ETC: Explore Great Lakes stories at museum’s virtual book club

The National Museum of the Great Lakes is inviting readers from across the region and beyond to explore Great Lakes stories through its 2026 Great Lakes Book Club — a free, virtual lunchtime series featuring guided discussions of three engaging books.

Held monthly over Zoom, the book club offers participants the opportunity to join the conversation or just observe the discussion. Museum educator and book club curator Faith Currie will lead each session, which begins at noon.

“Our book selections this year are ever-timely stories readers will relate to and that we hope they’ll be eager to discuss with friends and family,” Currie said. “They include a compelling novel about the early 1900s mining community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, a nonfiction history covering Great Lakes and Great Black Swamp foodways from past to present, and a new collection of essays following Great Lakes watershed flora and fauna through the seasonal changes of the year.”

The 2026 Great Lakes Book Club schedule includes:

• Feb. 3: “The Women of the Copper Country,” a novel by Mary Doria Russell.
• March 3: “A Culinary History of the Great Black Swamp: Buckeye Candy, Bratwurst & Apple Butter,” by Nathan Crook.
• April 7: “Near the Forest, By the Lake: Discovering Nature Close to Home,” by Angela E. Douglas.

Participation is free; registration required. Copies of all three selections are available at the NMGL Museum Store.

Visit nmgl.org/events for registration details and more information.

Presidents’ Day 5K

Put on your favorite patriotic and presidential garb and run or walk the Presidents’ Day 5K on Saturday, Feb. 14, at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont.

The Fremont Elite Runners Club is organizing the third annual Presidents’ Day 5K, which begins at 10 a.m. Registration will be held from 8:30-9:45 a.m. in the museum.

Day-of registration costs $30. The runners club donates proceeds from the run to Hayes Presidential.

Runners and walkers are welcome. The race, which is 5 kilometers or 3.1 miles, begins at the entrance to the museum and will follow a course in the area. Prizes will be awarded for first-place finishers in the men’s and women’s categories and for the best costume.The first 100 registered participants will receive a participation gift. Refreshments will be served in the auditorium.

On the morning of the run, the main entrance to Spiegel Grove will be closed from 9:45-11:30 a.m. and the Jefferson Gate off Hayes Avenue will instead be used for vehicle traffic during that time.

For information, call 419-332-2081, or visit rbhayes.org.

Zoo to celebrate  Happy Hearts Day

 Watch your favorite animals enjoy their Valentine’s Day treats on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Toledo Zoo.

The daylong celebration includes a number of special events including:

• 10:30 a.m.: Takin enrichment, Tembo Trail; Brown bear enrichment, Komminsk Family Kodiak Ridge; Sea lion training demo, Arctic Encounter; Barn owl training demo, Nancy L. & Martin Davidson Barnyard.

        11 a.m.: Gorilla enrichment, Kingdom of the Apes; Tiger enrichment, Tiger Terrace; Komodo dragon feed, ProMedica Museum of Natural History; Elephant enrichment, Tembo Trail.

• 11:30 a.m.: Wolf enrichment, Arctic Encounter; Pied tamarin enrichment, Nature’s Neighborhood; Primate enrichment, Primate Forest; Barnyard enrichment, Nancy L. & Martin Davidson Barnyard.
• Noon: Meet a lizard, Nature’s Neighborhood.
• Noon-2 p.m.: Make and bake pet treats to take home, Nature’s Neighborhood.
• 12:30 p.m.: Meet an armadillo, Nature’s Neighborhood.
• 1 p.m.: Vulture enrichment, Vulture Exhibit; Otter enrichment, Tembo Trail; Dingo enrichment, Tiger Terrace;  Aquarium tank feed, Aquarium.

• 1:30 p.m.: Orangutan enrichment, Kingdom of the Apes; Polar bear enrichment, Arctic Encounter; Red panda training demo, Primate Forest.

        Learn more at https://www.toledozoo.org/events/happy-hearts-day.