THE SHORT SET: A DELUGE OF FUN

If the crowds and the timed-entry tickets have kept you and your little explorer from clambering all over Noah’s Ark at the Skirball Center, now is a great time to visit. Reservations are still a good idea for the weekend, but a call the day before should do the trick. And the museum’s open until 5 p.m. on weekdays, so an after-school visit can be a spontaneous adventure. The wooden wonder takes up 8,000 square feet, and the entire thing is touchable and even climbable. The fun starts with a flood, where kids can make thunder and rain at the giant “Storm Wall.” Then load the animals, two by two, onto a conveyor belt. Hit the rope ladder, where you’ll encounter delightful creations such as kiwi birds made from old oil cans, a macaroni-headed hedgehog and a zebra with a piano mane (and with all those, it’s only natural to find rubber animal poop). Nipper was too afraid to climb the rope ladder, but this fun mom was up there until a polite staff member told us it was time to go home. $10 general admission, $5 for kids 2-12, Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., (310) 440-4500; www.skirball.org

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-- YoMama@latimes.com