01:00 AM EST on Thursday, November 11, 2004

CAROUSEL

Carousel Village, Roger Williams Park, off Elmwood Avenue, Providence. 785-9450. Carousel, pony rides, playground and Children's Sensory Garden. Daily 11 am-4 pm, weather permitting.

MUSEUMS

Children's Museum, Museum Wharf, 300 Congress St., Boston. (617) 426-8855. Daily 10 am-5 pm, except Fri 10 am-9 pm. $9 general; $7 children 2-15 and elderly; $2 children age 1 ($1 Fri 5-9 pm); members and children under 1 free.

Cormack Planetarium, Museum of Natural History, Roger Williams Park, off Elmwood Avenue, Providence. 785-9457. Amazing Stargazing, grades 1-4; 3-2-1- Blastoff!, grades K-3; Sky Views, general audiences; Our Place in Space, general audience. Sat-Sun and school vacation weeks 1:30, 3 pm. $3 general; $2 children under 8; under age 4 are not admitted to the Planetarium.

Museum of Science, Route 28, Boston. (617) 723-2500; www.mos.org. Exhibit halls, daily 9 am-5 pm, Fri until 9 pm. $14, 60+ $12, children 3-11 $11. Planetarium, laser show or Omni Theater, $8.50, seniors $7.50, children 3-11 $6.50; evening $6, 60+ $5, children $4. Free Friday Night Stargazing, Gilliland Observatory atop museum's garage roof, on a first-come, first-served basis, weather permitting, 8:30-10 pm; visitors encouraged to attend the Fri 7 pm planetarium showing of The Sky Tonight.

Exhibit Hall: The Computing Revolution; A Bird's World; Dinosaurs: Modeling the Mesozoic; Cahners ComputerPlace; The Light House: Beaming, Bouncing and Bending Light; Messages; Human Body Connection; Science in the Park; Welcome to the Universe; Making Models; Natural Mysteries; The Virtual FishTank.

Mugar Omni Theater: Forces of Nature; Extreme; Roar: Lions of the Kalahari.

Hayden Planetarium: Permanent exhibits: Mission to Saturn, Journey to the Edge of Space and Time and The Sky Tonight. Planetarium shows: Mysteries of The Milky Way and Gravity Rules. Laser shows: Laser Metallica, Laser Pink Floyd: The Wall; Laser Rock 70s, Laser 80s, Laser Magic, Laser Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon.

Theater of Electricity: Lightning shows daily noon and 2 pm, additional show Fri 7 pm.

Providence Children's Museum, 100 South St., Providence. 273-5437. Hands-on activity center for children 1-11 and their families. Tue through Sun 9 am-6 pm. Open Monday holidays and school vacations. $5.50; members free. Admission free the first Sunday of the month and Fri 5-8 pm. Special programs: ZOOMzone, ages 5-11 experiment with hands-on math and science Thu, Sat 1-5 pm. Mother Goose, ages 3-5 make paper goose puppets and visit with her goose for songs, rhymes and stories Fri 9:10 am-2:20 pm. advance registration recommended. Walk-in registration if space available for $6 above the price of

admission. No Time To Waste, ages 5-11 join in a family comedy show to learn about the everyday choices they can make to help save the planet. Sun 10:30 am-1:15 pm.

Family Workshop: Airport Story, RISD Museum, 224 Benefit St., Providence. 454-6674. Ages 5-12 and parents look at Garden of Forbidden Fruits and find out the story behind the installation and select objects and put them together to tell a tale, Sun 3-4:30 pm. $8 includes admission; $3 members. 454-6510.

NATURE

Audubon Society's Environmental Education Center, 1401 Hope St., Route 114, Bristol. 245-7500. Starfish, hermit crabs and other sea creatures in aquarium; walking trail; 35-foot model of right whale. Mon-Sat 9 am-5 pm, Sun noon-5 pm. $5 general; $3 children 4-10; children 3 and under free. Children's Nature Crafts Program. Sat 10 am-noon.

PERFORMANCE

Blue's Clues, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 East Merrimack St., Lowell, Mass. (617) 931-2000, (978) 454-2299. Sat 10:30 am, 2 pm; Sun 1, 4:30 pm. $14.50-$26.50.

Bill Harley, Blackstone River Theatre, 549 Broad St., Cumberland. 725-9272. Storytelling and songs. Sat 11 am. $8, $6 child.

For Safety's Sake, Providence Public Library, 225 Washington St., Providence. 826-4807. Stories about healthy eating, visiting the dentist, fire safety and staying home alone. Fantasy Works Youth Theatre's ReActors -- Stories on Stage performance. Sat 2 pm.

STORY HOURS

Barnes & Noble, 1350 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick. 826-8885. Thu 10:30 am.

Barnes & Noble, 1311 West Main Rd., Middletown. 846-6737. Fri 10:30 am.

Barrington Books, 180 County Rd. Celebrating Freedom: Pilgrims Past and Present storyhour. Sun 2:30 pm.

Barrington Public Library, 281 County Rd. 247-1920. Thu 10 am for 3- to 5-year-olds.

Borders Books, Garden City Center, 190 Hillside Rd., Cranston. 944-9160. Fri 10:30 am. Craft follows.

Borders Books, 1212 South Washington St., North Attleboro. (508) 699-7766. For ages 3 and up Fri 10 am.

