Friday. Little ones get a New Year’s party all their own at the Children’s Museum of Denver’s “Noon Year’s Eve” bash. The plaza outside the museum turns into a mini-Times Square, complete with a sparkly ball-drop – every hour, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., revelers can gather and count down to the drop. Sheets of bubble wrap everywhere simulate the sound of fireworks. The festivities continue inside the museum with art projects, performances and storytimes. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Children’s Museum of Denver, 2121 Children’s Museum Drive; 303-433-7444. Admission is $8 for guests ages 2 to 59, $6 for 1-year-olds and seniors age 60 and older. Visit mychildsmuseum.org to learn more.

Friday. Gather up the crew and head downtown for Denver’s New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza. Two identical fireworks displays will light up the city – an early show at 9 p.m. for the kiddos and a midnight welcome to 2011. All sorts of street entertainers will walk the mall to add to the atmosphere, including stilt walkers, balloon artists and magicians. The best part: All RTD public transportation is free after 7 p.m. tonight, so hop a bus or a light rail and forget about parking problems. Fireworks displays: 9 p.m. and midnight. The 16th Street Mall, Downtown Denver. Admission is free. For more information, go to visitdenver.com.

Friday. Experience a ski-town New Year’s in Breckenridge. The fun starts with a torchlight parade down the resort’s Peak 9, when skiers and boarders zoom down the mountain with lit torches – it’s visible from anywhere you can see the run. Back in town, rock group Yamn puts on an all-ages holiday show with openers The Shook Twins. The concert will pause at 9 p.m. so guests can run outside and watch Breckenridge’s annual fireworks display over the Ten Mile Range. Parade, 6 p.m.; concert, 8 p.m.; fireworks, 9 p.m. The parade is viewable from anywhere in town that Peak 9 is visible. Concert: Riverwalk Center, 150 W. Adams Ave., Breckenridge. Tickets are $25. Visit townofbreckenridge.com or call 970-547-3100 for more information.

Through Sunday. It’s the final weekend to take a dip in the Amazon at “Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches” at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Learn all about the Amazon’s diverse ecosystem, including plenty of tidbits about the South American river’s more ferocious denizens: piranhas, anacondas, electric eels and more. See how researchers do their work in the field, and explore the ways the river can be preserved. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.; 303-370-6000. Admission is $11 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. Visit dmns.org for more information.

Friday. It’s a Colorado kind of party: First National Bank’s New Year’s Eve Extreme Rodeo, going on at the Budweiser Events Center. The family-friendly show rings – or bucks – in the New Year with an evening of rough-ridin’ competition. Cowboys challenge each other in four events: bareback riding, saddle-bronc riding, bull riding and (yikes) freestyle bullfighting. 7:30 p.m. tonight. Budweiser Events Center, 5290 Arena Circle, Loveland; 970-619-4100. Tickets are $14-$27 for adults, available at comcasttix.com or at the door. Kids’ tickets are $8, including fees, if purchased at the box office. Visit beclive.com for more information.

Kathleen St. John

Through Jan. 2. The Denver Zoo is all aglow for the 20th anniversary of the park’s Zoo Lights. Light displays twinkle in the trees and along pathways, some in the shape of the zoo’s residents. Warm up at warming stations scattered throughout, and take a break for a live animal demonstration or a visit with elephants Dolly and Mimi. A couple of special events are left on the calendar, too: On Sunday, Zoo Lights celebrates Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve gets a wild twist with Zoo Year’s Eve. 5-9 p.m. daily. The Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St.; 303-376-4800. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors age 65 and older, $4 for kids ages 3 to 11. Denver Zoo members receive at $2 discount. Bring a nonperishable food item and get $1 off admission. Learn more at denverzoo.org.

Friday. The Tesoro Foundation hosts its annual Las Posadas celebration at The Fort. A tradition in Mexico and other Latin American countries, Las Posadas re-tells the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Christ was born. “Las posadas” means “inns” in Spanish — the last day of the festival is Dec. 24, the night Mary and Joseph bedded down in an innkeeper’s stable when they couldn’t find shelter elsewhere. Tesoro’s Las Posadas event includes free hot drinks and bisochitos, New Mexican shortbread cookies. 5-7 p.m. Friday. The Fort, 19192 Highway 8, Morrison; 303-697-4771. Admission is free. For more information, visit tesorofoundation.org or call 303-839-1671.

Wednesday the 29th. Disney-philes get a special present when the Colorado Symphony Orchestra presents “Disney In Concert.” Hear familiar tunes from the Disney movie catalog performed live, including songs from “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” “Mary Poppins” and more. It’s not just an instrumental concert, either — guest vocalists chime in with the lyrics. While the music plays, the audience takes in visual elements that incorporate original storyboard drawings with footage from the films. 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Boettcher Concert Hall at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis Streets. Tickets are $32-$85. Buy tickets and learn more at coloradosymphony.org, or call 303-MAESTRO.

Through Dec. 30. Kids on winter vacation probably aren’t thinking much about school, and would like to keep it that way, but it’s the last few days to catch “Schoolhouse Rock” at the Arvada Center. The show follows the story of a young teacher who gets his kids learning with snappy songs. Parents will get a dose of nostalgia, too, in songs from the original Saturday-morning cartoon like “Just a Bill” and “Interplanet Janet.” 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd.; 720-898-7200. Reserved tickets are $10, general admission tickets are $8. To buy seats in advance, call or visit arvadacenter.org

Through Jan. 2. Need to work off some holiday calories and get a brain boost at the same time? Head to the Denver Art Museum, where kids age 17 and younger are admitted free through Jan. 2. Have some “Adventures in Egypt” in honor of the museum’s “King Tut” exhibit, running through Jan. 9: Help prepare a model mummy and make crafts like fingerprint crocodiles and “gold” jewelry. Visit the Spanish Colonial galleries, as well, to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe with bilingual activities. Spanish-language museum tours start at 2 p.m. on Sundays. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. The Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Avenue Pkwy.; 720-865-5000. Adult admission is $10 for Colorado residents, $13 for nonresidents; student and senior discounts are available. “King Tut” tickets are $16.50-$30; they’re a separate charge. For more information, visit denverartmuseum.org.

Kathleen St. John