Pretty soon it's going to be Christmas break from school, and brains will completely turn off for almost a month. Better get the kids interested in science and learning beforehand. The weekend is packed with a dinosaur sleepover at Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life, and an ecosystems talk at the Mont L. Bean Museum...Oh, and Toy Story 3.

THURSDAY

All Things Ecosystems

The Mont L. Bean Museum has animal shows daily with free admission. This Thursday, it's all about ecosystems. Stick around and check out the museum while you're there, it's open till 9 p.m.

Monte L. Bean Museum, 7:30 p.m. Brigham Young University Click here for more info

FRIDAY

Toy Story 3

Ok, we know Toy Story isn't science, but we've packed so many ways to learn in this blog we thought we should also give the kids a break. No better way to spend it than watching Woody and Buzz on their latest, donated to a daycare.

Main Library, 3 to 5 p.m. 210 E. 400 South, SLC, 801-524-8200 Click here for more info

Dinosnorzzz

Overnight at Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life, including tours, snacks, the chance to play paleontologist, movie and, of course, breakfast the next morning. Register by Thursday! $29 to $35 adults, $39 to $45 kids.

Museum of Ancient Life, 7 p.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday 2929 N. Thanksgiving Way, Lehi Click here for more info

SATURDAY

Science on campus

NOTE: DUE TO LIMITED SEATING, REGISTRATION IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT. OTHER THAN MEDIA, WALK-INS WILL NOT BE ACCOMMODATED.

The U's largest recruitment event is back. Hundreds of high school kids from Utah and Idaho are invited to explore majors and science careers in addition to attending workshops and witnessing experiments by U faculty.

Here's just a couple of the workshops on the schedule schedule:

Animal Orientation- Professor Neil Vickers talks on the ways animals, mostly invertebrates, get from point A to point B. 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. in the Skaggs Biology Building, Room 220

Explosives and Explosions- Boom! Professor Chuck Wight explains why explosives...explode. He'll even do some demonstrations, so plug your ears. 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. in the Henry Eyring Building, Room 2008

Cosmic Rays in the Desert- Physics and astronomy expert Julie Callahan shows cosmic rays in cloud chambers and tells all about the Telescope Array cosmic ray observatory outside Delta, Utah. 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the INSCC Building, Room 110

Demolicious Physics- Variety hour. Adam Beehler and James Fletcher will cover topics ranging from gravity to the properties of air. Plus, you'll get to see Beehler shoot a ping-pong ball through three soda cans. 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the James Fletcher Building, Room 103

Science Day at the U 8 a.m. check in at the University of Utah Olpin Union building Click here for more info