The National Air and Space Society is sponsoring a “Behind-the-Scenes Experience” at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from 6-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Night at the Museum is free, but you have to get tickets in advance; request tickets online by clicking here.

From the National Air and Space Museum’s Web site:

“Curators, archivists, educators, restoration staff, and other experts to share stories and answer your questions. This wonderful event provides you with the opportunity to learn from the experts who research, preserve, restore, and bring to life our amazing aviation and space exploration artifacts.

“The Night at the Museum event was a great opportunity not only for my family to (again) visit the Udvar-Hazy Center in a less crowded, more intimate way, but the interaction with the Museum officials and curators was awesome. My 10-year-old son is still telling all his friends about it - and so am I. Learning the lesser-known trivia and behind-the-scenes stories never gets old to me. Hearing about the hanging of the artifacts and details from experts about the Enterprise and SR-71 in-flight refueling was fascinating.” — Keith Duke, Ellicott City, MD

National Air and Space Museum photographer Dane Penland will lead a special photography tour of the Center, advising visitors on the finer points of capturing that perfect picture of their favorite artifact. With more than 20 years at the Smithsonian as a photographer, Penland has captured images of thousands of priceless artifacts, ranging from the Hope Diamond to the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay. Be sure to bring your camera and get tips from an official Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center photographer.

This special event features unique tours that will shed new light on how the Museum operates. It provides a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center through activities that are not available outside of this event.

From Consumer Reports:

First the toys, now the toy bin

Soooo many events and activities to choose from … and these are just the northern Virginia ones! Still to come: DC weekend events …

WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival
Reston Town Center     10 a.m.-6 p.m.
The 17th annual juried arts festival also features live entertainment and children’s activities. Green is the theme in the Children’s Art Tent, which will be open 10 am to 5 pm on both days. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The tent is located in Town Square Park, at the intersection of Market and Explorer streets.  For more information on children’s activities, click here.

Spring 18th Century Market Fair
Claude Moore Colonial Farm, McLean   11 am-4:30 pm
Travel back in time at this re-creation of an 18th century farm, where the spring Market Fair offers food, activities and entertainment reflective of the age. A three-legged race will determine the fleetest of foot, while those more artistically inclined may paint a fan or engraving of their fancy. Industrious folk can dip a candle made of tallow and beeswax, or craft a corn husk doll. Many choose to rest from their labors by settling down for an entertaining Puppet Show, or by admiring the talents of the Swordmasters or Signora Bella the Slack Rope Walker. For a discount pass that admits up to 6 people at half off, click here.

Loudoun Spring Farm Tour
Locations throughout western Loudoun    10 am-4 pm   FREE
Enjoy a free, self-guided tour down country roads to participating Loudoun County farms. Buy spring seedlings and plants for your home; say hello to farm animals and greet spring babies; tour a winery; learn how food gets from the farm to your table; and much more. Click here for a Google map of participating venues.

Flingfest
Bull Run Regional Park, Centreville  Noon-10 p.m.
Carnival rides, concerts, food, puppet show and face paintingand more! Korean Dancers, Bingo the Clown! Simulated NASCAR races.

Saturday, May 17

McLean Day
Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road    8 am-5 pm   FREE
Join us for McLean’s biggest annual community party! Come help us celebrate our day. International food court, carnival rides, field games, arts and crafts, stage entertainment,  free pony rides and hay rides, and free shuttle service. For more information, including a schedule of stage performers, click here. (From goCityKids)

Family Day
Lee-Fendall House, Alexandria    10 am-4 p.m.
Join us for a day of Victorian-themed arts and crafts, including silhouette-making. Take a children’s “Squirrel Lee” tour of the Lee-Fendall House and then stay to learn about period dress. Betty Bruce Shepard will be on hand to sign copies of her new book, “Virginia: An Alphabetical Journey Through History.” Admission: Adults free when accompanied by children; children (ages 5-17) $2 and children under 5 are free.

Chatterbox Fun Fair
Kingsbury Elementary School, Springfield    10 am-1 pm  FREE
The Chatterbox Fun Fair is a one day fun fair event for preschool through sixth grade students (and their families) who are using picture boards or devices with sound to help them with communication. Games, food, entertainment, and prizes will be provided. Special events planned (depending on availability) include police and fire vehicles; K-9 dog team; fingerprinting of children by Sheriff’s Department; special appearances by Colors the Clown and the Chick-fil-A Cow; door prizes awarded throughout the day. Winner must be present to win! This is a free event sponsored by Assistive Technology Services, Fairfax County Public Schools and its community partners. (From Chronicle Newspapers)

Children’s Book Week Classic
George Mason Regional Library, Annandale    10:30 am   FREE
Watch a film based on a classic children’s book, and then browse our favorite recommended children’s titles. Refreshments provided by the Friends of the George Mason Regional Library. All ages.

Celebrate Asian Heritage Month!
John Marshall Library, Alexandria     10:30 am   FREE
Join us for a The Sadako Story and make an origami paper crane. Cosponsored by Friends of the John Marshall Library. All ages.

Reptile Love
Richard Byrd Library, Springfield    10:30 am   FREE
Come and meet some reptiles. Presented by Hidden Pond Nature Center. All ages.

Spring Fling
Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, Falls Church     10:30 am   FREE
Celebrate spring with the Carousel Puppets, bunnies, birds and Humpty Dumpty himself! All ages.

