Child's Play: Maryland Zoo opens Saturday with $5 admission

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore opens for the 2010 season at 10 a.m. Saturday.

A grand opening weekend celebration is planned for Saturday and Sunday, with all admission prices reduced to $5 per person. Children under age 2 are always admitted for free.

During the day guests can participate in a variety of Keeper chats, get close to goats in the Kids Zone and visit all their favorite animals.

"This has been a pretty tough winter for all of us in Maryland," said Don Hutchinson, president and CEO of the zoo. "The zoo suffered a great deal of damage, but I am proud of the great work our staff did during the storms and the work they are now doing to clean up the campus and ready the grounds for visitors."

"There will be some exhibits, such as the Marsh Aviary and the African Aviary, that will remain closed until further notice," Hutchinson said. "And we also want our visitors to know that on any given day certain animals may not be on exhibit due to the condition of their yards. In many cases the mud left behind from the melting snow is dangerous for certain species, such as the giraffes. We will be keeping folks updated daily as they come to the zoo."

Along with the clean-up from the twin blizzards, staff has been busy with infrastructure improvements, outreach programs, event planning and of course, taking top-notch care of all the animals.

Special events, education programs and summer camps are all set for the coming season, along with the newest arrival of 2010 - the Jones Falls Zephyr. The train should be chugging along through a wildly wooded section of the zoo later this spring.

Regular admission prices for weekend attendance are $16 for ages 12 to 64, $13 for ages 65+ and $11 for ages 2 to 11. If purchased online, weekend tickets cost the same as weekday admission, $14, $12 and $10.

There are now 12 different membership categories from the new student membership (one student at $35) to the favorite family plus (two adults plus children under 21, plus one guest per visit at $115) as well as some higher-end memberships. Details can be found at www.marylandzoo.org/membership.

The Maryland Zoo is in Druid Hill Park. For details, call 410-396-7102 or visit www.marylandzoo.org.

Ringling Bros. circus comes to area

Through the mystery of magic and the mastery of skill, audiences will be spellbound as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® presents ZING ZANG ZOOM®, a thrill-filled, mind-blowing circus spectacular where family fun is no illusion.

Shows are March 18 through 21 at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Zingmaster Alex and his assistant, Levitytia, lead audience members through an extraordinary world of fantasy that celebrates the uplifting spirit of the circus.

Apprentice illusionists will mysteriously levitate their parents, a four-ton elephant will disappear before your eyes and the mischievous Mr. Gravity will transform into a ferocious tiger. There also will be aerialists, human cannonballs and high-wire walkers. Two performance troupes join forces to create a never-before-seen Quadruple Russian Fire-Swing, and daredevils on dueling Wheels of Steel tempt fate.

And one hour before show time, families can meet the performers, get autographs, and see an amazing elephant that paints during the All Access Pre-show, free with your ticket.

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. March 18; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. March 19; 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. March 20 and 21. Tickets are $110, $75, $52, $35, $30, $18 and $14. Some discounts are available on opening night.

Buy tickets at any Ticketmaster outlet, by phone at 410-547-SEAT or via www.ticketmaster.com.

Verizon Center is at 601 F St. N.W. For information, visit www.verizoncenter.com.

ZING ZANG ZOOM® will be coming to 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore April 7 to 18.

Rome at St. John’s College’s Mitchell Gallery

Don’t miss the opening reception and family program for the Mitchell Gallery’s latest exhibit, “From La Serenissima to the Eternal City: The Grand Tour in 18th-Century Venice and Rome.”

The reception, which includes a tour and hands-on workshop, will be held from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the gallery at St. John’s College, 60 College Ave. in Annapolis. The exhibit is on view through April 23.

“The Grand Tour” documents the luxurious educational journeys that aristocratic young men and women took to two of Italy’s most vibrant cities, Venice and Rome.

The Grand Tour exposed student travelers to the roots of Western civilization and its cultural legacy. Venice and Rome in particular represented the highest ideals of both the educational and leisurely pursuits of travel. An endless array of religious holidays, festivals, celebrations and spectacles exposed Grand Tourists and other visitors to local customs, cultures and manners.

Painters and printmakers’ such as Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765), Hubert  Robert (1733-1808), Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78), Canaletto (1697-1768), Francesco Guardi (1712-93), and Antonio Joli (c.1700-77) were commissioned by travelers to record the architectural landmarks and scenic views of Rome, Venice and the surrounding countryside, or to create their own fanciful inventions. Sculptors like Francesco Righetti the Elder (1749-1819) and Giacomo (c.1731-85) and Giovanni (1754-1805) Zoffoli fulfilled the demand for small-scale bronze copies of famous antique sculptures to decorate mantelpieces and tables in the homes of Grand Tour travelers.

Regular gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, 7 to 8 p.m. Friday. Call 410-626-2556 for information.

Learn about weather

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Road in Edgewater, will offer a program about different types of weather on Wednesday.

For children ages 3 to 5, sessions are from 10 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m. Cost is $6 per student and $3 each for siblings.

For registration and more information, call 443-482-2300.

Children’s museum

The Chesapeake Children’s Museum will celebrate Harriet Tubman Remembrance Day from 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday at the museum, 25 Silopanna Road in Annapolis. Cost is $10.

The CCM also will offer a program about trees at 1 p.m. March 13. Learn about where maple syrup comes from and other tree facts.

For info, call 410-990-1993.

Sunday is Pi Day

Circle back to the Maryland Science Center this Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. for the annual Pi Day Celebration.
Activities will include a hula hoop contest, Pi recitation contest and free pie.

All activities are free with paid admission; admission varies but basic admission is $14.95; $11.95 for ages 3 to 12.

The science center is at 601 Light St. in Baltimore. Visit marylandsciencecenter.org for information.