Before you hear how bored your kids are, get out to Niabi Zoo for a day of animal exploration and family fun.

A visit to the zoo lasts about two hours, depending on the age of the child and how many trips you take on the carrousel and train.

New food options make it easy and more nutritious to have lunch at the zoo.

Insider tip: Come to the zoo right at 10 a.m. to beat the mid-day heat and see the animals in the morning when they are most active. Gates open at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Final admission each day is 4 p.m.

Become a member to beat the summer boredom and get in free for a full year. Click here to see all the great membership perks.

KIDS' WILD FEST IS ON JUNE 20..

The annual event is back on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. It's a day just for kids where they can act like a monkey, do fun activities and visit the vendor booths. The event is free for zoo members and regular zoo admission applies. No RSVP required.

WORLD GIRAFFE DAY AT NIABI ZOO.

Sunday, June 21, 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

World Giraffe Day is an initiative of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), celebrating the longest-necked animal, on the longest day of the year.  Niabi is hosting games and activities and offering a chance to win a giraffe encounter.

Public giraffe feedings are 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $4 a person and can be purchased at the front gate or with cash at the giraffe platform.

The Society of Gilders, in partnership with the city of Pontiac, IL will hold the grand opening of The Museum of the Gilding Arts Saturday, June 6^th at 11:00 am at 217 N. Mill St. in downtown Pontiac, IL.

The Museum of the Gilding Arts is a one-of-a-kind museum dedicated to the art of gilding and the history of gold beating.  The museum includes displays on "What is Gilding?", "How Gold Leaf is made", "Where do you see gilding?", and "How to gild."  Also featured is a recreation of the M. Swift & Sons factory, a gold leaf manufacturing company founded in Hartford, CT in 1887.  The museum currently has a gallery exhibit of works of art by members of The Society of Gilders as well as an interactive piece that allows visitors to try their hand at gilding.

Naomi Lipsky, President of the Society of Gilders, remarked, "By creating the Museum of the Gilding Arts, we have not only saved a vital remnant of gilding history, the Swift gold-beating factory, from extinction, but we are opening a window into the gilding arts for all the public to see."  Part of the mission of The Society of Gilders is sharing the knowledge of gilding with the public and passing their techniques along, unlike guilds of the past that historically guarded their secrets.  The Museum of the Gilding Arts helps to even further their mission.

As part of the day's festivities, Dr. Francis Lestingi, member of The Society of Gilders and calligrapher, fontographer, sign artist, and professor emeritus of physics and history of science at the State University College at Buffalo, NY will give a lecture entitled, "Why We Love Gold" at 1:00 pm on the 2nd Floor of the Historic Livingston County Courthouse.  This lecture is open to the general public and is free of charge.

Gold has been used for commerce, decoration and adornment since the beginning of recorded history.  The treasures of the pyramids reveal a very sophisticated understanding of how to prepare and apply gold leaf, and the gold on tomb walls and sarcophagi is as bright and gleaming as it was when first applied several thousand years ago.  Gilders of today are still using some of these same methods and the Society of Gilders, established in 1986, strives to keep the tradition of gilding alive and pass along the knowledge of the art form to others.

For more information about the art of gilding, gold leaf and more, visit SocietyofGilders.org.  To plan your trip to The Museum of the Gilding Arts, contact the City of Pontiac Tourism Department at (815) 844-5847 or VisitPontiac.org.

Quad Cities - On June 13-21, more than twenty museums from across the Quad Cities region will welcome visitors for a week-long adventure of fun activities, great discoveries, and exploration.  Don't miss the first-ever Quad Cities Museum Week!  Information on participating museums and their events can be found at www.qcmuseumweek.com.

Quad Cities Museum Week is for everyone!  Enjoy this celebration of the region's museums and participate in special activities, exhibits and promotions during this fun-filled week.  Each museum features its own, unique theme, history, galleries, and exhibits.  Come and discover these wonderful gems!

