This community events calendar is the place to find fun activities and things to do throughout Lewis County, including Centralia, Chehalis and beyond.

Delight in the fragrance of delicious gingerbread cookies you will bake with Makayla Roberson of Mak’s Snack Shack! While your cookies are baking in the oven, you will decorate previously baked gingerbread cookies with royal icing and fun toppings! One adult chef and one child chef (age 5-8) per registration can enjoy this winter celebration that is sure to awaken your internal baking show contestant!

Ring in the new year early at our Noon Year’s Eve Party on December 31. Celebrate with a family countdown, Times-Square style ball drop, and bubble dance party every hour from 10 am – 4 pm!
Experience the enchanting Winter Wonder Faire and discover the magical Fairy Hollow where kids can make wands, wings, and tiny things, create teacup cozy homes, investigate toadstools and fairy rings, craft a woodland crown, and even meet costumed fairy characters. Capture the magic of this special day with a family photo in our photobooth.
This is a popular one-day event, be sure to get your tickets online!
Winter Wonder Faire
• Meet costumed Tinker and Pirate Fairies and watch wacky Dr. Science experiments
• Make wands, wings, and tiny things
• Create tiny teacup cozy homes
• Silkscreen a shimmery souvenir in the printshop
• Craft a woodland crown in the Art Studio
• Skate in your socks
• Investigate toadstools and fairy rings at the Science Table
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Snap a keepsake picture in our photobooth
Costumed Characters Provided By: Emerald Kingdom Parties

Celebrate winter at Hands On with three days of frozen fun at Ice Adventures Frosty Fables, Jan. 12-14, 9am-5pm! Explore Yeti and Bigfoot lore, meet costumed characters, use real tools to shave ice, skate in your socks, learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers, investigate an ice cave hideout, and see exciting Dr. Science experiments with ice and fire.
Plus, special activities honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 15.
Online reservations recommended. Get your tickets online and save!
Special Guests & Activities
• Melt Arctic ice to see what’s inside
• Use real tools to shave ice
• Investigate Yeti versus Bigfoot lore and discover the differences between these large legends
• Skate indoors in your socks
• Meet and take a photo with costumed characters the Winter Queen, Summer Queen, and Ice Master from Emerald Kingdom Parties (Jan. 13-14, 10:00am-3:30pm)
• Learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers (Jan. 13-14, 11:00am-3:00pm)
• Explore Puget Sound sea creatures and look at specimens who can tolerate the ice-cold waters with the Estuarium
• See Dr. Science experiment with setting Ice on Fire (Jan. 13-14)
• Craft your own Bigfoot or Yeti slippers
• Explore an ice cave hideout and find a Yeti
• Create an Abominable Snowman to race (Jan. 13-14)
• Silkscreen a print or special keepsake (Jan. 13-14, print a free poster or purchase and make a tote bag, apron, onesie, or t-shirt for $12.)
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Take a picture at the photo booth (Jan. 13-14)
Winter Queen, Summer Queen, & Ice Master Costumed Characters presented by Emerald Kingdom Parties.
Snowshoeing activity presented by The Olympia Mountaineers.

Celebrate winter at Hands On with three days of frozen fun at Ice Adventures Frosty Fables, Jan. 12-14, 9am-5pm! Explore Yeti and Bigfoot lore, meet costumed characters, use real tools to shave ice, skate in your socks, learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers, investigate an ice cave hideout, and see exciting Dr. Science experiments with ice and fire.
Plus, special activities honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 15.
Online reservations recommended. Get your tickets online and save!
Special Guests & Activities
• Melt Arctic ice to see what’s inside
• Use real tools to shave ice
• Investigate Yeti versus Bigfoot lore and discover the differences between these large legends
• Skate indoors in your socks
• Meet and take a photo with costumed characters the Winter Queen, Summer Queen, and Ice Master from Emerald Kingdom Parties (Jan. 13-14, 10:00am-3:30pm)
• Learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers (Jan. 13-14, 11:00am-3:00pm)
• Explore Puget Sound sea creatures and look at specimens who can tolerate the ice-cold waters with the Estuarium
• See Dr. Science experiment with setting Ice on Fire (Jan. 13-14)
• Craft your own Bigfoot or Yeti slippers
• Explore an ice cave hideout and find a Yeti
• Create an Abominable Snowman to race (Jan. 13-14)
• Silkscreen a print or special keepsake (Jan. 13-14, print a free poster or purchase and make a tote bag, apron, onesie, or t-shirt for $12.)
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Take a picture at the photo booth (Jan. 13-14)
Winter Queen, Summer Queen, & Ice Master Costumed Characters presented by Emerald Kingdom Parties.
Snowshoeing activity presented by The Olympia Mountaineers.

