UTICA, N.Y. -- The FUNTRAK Model Train Display is an event that's been chugging along at the Oneida County History Center since 1994. The display is up every winter break.
"Well it's just a nice quiet time of year," said Oneida County History Center Community Outreach Coordinator Rebecca McLain. "We know a lot of families are off from work, kids are home from school. So it's just a nice time of year, and we're pretty quiet too, and invite a different community in to share this with us."
A few minutes away on Thursday was another annual family-friendly event, "Art Alive! Family Day" at Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute.
The hope is to connect kids to the museum through craft-making.
"This Asian New Year it's the Year of the Pig, and so the kids are making cards with origami faces and they are making fortune and then lanterns to welcome the light as the days get longer," said Museum of Art Education Director April Oswald.
These now-traditional events bring in people who may not have visited before.
"Every year we constantly get people [saying], 'Oh I've never been here before'. We're here year-round, and [have] a lot of different things to do so we invite everyone to come down," said McLain.
"This is, I think, a great chance to get them together and have them understand, no matter what age you are, you can come to the museum and have a great time," Oswald said.
Admission is free for both events.
The model train display is continuing through Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Oneida County History Center.
Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute has four Art Alive! events each year.
A few other things families can check out in Utica during winter break are: