The Great Valley Museum is hosting the eighth annual Wild Planet Day family science festival on Saturday, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Science Community Center on the Modesto Junior College West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Ave., Modesto. Admission for the day is $5 per person and $20 for a family of up to six people. Children 4 years and under are admitted free.

This fun-filled fest features hands-on science activities for all ages, including a celebration of California’s brown bear with informational talks by Ranger Shawn Estes, an interpretive specialist from the Stanislaus National Forest.

Wild Planet Day features family friendly activities for all ages including arts and crafts, dissection of owl pellets and squid, chemistry experiments, giant bubbles, rock painting, solar telescopes on the roof-top observation deck, and a chance to make a bird feeder. Smokey Bear will be on hand to raise fire prevention awareness.

The MJC Anatomy club is hosting a bone extravaganza, as Enochs High School’s CSI students are offering hands-on scientific experiments for children, and demonstrations of 3-D printing are available. Also available for viewing are GVM’s reptiles and a huge African tortoise, Miss Piggy.

The Great Valley Museum’s Planetarium is offering shows, and museum guests can view the Science on a Sphere with displays of current weather, air traffic and earthquakes, the surface of the moon or the planets in our solar system.

The event is a fundraiser for the Great Valley Museum, a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing science and natural history information to adults and children of all ages through classes, programs and exhibits. The museum serves the families of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and surrounding counties.

For more information on the Wild Planet Day science festival call (209) 575-6196. Additional information on the Great Valley Museum and ticket purchases are available online at www.mjc.edu/gvm and at www.facebook.com/GreatValleyMuseum.