Area museums also encourage you to tweet and post about your museum experiences on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Use hashtag #QCMUSEUMS!

What you can expect to find:

·        Underground Tunnel Tour - Deere-Wiman House

·        Emancipation and Its Legacies Exhibit - Davenport Freemont Library

·        Driving Tour - Buffalo Bill Museum, Buffalo Bill Cody Homestead, Dan Nagle Walnut Pioneer Village, Alexander Brownlie Sod House

·        Behind the Scenes Art Tours - Augustana College - Augustana Teaching Museum of Art

·        Catich Gallery Art Exhibition - St. Ambrose University

·        Buckskinners Rendezvous and House Tours - Colonel Davenport House

·        Archives & Communities' Education Display - Davenport School Museum

·        Rainforest Exhibit and Kids Yard Sale - Family Museum

·        Highlight Tour, Free Family Day, PechaKucha Night presentation, Print Sale - Figge Art Museum

·        A Look at the Book Exhibit - German American Heritage Center

·        Guided House Tours - Hauberg Center

·        History Presentations - Black Hawk State Historic Site - John Hauberg Indian Museum

·        Kids Scavenger Hunt and truck films - Iowa 80 Trucking Museum

·        Presidents of the Continental Congress manuscript exhibit - Karpeles Manuscript Museum

·        Rock Island Arsenal Exhibit, D-Day 3D Documentary, Family Science Night - Putnam Museum

·        Masonic Temple and chiropractic museum self-guided -  Palmer College of Chiropractic

·        Made in Rock Island County Exhibit - Atkinson-Peek Historical House- Rock Island County Historical Society

·        "Vietnam War" Exhibit - Rock Island Arsenal Museum

"Even if you can't make one of the special events or activities taking place, the museums are open and ready to welcome you all during Museum Week and throughout the year," says Charlotte Doehler-Morrison, VP Marketing & Communications, Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  "This is a great opportunity to spend time exploring our wonderful museums with families and friends."

Quad Cities Museum Week was created through collaboration between area museums and the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.  The event is designed to showcase the wealth of museums in the Quad Cities region and to create a greater awareness about what each museum has to offer to a variety of audiences throughout the year.

The unpredictable nature of water media fused with powerful design principles will be featured at the Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio during the month of July, with an exhibit of local artist Robert Zeidler's transparent watercolor paintings. Bob has worked in the graphic arts field and advertising for over 40 years and you can definitely see the influence in his paintings. Because of that background, his style translates well into the transparent watercolor medium, with emphasis on simplified, bold, colorful shapes.

As an example, he chooses one painting in the collection to showcase his process. Included are a black & white compositional sketch, a quick gestural thumbnail, several "warm-up" paintings, and then the finished piece where it all comes together in a semi-abstract style. It's interesting to understand his methodology and how he manages to "loosen up before the performance" as he puts it.

About his color choices, Zeidler says, "I don't really think about it much." Interesting, since they are unusual and hard to describe. He goes on, "If my composition is strong and the values are arranged correctly, I can use about any color I want. Sometimes I use only two colors; other times I use them all. That's half the fun of watercolor. Since the paint is fluid, it creates new colors on its own; colors that I could never mix or even imagine left to my own devices. This helps keep the painting fresh and interesting, as well as allowing the viewer to see something new each time."

Robert Zeidler lives in Davenport, Iowa, and is a signature member of the Iowa Watercolor Society. He's had paintings accepted in national juried competitions, and received many awards.

The Beréskin Fine Art Gallery & Studio is located in the Bucktown Center for the Arts, 225 East 2nd Street, Suite 104, in Davenport, Iowa, and is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 11am to 6 pm; open until 9 pm every Final Friday. For additional information contact Gallery Director Pat Bereskin, bereskinartgallery@gmail.com or at www.bereskinartgallery.com Telephone is 563-508-4630.