Family And Children

Spring SafariTake your family on a leisurely stroll through the Baltimore Zoo Sunday and at the same time help raise money for the Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland, a nonprofit agency.Registration for the annual Spring Safari begins at 9 a.m. and continues to noon at the zoo's main entrance. The suggested course is 3.5 miles, but walkers can elect to see as much or as little of the route as they wish. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., participants will be treated to a roaring good time at the "Party at the Pavilion," where they can enjoy food, children's activities and live music.

South Laurel Recreation Council volunteers will present a free children's show in the multipurpose room of Deerfield Run Elementary School and Community Center, 13000 Laurel-Bowie Road, Laurel. DinoRock will present original music and puppets in a show about dinosaurs at 1 p.m. Thursday. The interactive musical show will present seven Mesozoic-era creatures. Admission and parking are free. Information: 301-776-2805. Historical society meeting is Aug. 21 The Savage Historical Society will not meet this month.

The College of Notre Dame of Maryland will hold an information session about its Accelerated College's business program at 6 p.m. July 19 at the Laurel college center. Designed for working adults, the accelerated program allows students to earn a bachelor' degree in business in as little as 2 1/2 years. The students form a cohort of about 20 to 25 and move through the program together. Several classes are completed during a traditional semester, taking one class at a time. Classes are five or seven weeks long and meet at the same time and on the same day each week.

The Free State Happy Wanderers Walking Club will sponsor a 9/11 memorial walk Sept. 11 at Montpelier Mansion, 9650 Muirkirk Road, in Laurel. The 5K and 10K trails include a walk along residential sidewalks, and are suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. A commemorative button will be given to the first 200 walkers. Registration is to be held between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Walks should be finished by 7 p.m. Information or to request a brochure: 301-717-3604, or e-mail, kindfellow@comcast.net.

The North Laurel Community Policing Office, 9105G All Saints Road, will provide free vehicle identification number (VIN) etching from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 23, weather permitting. The unique VIN numbers will be engraved on all major pieces of glass in each car to deter thieves and help retrieve stolen vehicles. Those who attend can register for the Watch Your Car Program, a national vehicle theft-prevention program. Some anti-theft devices will be distributed. The event is sponsored by the Maryland/DC Anti-Car Theft Committee and the Howard County Police Department.

The recent heavy rains have damaged roads and other facilities at Patuxent Research Refuge. As a result, the North Tract entrance to the refuge, off Route 198, is temporarily closed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has also had to stop operation of its daily tram tours at the National Wildlife Visitor Center, because the gravel tram route near the visitor center has been severely damaged. The rains, combined with water releases from upstream reservoirs on the Patuxent River caused flooding in the North and Central tract areas of the refuge.

The Savage branch library, 9525 Durness Lane, will hold its Writers' Circle, a group that meets to share original writing with other aspiring authors for mutual support and comment, at 7 p.m. tomorrow. Registration is not required. The library will present "Mr. Claus Comes to Savage," a program for children ages 2 to 5, at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. tomorrow and 7 p.m. Thursday. Registration is required. Information: 410-880-5978. A workshop on making a gingerbread house, for ages 11-14, will be offered from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Debbie McCall, 32, is a certified geriatric nursing assistant, but she knows there are unexplored opportunities out there. For instance, the mother of five said she would like to get trained on computers. "I have a job, and I'm certified in it, but it's always nice to have more training and to go further," McCall said yesterday. So McCall joined about 200 other people - including scores of children - at a community resource festival yesterday in the parking lot of Union Baptist Church Headstart and on the playground of Booker T. Washington Middle School in West Baltimore.

The Mystery Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Savage library branch, 9525 Durness Lane. The group, which meets the second Wednesday of each month, will discuss A Season for the Dead by David Hewson. The library's Nonfiction Book Club, which meets the third Wednesday of each month, will discuss The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion at 7 p.m. Jan. 17. Information: 410-880-5980. Recreation council offers `Snow Show' The South Laurel Recreation Council will present a free performance of The Snow Show by Bob Brown Puppets, and a visit from Santa and his friends (Teddy Bear, Snowman, Panda Bear, Chipmunk and others)

Yvette Lewis was opera-singer-in-residence last week at Hammond Elementary School in North Laurel. In a program titled, "So This Is Opera," Hammond children in kindergarten through fifth grade trooped into the school's music room one class at a time to listen to a story, watch videos and learn two excerpts from an opera's arias. "It was fantastic. It was unbelievable, what she could do with them in such a short period. Second grade sang in German!" said Angela Meade, parent of kindergartner William Mitchell and second-grader Thomas Mitchell.