Celebrate winter at Hands On with three days of frozen fun at Ice Adventures Frosty Fables, Jan. 12-14, 9am-5pm! Explore Yeti and Bigfoot lore, meet costumed characters, use real tools to shave ice, skate in your socks, learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers, investigate an ice cave hideout, and see exciting Dr. Science experiments with ice and fire.
Plus, special activities honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan. 15.
Online reservations recommended. Get your tickets online and save!
Special Guests & Activities
• Melt Arctic ice to see what’s inside
• Use real tools to shave ice
• Investigate Yeti versus Bigfoot lore and discover the differences between these large legends
• Skate indoors in your socks
• Meet and take a photo with costumed characters the Winter Queen, Summer Queen, and Ice Master from Emerald Kingdom Parties (Jan. 13-14, 10:00am-3:30pm)
• Learn how to snowshoe with Olympia Mountaineers (Jan. 13-14, 11:00am-3:00pm)
• Explore Puget Sound sea creatures and look at specimens who can tolerate the ice-cold waters with the Estuarium
• See Dr. Science experiment with setting Ice on Fire (Jan. 13-14)
• Craft your own Bigfoot or Yeti slippers
• Explore an ice cave hideout and find a Yeti
• Create an Abominable Snowman to race (Jan. 13-14)
• Silkscreen a print or special keepsake (Jan. 13-14, print a free poster or purchase and make a tote bag, apron, onesie, or t-shirt for $12.)
• Go on a scavenger hunt
• Take a picture at the photo booth (Jan. 13-14)
Winter Queen, Summer Queen, & Ice Master Costumed Characters presented by Emerald Kingdom Parties.
Snowshoeing activity presented by The Olympia Mountaineers.

Celebrate kindness & community! Honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with special art activities and collaborative projects, January 15th.
• Children’s book readings by Merritt D. Long, Author of My View from the Back of the Bus
• Create faux stained glass art pieces and add them to the collaborative art project
• Share your stories with bookmaking and cards
• Follow the timeline of MLK’s life
• Write notes of kindness on our helping hands yew tree
• Silkscreen a peace print
• Learn about Black History STEAM Heroes
• Enjoy a quiet and reflective reading room
Online reservations recommended. Get your tickets online and save!

In February, we promote healthy smiles by joining with our dental community to offer free dental screenings right inside the Museum! Kids can pretend to be the dentist in our Puget Sound Dental Office exhibit and meet Amazon of Olympia as Wonder Woman and as Captain Carter (see below for dates and times). From sewing a toothy pillow to exploring super-sized animal teeth (fangs and sabers of giant cats), families can enjoy fun and engaging dental health activities all month long.
• Explore the Puget Sound Dental Office in the Emergency! Gallery, open every day
• Register for a free dental screening
• Build toothbrush bots
• See some of the biggest teeth (smilodon, big cats, wildcats)
• Sew a monster mouth or tooth fairy pillow
• Explore different animal and insect teeth (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore)
• Play with electric bytes (connect circuits to power dental objects)
• Meet and get your photo taken with Amazon of Olympia (as Wonder Woman) Feb. 2, 5–7 p.m. & Feb. 24, 2–4 p.m. Amazon of Olympia (as Captain Carter) will be here Feb. 17, 2–4 p.m.
• Free Dental Screenings for kids every Saturday in Feb. from 2–4 p.m. & First Friday Night Feb. 3 from 6–8 p.m. Museum admission is also free with your screening. Reservations required. Call (360) 956-0818 ext 0. Screening Sponsor, Small to Tall Pediatric Dentistry with support from SPSCC Dental Assisting Program.
Check out our Dental Health Month page for more information and a complete list of sponsors.

