Weekender: Top Family Events for Seattle and the Eastside

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, it's a long weekend for many of us. We've got our list of top picks for family together time — from snakes to bees to Vikings — plus a list of ways to think about and work toward a society based around justice that MLK called the "beloved community." Have a good one.

• Honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and work toward the future he envisioned for our community at one of 15 local MLK events for famlies (Thursday–Sunday).
• Get a glimpse of the lavish art, furnishings and armor of the Mehrangarh Fort in the city of Jodhpur, India — they're on view at SAM for just a few more days (through Monday).
• Bundle up to explore the beach by flashlight and see what normally underwater sea critters are up to at night (Friday).
• Browse a bundle of terrific preschool options on the Eastside at ParentMap's free preschool fair and find the right fit for your family (Saturday).
• Join the Seattle edition of the Womxn's March under the theme building power (Saturday).
• Wait... bees live at the airport? Who knew? Find out about local colonies and the parallels between honey bee flight and human flight, plus taste some honey (Saturday).
• Get eye-to-eye with Viking life, communing with Viking re-enactors and checking out the Nordic Museum's collection of Viking artifacts (Saturday).
• Inspect all kinds of creepy crawlies and slithery snakes, plus check out interactive exhibits at the reptile and exotic animal show (Saturday–Sunday).
• Big flocks of our national bird like to hang out along the Skagit River in winter, and they said you could come and join them (Saturday–Sunday).
• All aboard for terrific choo-choo fun as Pacific Science Center hosts its annual model railroad show for train fans of all ages and those who love them (Saturday–Monday).
• Take a warm-up trip to the islands for special diver shows, hula story time, Hawaiian music and more in winter (Saturday–Monday).
• Embark on a free, one-mile, family-friendly discovery walk around the fascinating Cedar River Watershed (Sunday).
• Get out and explore one of Washington's amazing state parks! It's free to park in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. National parks are also meant to be free, but may be affected by the government shutdown (Monday).

More ideas for weekend or any-day fun:

Head for the hills to go tubing or sledding (but note that one local spot is closed).

Mark your calendar with these awesome events on our Northwest family bucket list.

When the rain pours down, play in the water inside at super-fun indoor swimming pools around town.

Catch a sun break at one of the best new playgrounds of 2018.

Raid our family fun calendar for dozens of great activities for every day of the week.