Alice in Wonderland, plus dragons, ducks and elephants. Today's companion workshop, Wild Things: Life Beyond the Stage, led by the Becken Project, gives children aged 5-12 an insight into how these puppets (below) are brought to life; following a tour of the exhibition, participants will make their own Wild Things puppets.Tomorrow, 11am-1pm (with short break), Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre forecourt, $18 (all children must be accompanied by a non-paying adult), 1300 182 183, theartscentre.com.auBABY SEA DRAGONSTHEY make for unlikely candidates for the "cute" category, but the weedy baby sea dragons at the Melbourne Aquarium are rather endearing. Bred by the aquarium's assistant curator, Alison Edmunds, this is just the second time that baby sea dragons have been bred successfully in Australia, and there are few other aquariums around the world to house these odd little critters. For those playing at home, an interesting fact about sea dragons is that the male carries and incubates the eggs.Today and tomorrow, 9am-6pm, Melbourne Aquarium, King Street, city, $19-$33.50 (family ticket, $89.50), 9923 5999, melbourneaquarium.com.auARTPLAYMOTION Trace, run by artist Hayley Rivers, gives children (five years and above) a taste of visual art. Today's activities at ArtPlay involve stories, sculpture, multimedia and the almost limitless possibilities of a ball of string. Budding surrealist artists will get the chance to trace coloured string through a building that will eventually become an installation somewhat inspired by Marcel Duchamp. A time-lapse video will record the day to be used at ArtPlay's end-of-year exhibition.Today, noon-1.30pm and 2.30-4pm, ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, behind Federation Square, city, $15, 9664 7900, www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/artplay
© 2011 The Age