Native Amphibian Workshop with Lewis County Stream Team!
> Educational Workshop from 10:30AM-11:30AM at Chehalis Timberland Library (400 N Market Blvd)
> Wetland tour from 12:00-1:00PM at the City of Centralia ponds (Meet at North Gold Street & Ham Hill Rd in Centralia at the gravel parking lot)
Join WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife guest speakers Dr. Max Lambert, herpetologist and senior research scientist, and Julie Tyson, aquatic research biologist. Learn more about native amphibian species and habitat! After the talk, join us in the field to tour a local wetland. Learn how to identify amphibian egg masses and habitat requirements. Please bring rubber boots and hip waders if you have them. Please dress warm.
Supported by Lewis Conservation District, Office of Chehalis Basin, TransAlta Centralia Coal Transition Board, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

February 7th – November 6th 2024: 1st Wednesday of the month
$250 for all 10 classes, $130 for a 5 class series, or $30 per class
6 pm – 8 pm PST
Grow Your Own Produce is a 10 class monthly series taught by permaculture expert Marisha Auerbach. Each class features seasonally-relevant information about planning, growing, maintaining, and harvesting food from your own vegetable garden.
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Each month, the class is designed to help you maximize your yields and efforts in the garden by providing an overview of key activities to engage in at the right time each month from February through November. We meet on the first Wednesday of each month through Zoom. Before the class meeting, participants will receive a collection of handouts supporting the key topics for the month with a garden checklist for the month ahead. We will discuss different subjects that are pertinent to the garden that month using slides and the month’s handouts as reference. There will be ample time each class session for questions. After each class, participants receive a video of the class and pdf of the slides.
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Marisha Auerbach has spent many years observing and interacting in her garden and in the gardens of the greater Pacific Northwest bioregion. She has been growing most of her own produce year ‘round for over the past decade. To learn more about Marisha, please visit her bio page. This is the 11th year that Marisha will be offering the workshop series.
2024’s schedule of Classes:
Wednesday, February 7: Planning, Design, & Framework
Wednesday, March 6: Indoor Seedstarting, Early Season Plantings, & Perennial Vegetables
Wednesday, April 3: Cole Crops, Greens, & Soil Building
Wednesday, May 1: Warm Season Crops, Edible Flowers, & Attracting Pollinators
Wednesday, June 5: Maintenance & Harvest
Wednesday, July 3: Berries, Herbs, & Water Catchment
Wednesday, August 7: Seedsaving & the Winter Garden
Wednesday, September 4: Putting up the Harvest
Wednesday, October 9: Garlic, Cover Crops, & Compost
Wednesday, November 6: Nourishing Soups, Wildlife in the Garden, & Planning for the Coming Year

In February, we promote healthy smiles by joining with our dental community to offer free dental screenings right inside the Museum! Kids can pretend to be the dentist in our Puget Sound Dental Office exhibit and meet Amazon of Olympia as Wonder Woman and as Captain Carter (see below for dates and times). From sewing a toothy pillow to exploring super-sized animal teeth (fangs and sabers of giant cats), families can enjoy fun and engaging dental health activities all month long.
• Explore the Puget Sound Dental Office in the Emergency! Gallery, open every day
• Register for a free dental screening
• Build toothbrush bots
• See some of the biggest teeth (smilodon, big cats, wildcats)
• Sew a monster mouth or tooth fairy pillow
• Explore different animal and insect teeth (herbivore, omnivore, carnivore)
• Play with electric bytes (connect circuits to power dental objects)
• Meet and get your photo taken with Amazon of Olympia (as Wonder Woman) Feb. 2, 5–7 p.m. & Feb. 24, 2–4 p.m. Amazon of Olympia (as Captain Carter) will be here Feb. 17, 2–4 p.m.
• Free Dental Screenings for kids every Saturday in Feb. from 2–4 p.m. & First Friday Night Feb. 3 from 6–8 p.m. Museum admission is also free with your screening. Reservations required. Call (360) 956-0818 ext 0. Screening Sponsor, Small to Tall Pediatric Dentistry with support from SPSCC Dental Assisting Program.
Check out our Dental Health Month page for more information and a complete list of sponsors.