Spend time at local educational venues, parks, games, performances during spring time off

By Bill Ferguson Jr.

Spring break season is starting at schools, and if $4-a-gallon gasoline and the cost of hotels have you rethinking a faraway trip, keep in mind that Greater Cincinnati offers many destinations to keep students and families engaged.

Spring break will begin next week for some. With Easter coming later this year (April 17), some schools are planning a spring break and an Easter break. If you’d really like to get out of the house, spend a night or two in a local hotel. Take a hike in a park. From educational venues to the arts to parks to sports teams, there’s plenty to do in the next several weeks—one day at a time.

Anderson Ferry
1 Anderson Ferry Road, Riverside
Take your family — and car — across the Ohio River on the ferry, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Aronoff Center for the Arts
650 Walnut St., Downtown Cincinnati
Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations, March 15-27; Sidra Bell Dance New York, March 25-26; Disney Princess – The Concert, March 28; Jazzmeia Horn, part of Flow, April 1-2; An Evening with Fran Lebowitz, April 12; Foolsfest: An Evening of Eight 10-Minute Plays, April 12; Celtic Woman: Postcards from Ireland, April 14; Inside Out, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, April 15-16.

Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive, Walnut Hills
David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History, through May 15; Working Together: The Photographers of the Kamoinge Workshop, through May 15; The Paper Sculpture Manual; do it (home); One Each: Still Lifes by Cezanne, Pissarro and Friends, this Friday through May 8; Black & Brown Faces: Paying Homage To, March 25 through June 19.

Cincinnati Ballet (at the Aronoff Center for the Arts)
650 Walnut St., Downtown Cincinnati
Family Series: Snow White, April 7-10.

Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center
44 E. Sixth St., Downtown Cincinnati
One Region, Fourteen Cities, Twenty-Three Artists, through March 20.

Cincinnati Cyclones
100 Broadway, Downtown Cincinnati
Home games at Heritage Bank Center: Cincinnati Coneys Night, vs. Wheeling Nailers, this Friday; Field Trip Game, vs. Kalamazoo Wings, March 16; Beach Towel Giveaway, vs. Fort Wayne Komets, March 18; Pucks N Pups Night, vs. Fort Wayne Komets, March 19; Space Night, vs. Iowa Heartlanders, April 1; Star Wars Night, vs. Iowa Heartlanders, April 2; Fan Appreciation Weekend, vs. Indy Fuel, April 15

Cincinnati Museum Center
1301 Western Ave., Queensgate
The Science Behind Pixar, through April 24; The Beatles: Get Back — The Rooftop Concert, this Saturday; Ancient Caves (Omnimax Theater)

Cincinnati Nature Center
4949 Tealtown Road, Milford (Rowe Woods) or 6926 Gaynor Road, Goshen (Long Branch Farm & Trails)
See the many events available on the Nature Center’s calendar.

Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
962 Mount Adams Circle, Mount Adams
Rooted, March 8-20; Steel Magnolias, March 19-April 17; Becoming Dr. Ruth, April 9-May 15.

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
3400 Vine St., Avondale
Penguin Days, through Friday; Zoo Blooms, April 1-30; Breakfast with the Animals, April 6-Aug. 19; Tunes & Blooms, April 7-28; Zootanical, April 13; Easter Celebration, April 16.

FC Cincinnati
1501 Central Parkway, West End
Home games at TQL Stadium: March 19, vs. Miami; April 2, vs. Montreal

Great Parks of Hamilton County
10245 Winton Road, Springfield Township (headquarters)
Try a day of hiking or one of the many activities offered at the 21 parks and preserves in the Great Parks system.

Great Wolf Lodge
2501 Great Wolf Drive, Mason
Located next to Kings Island, the lodge contains an indoor water park to provide fun for all.

Krohn Conservatory (Cincinnati Parks)
1501 Eden Park Drive, Walnut Hills
Butterfly Show: Butterflies of the Nile, March 19-June 19.

Music Hall
1241 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine
Mozart & Mazzoli Premiere, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, this Friday and Saturday; Respect: A Tribute to Aretha Franklin, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, March 18-20; Symphonie Fantastique, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, March 25-27; Cynthia Erivo and the Cincinnati Pops, March 29; Bartok & Prokofiev 5, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, April 1-2; Silent Movies Made Musical with the Mighty Wurlitzer, April 7; Bronfman & La Mer, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, April 8-9; Spring Ball at Music Hall, April 9, Itzhak Perlman in Recital, April 10; CSO Proof: Black Being, April 14; Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles, April 16

Weston Gallery at Aronoff Center for the Arts
650 Walnut St., Downtown Cincinnati
Summerfair Select, through April 3; Sean Derry: The Breath of a Thing, April 15-June 5.