Creature Feature: Lots of Legs
Woodrow Wilson Library, Falls Church     10:30 am   FREE
Join a naturalist from Hidden Oaks Nature Center as she shares the wonders of Fairfax County wildlife using stories,live animals and more.  All ages.

Heritage Day
23rd St. and the Gazebo, Purcellville   10:45 am-4 pm   FREE
The Town of Purcellville celebrates 100 years of history. “The Stories Behind the Story of Purcellville,” a short film and oral history of the town, will be shown throughout the day at the Purcellville Train Station. At 3 pm, an “Oldtimers Roundtable,” including several people from the film, will answer questions and share their memories of the town. A town “walking tour” will also debut at this event, with a map and information on historic structures and sites throughout the town, and bronze plaques will be presented to historic property owners. In addition, there will be children’s/family activities, a toy train display, and live music (including a barbershop quartet, bluegrass, folk, etc).

Caribbean Carnival
Broadlands Marketplace, Ashburn    11:30 am-4 pm   FREE
Family event featuring steel drum band, hair braiding, limbo contest, face painting, Tiki Island rockwall, giant sandbox, and developer Van Metre is giving away a Royal Caribbean Cruise. For more information, call 571-223-2330.

Flights of Fancy
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center   11:30 am-1:30 pm  
National Children’s Book Week: Flights of Fancy
The museum’s collection comes alive in celebration of National Children’s Book Week as storytellers, authors, and guest readers share folktales and books from around the world. It’s a magical way to explore space and fly with heroes and heroines of the past. Each reading is followed by a hands-on activity. For ages 3-7.  Admission is free, but parking is $12.

Who’s Sleeping in the Squash?  The Natural History of Virginia Native Bees and Their Importance to Farmers and Home Gardeners
Lovettsville Library   1 pm    FREE
Learn about the great variety of size, shape and color of bees. How and where they live.The decline of honey bees has generated a lot of publicity, yet wild bees do most of the pollination even though they get little credit for it. Recommended for ages 12 & up.

TaleSpin Cartoon & Coloring Program
Purcellville Library   1:30 pm  FREE
Join us for TaleSpin Adventure Cartoons and coloring. Recommended for ages 5 & up; for children only. Register online by clicking here or call 540-338-7235.

Franklin Park Arts Center Film Series
Franklin Park, Purcellville   3 p.m.
Family matinee, Charlotte’s Web, starts at 3 p.m. Tickets at the door are $5; families of three or more $4 each. Popcorn And refreshments available; for more info call Shirley Lyle Volberg 540 338-5724 or
Bettina Gregory 540 338-7249.

Puppetopia Presents
Martha Washington Library, Alexandria    3 p.m . FREE
Tales for Book Lovers. Register by calling 703-768-6700. All ages.

Sunday, May 18

OK, so I finally tried to get to one of the Open Gym times with the kids yesterday afternoon so they could bounce off someone else’s walls instead of mine, but I struck out with the first: JumpWorks in Manassas has open bounce time regularly scheduled from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Mondays, but when I called they said they would be closing at 1:30 p.m. (This is why I stress that you need to call before you go to any of the open gym times listed.) They also said they were going to be rescheduling their open bounce times (currently Mondays and Fridays), and that the info would be posted on the Web site when it changed.

So after hearing the other choices, the kids decided on Planet Play at the Springfield Mall so they could check out the PlayTower, a “multi-level indoor playground … (that includes a) puffy Moon Bounce, two great slides, trolley pull, climbing towers, punching bags and net crawl.”

Finding the mall was easy enough, but I didn’t realize that the Planet PlayTower and Carousel weren’t in the same location as the Planet Play “store,” where the arcade, bumper cars, laser tag and party rooms are located. When we arrived, we looked for Planet Play (located in the mini food court next to the Macy’s garage) and were greeted by a dark storefront with a sign that said, “Open 4-8 p.m.”

We found a store map and determined the PlayTower is in the wing with the main food court, between Macy’s and Target. When we finally arrived at our destination, their little necks craned up to view the top of the structure and their little eyes widened in awe. At the entrance, a woman (I’m guessing here) who looked like she’d be more at home bouncing at a DC nightclub cheerfully gave me directions on what I needed to do to get my kids into Playtime Nirvana: get cash from the adjacent ATM, give her the $20 so she could give me change, take the dollars and feed it into the nearby token machine ($2 per token; entrance was $4 per kid so 2 tokens), then give her the tokens.

Do not ask me why you have to go through that whole rigamarole, but I guarantee you that you will not be questioning this woman. She’s nice, she’s friendly, she’s good with the kids–some of the parents are on very friendly terms with her, it seemed–but she is a bald, heavyset, tall (again, I’m guessing because she was sitting the whole time) woman who looked like she could pound you into the tiled floor with one meaty fist. Plus, she might really be a man. I think that was the most disconcerting part. But again, I must say, she was nothing but nice and cheerful the whole two hours we were there, even as more and more kids poured into those mesh-covered towers. She wouldn’t let any kids exit unless she saw their parents were around, but she exuded an air of concern rather than irritability about it.

My 11-year-old, who was too old to go in since the cutoff age is 10, wants to go back at a time when the gameroom is open, so we might make another trip out there. I liked the fact that the place was filled with diverse kids, much like Briar Patch Park along Sterling Boulevard, and that I felt the 4-year-old and 6-year-old were pretty safe in that play structure, even with bigger kids in there, because SHE was watching. All in all, I knew it was a success when the youngest one said happily afterward, “No one hit me, no one pushed me, no one hurt me!” That’s more than can be said of other indoor play areas we’ve visited.