The Adventures of Mr. Potato Head comes to Marbles in downtown Raleign on Saturday. The traveling exhibit is full of engaging learning experiences that build academic skills and encourage children to think about all they can do and be and always respect themselves and others.

Saturday's grand opening includes potato-related games, crafts and activities. The event is free with admission to Marbles. Or, you can go on us. We've got a prize for two Mom2Mom readers: a gift certificate that admits up to four people to the museum (and the exhibit) for free.

The exhibit runs through January.

Click here for more information.

Also ...

Enjoy barbecue and bluegrass this weekend at Noah's Landing. The non-profit children's zoo is offering Blue and Cue at the Zoo.

Families are invited to tour the zoo on their own, stopping to get face to face with more than 60 species, including zebra, wallaby, and the zoo's newest member, a Capuchin monkey. Kid-friendly activities include a moon bounce, crafts, games and special feathered visitors from the Wildlife Rescue Center.

Barbecue plates will be for sale and local musicians will kick off an informal bluegrass jam session.
Cost is $8 per person. The event runs Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Click here for more information.

Also ...

Ride a diesel or steam engine on the New Hope Valley Railway on Sunday. Be sure to arrive at least 35 minutes before your desired departure times.

Departure times are 11 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:45 p.m., and 4 p.m.

Cost is $9 for adults, $6 for kids ages 2 to 12.

Click here for more information.

Also ...

Help fight hunger by attending the Grow and Share Music Festival from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday at Main Street park in Rolesville. The event includes live music and a children's area with a playground, bouncy house, clown, balloon animal maker and more. The event is a fundraiser for Grow and Share, a non-profit group that fights hunger by promoting gardening and community building.

Click here for more information.

And more ...

Catch a free showing of the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
starring Gene Wilder at 7 p.m. Friday at the N.C. Museum of Natural
Sciences in downtown Raleigh. The showing is part of the museum’s First
Friday programs when the museum stays open until 9 p.m. Get there early
to see the exhibits and groove to live music from Daniel Sean and Steve
Harvell. The museum’s Chocolate exhibit also is discounted. Tickets for
the exhibit are $4 and available at the box office until 7 p.m

Register for Talk Like a Pirate Day
at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh on Sept. 19. Blackbeard, in
the form of actor and historian Ben Cherry, will appear during the
program for kids in grades four to eight with an adult. Registration is
required. Cherry will present a one-man show about Blackbeard, North
Carolina’s most famous priate. Kids will learn about pirates of yore
and even witness a duel. The Sept. 19 program is offered twice at 1
p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Admission is $5 per child. To register, call
807-7992. The museum also will offer other pirate events for the public
on Sept. 19, including a pirate flag craft program from 1 p.m. to 3
p.m. And people who dress like a pirate get free admission to the
museum’s pirate exhibit Knights of the Black Flag. Admission is free
for ages 18 and under. It’s $5 for ages 19 and up; $4 for senior
citizens, active military personnel, and adult groups of 10 or more.

And there's more on the Mom2Mom calendar.