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BEST BETS: June 17 to 23, 2011

Visit Japan without a passport

Beginning Saturday, visitors to the Strong's National Museum of Play can discover the similarities and differences between Japanese and American kids in a new, interactive exhibit, "Five Friends from Japan: Children in Japan Today." Pictured is a visitor trying on traditional Japanese fashions in "Sakiko’s Bedroom." An opening day family celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday includes Japanese crafts, martial arts and drumming. Visit museumofplay.org for details.

 

Jazz Fest continues at venues in Rochester
The Jazz Festival wraps up Saturday. Tickets for tonight's k.d. lang (left) performance at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre are still available at the door. Elvis Costello's concert Saturday at Eastman Theatre is sold out. Free shows this weekend include 38 Special, Trombone Shorty and G. Love & Special Sauce (known for the great song "Kiss and Tell"). Visit rochesterjazz.com for all the details, including the full artist lineup.

Stop and smell the roses
The Maplewood Rose Celebration is Friday to Sunday in Maplewood Park, designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the creative mind behind New York City’s Central Park. Dedicated in 1951, the rose garden in Maplewood holds more than 300 varieties in 5,000 rose bushes. Workshops, vendors, tours and kids’ activities are part of the event. It kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday with a citywide block party on the Driving Park Bridge. For a complete schedule, visit maplewood.org or cityofrochester.gov.
 

On the big screen
"Green Lantern" stars Ryan Reynolds as a test pilot who is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping the peace within the universe. In the family comedy "Mr. Popper's Penguins," the life of a businessman (Jim Carrey) begins to change after he inherits six penguins. As he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel. Find movie times.

The power is in you
Energize It, a new exhibit at the Rochester Museum & Science Center, is a highly physical experience to show visitors the choices they have about energy use. It also dispels misconceptions by highlighting facts and myths. Interactive areas of the 3,500-square-foot exhibit involve hydro, wind and solar energy. There is a computer kiosk game in which the player can power a city. A bike generator shows how much energy it takes to light incandescent, fluorescent and LED light bulbs. Two cars compete in a solar light raceway, and there is a wind turbine experiment area. Visit rmsc.org.

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