Lots of fun Purim activities

While you're still working on last-minute changes to your Purim costume, you can start preparing where in nature you want to go to fully enjoy the Purim holiday. Here are a few highlights for this year's celebrations: Neot Kedumim Did you know that before she would appear in front of King Ahasuerus, Queen Esther would cover herself with perfume made from myrrh? Her uncle Mordecai was proud of the light blue and purple royal clothes he wore, but do you think he was aware that these colors were produced by snails? And what was the true fate of the evil Haman? All of these questions will be answered and many anecdotes connected to Purim will be told at Neot Kedumim during the Purim holiday. Visitors will also get to see the multitudes of flowers growing in the forest and take a look at the ancient agricultural items scattered around the area, all of which have a connection with the Book of Esther. Guests can make bags of spices and colorful bracelets, and get henna tattoos. Date: March 2, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Price: NIS 40 (from age 4). Details: (08) 977-0770. Ashdod Art Museum The green submarine at the Ashdod Art Museum will hold exciting Purim activities, including tours, interactive games involving challenges facing planet Earth, and environmental superhero costume-making workshops. There will also be a fair with darts, sack races, walking on stilts, zodiac games, hula hoops, and a costume competition. Dates: March 1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; March 2, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Price: Children, NIS 25; adults, NIS 15. Tickets for five stations: NIS 25. Location: 8 Derech Eretz, Ashdod. Details: (08) 854-5180, (08) 956-8285. Buza Ice Cream Buza Ice Cream, which has six branches around the country, is opening its doors to the public on Purim and offering guided tours and workshops for kids. While people are busy tasting the incredible flavors, Buza owners will let them in on the secret magic behind the creation of their ice cream. Afterward, guests can watch a short film and learn how Buza makes its special ice cream. In addition, young guests can participate in a unique Young Scientists workshop in which they'll learn how all the various ice cream flavors are created. Dates: February 28, 11 a.m.; March 1, 1 p.m.; March 2, 11 a.m. Tours are 45 minutes long. Price: NIS 30. Preregistration required. 60-minute Young Scientists workshop to take place on March 3 at 10:15 a.m. Workshop price: NIS 60. Preregistration required. Details: 077-996-4537. Caesarea National Park The Caesarea Development Corporation and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority will once again be holding a fun-packed festival for the whole family at Caesarea National Park. Visitors will enjoy performances and colorful shows that will take place in the hippodrome, the palace courtyard and along the wall promenade. Theatrical and circus artists will perform for visitors, and there will also be giant soap-bubble art, magicians, acrobats and dancing. Date: March 3, 10 a.m. Price: Adults, NIS 39; children, NIS 24. Free for INPA members. Ben-Gurion's desert home David Ben-Gurion is famous for his khaki clothes, but did you know that he also wore tailored suits, ties and suspenders? Sometimes he even wore an IDF army uniform. All of these items and many others that used to hang in Ben-Gurion's closet will be on display in an exhibition titled “Inside Ben-Gurion's Wardrobe” on Purim at the first prime minister's desert home in Sde Boker. There will also be pictures of Ben-Gurion dressed up in “costumes” during his many travels. For example, there's one picture in which he's dressed up as a monk in Burma, another in which he's wearing a tarboosh in Turkey, a third in a suit, and a fourth where he's wearing his famous khaki outfit. Kids can join a mask-making workshop in which they can also dress up themselves as the first prime minister. Dates: February 28 and March 1, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors are requested to arrive no later than 3 p.m. Workshop: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Price: Children (up to 18), NIS 15; adults, NIS 20. Location: Ben-Gurion's Hut, Sde Boker. Details: (08) 656-0469. Aboriginal face-painting Gan-Garoo in the Valley of Springs (Emek Hama'ayanot), near Beit She'an, will hold a fun Australian Aboriginal face-painting workshop for Purim, using natural earth colors. Guests will also be invited to join a special, lively Purim tour of the park, in which they'll see how the Australian animals live. The guides will insert fabrications about the animals here and there in their descriptions. The guests need to identify which details are false, loudly shake their groggers, and then offer the correct information. Date: March 2 and 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tour begins at 1 p.m. Price: NIS 59 (under 2 free). Includes entry to Gan-Garoo and Gan Gu-Yura. Location: Nir David Details: (04) 648-8060. Escape room in nature The mission: To crack the Nazi code by using a new app to invite travelers to take a trip back in time. During the War of Independence the Egyptian army invaded Israeli territory but stopped at the Ad Halom Bridge. Why? Who was Shoshana? What did Mira Ben Ari leave behind? The answers to these questions can be found at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel at the Shikmim Field School. There will be family competitions, arts and crafts projects, and lots of good food. Date: March 2, 9 to 11 a.m. Price: NIS 60 (under 3 free). Location: Nitzanim Details: (03) 638-8688. Tel Afek The Yarkon National Park invites the public for a day of superhero activities at Tel Afek so that the wild animals will still have a place to live in the future. Visitors will learn all about wild animals that are slowly becoming extinct. Date: March 3, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Price: Adults, NIS 28; children, NIS 14. Free for National Park members. Translated by Hannah Hochner.

Lots of fun Purim activities

Purim activities for the whole family during the holiday.

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