Seattle Expands Museum for Kids

The Seattle Children’s Museum opens its revamped and expanded facility on Saturday, three times bigger than the original 16-year-old center, and featuring eight major new exhibits.

The $4.15-million, 33,000-square-foot museum is located in the Center House at the Seattle Center--home of the 1962 World’s Fair and its famous Space Needle. All of the exhibits are original designs and include “The Mountain and the Forest,” which focuses on nature in the Pacific Northwest and has a two-story-high mountain; “Global Village,” illuminating family life in Ghana, Japan and the Philippines, and “Cog City” (pictured left), filled with pulleys, pipes, mazes and levers designed to show how mechanical systems work. The museum is open seven days a week, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $4.50. Information: (206) 441-1768.

Aeroperu Offers Flights to Iquitos

Aeroperu is scheduled to begin service from Los Angeles International Airport to the city of Iquitos in northern Peru on Dec. 6 and is offering promotional fares through Dec. 31. Round-trip fare from L.A. to Iquitos, via Miami, is $749. Regular fares will be $949. Departures are on Wednesdays. Travelers may continue on to Lima. Aeroperu: (800) 777-7717.

New Franc Notes in Switzerland

Switzerland will launch new bank notes designed to make counterfeiting more difficult, starting with a 50-franc note next week, the Swiss National Bank said.

According to the Reuter’s news agency, for the first time, a Swiss note will bear the portrait of a woman--the 50 Swiss franc (worth about $43) bill appearing Tuesday honors artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp, who died in 1943. A 20-franc note will follow in a year and the remaining denominations--10, 200, 1,000 and the most widely used note, 100--will come in six-month intervals. The 500-franc note will be discontinued and a new 200 note will be issued.

Mexico Information Via 24-Hour Fax

Free tourist information is now available 24 hours a day from FaxMeMexico, a new service provided by Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism. By calling (503) 385-9282, travelers can obtain current information on transportation, sightseeing, shopping or dining for beach and inland destinations; lodging listings for more than 400 AAA-rated hotels, plus information on entry requirements, weather and festivals.

Winter Classes at National Parks

The educational organizations at Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks are taking registrations for winter classes, and Yosemite also is offering several fall courses.

Programs at both parks focus on natural history. Fall classes at Yosemite include “Drawing in Yosemite Valley” (Oct. 5-8), “Autumn Light Photo Workshop” (Oct. 13-15) and “Landscape and Language” (Oct. 13-15).

Seminar fees run about $140 for three days; rooms are additional, about $50 a night, but there is no charge for camping. The 1996 season of classes begins in February. Information: P.O. Box 545, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389; tel. (209) 379-2321.

At Yellowstone, winter classes begin in January and will include “How Mammals Survive Winter,” “Backcountry by Ski” and “Yellowstone’s Winter World.” Courses run one to five days and start at $45-$50. Heated log cabins are available at $10 per person, per day. Information: P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190; tel. (307) 344-2294.