Brown University Bookstore, 244 Thayer St., Providence. 863-3168. Sat 11 am.

Newport Public Library, 300 Spring St. 847-8720, ext. 204. Thu 10, 11 am for 12-24 months old.

Rumford Library, 1392 Pawtucket Ave., East Providence. 434-8559. Thu 1:30 pm for ages 3-5.

THEATER

All Childrens Theatre, Vartan Gregorian School, 455 Wickenden St., Providence. 728-1222; www.inri.org.

Annie, Musical about a precocious orphan. Fri-Sat 7 pm, Sun 3 pm. $12, children $10. Closes Nov. 21.

Centella, Cinderella of the Islands, For ages 3-11. Sat 10:30 am, Sun 3 pm. $7, $5 child. Closes Sun.

The Sabbath Peddler, Temple Emanu-El, 99 Taft Ave., Providence. Temple Emanu-El Youth Theater performance of musical about a mysterious peddler who shakes up a small village. Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 11:30 am. $5 advance at the Temple office, $6 at the door.

ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS

Capron Park Zoo, Route 123, Attleboro. (508) 222-3047. Daily 10 am-4 pm. $3.50 general; $2 nonresidents ages 3-12 and 65 and older; children 2 and under free; Attleboro residents half-price.

Daggett Farm, Slater Park, 1 Armistice Blvd., Pawtucket. 728-0500, ext. 251. Daily 9 am-4 pm. Domesticated animals (not a petting zoo).

Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd. (exit 90 off Route 95), Mystic. (860) 572-5955; www.mysticaquarium.org. Savage Ancient Seas, set in the Cretaceous period, feel what life was like when dinosaurs roamed the earth; Ray Touch Pool, touch a gentle shark relative as they glide through the interactive exhibit. Return to Titanic; Noah's Flood & Ancient Shipwrecks, a look at Robert Ballard and his Institute for Exploration's recent deep sea archaeological expeditions to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 4,000 marine animals in 36 exhibits; deep sea journey; 30,000-gallon coral reef with eels and colorful fish; Exploring Our Ocean Planet with kid-friendly exhibits; Alaskan Coast, with beluga whale and seals; Challenge of the Deep, a multimedia deep ocean experience. Lions of the Sea show. Frogs, frogs from around the world. Swamp Things, about the function swamps serve in Louisiana's environment. PT 109 Courage Under Fire, about John F. Kennedy's legendary boat that sank in the Solomon Islands during World War II. Daily 9 am-6 pm; visitors may remain in building for one hour after closing. $16, 60+ $15; children 3-12 $11, children 2 and younger free.

New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, off Atlantic Avenue, Boston. (617) 973-5200 or www.neaq.org. Exotic seadragon exhibit; harbor seals exhibit/show; four-story ocean tank with giant sea turtles, sharks, moray eels, tropical fish, sea lions; three species of penguins; touch area where children may touch sea stars, hermit crabs and other New England tidepool creatures; Aquarium Medical Center. Mon-Thu 9 am-5 pm, Fri-Sun and holidays 9 am-6 pm. $15.50, 60+ $13.50, children 3-11 $8.50, children under 3 free.

Regal Reptiles, 425 Washington St., Providence. 277-9000. Combination exhibition and gift shop with hundreds of reptiles and invertebrates, including alligators up to 8 feet long and a 5,500-gallon alligator pond. Daily 11 am-7 pm. $5, $3 age 12 and younger.

Roger Williams Park Zoo, Roger Williams Park, off Elmwood Avenue, Providence. 785-3510, 751-0203 (TDD). Open daily 9 am-4 pm. $10, 62+ $8, children 3-12 $6, children under 3 free.

ETC.

The Blackstone Valley Polar Express, leaves from Cumberland. 724-2200, www.tourblackstone.com. Enjoy a reading of The Polar Express, a 90-minutes ride along the rails of scenic Blackstone Valley, a visit with Santa, hot chocolate and cookies. Sat-Sun 10:45 am, 1:45 pm. $25 plus $1 processing fee.

--FREE-- Children's Reading Circle, Partners Village Store, 999 Main Rd., Westport. (508) 636-2572. Children's reading and activity hour for ages 3-6. Thu 10:30-11:30 am.

Family Night, South Kingstown Parks and Recreation, 325 Columbia St., Peace Dale. 789-9301. Native American storytelling, drummimg, singing and dancing. Fri 7-8 pm. $5 South Kingstown residents, $8 nonresidents. Registration.

Holiday Festival of Lights, Edaville USA, 7 Eda Ave., Carver, Mass. (508) 866-8190, (877) 332-8455. Enjoy seasonal displays and lights while riding an authentic narrow-gauge train through a 1,300-acre cranberry plantation; amusement rides; Cranberry World Museum. Thu-Fri 4-9 pm, Sat-Sun 2-9 pm. $16, $14 ages 3-12 and 60+, free under age 3.

Santa Claus Arrives, Swansea Mall, Swansea. (508) 679-2543. Parade, entertainment, hay rides (noon-2:30 pm), hot chocolate and cookies. Sun 11:30 am.

Teddy Bear Tea (3rd annual), Bristol Historical & Preservation Society, 48 Court St., Bristol. 253-7223. Sun 1, 2:30 or 4 pm. $7 for society members, $10 nonmembers, $5 child. Nonmember family maximum $30, members family maximum $25. Reservations.