Pipes, sprayers and lots of water are available to Pittsburgh Children's Museum visitors to build a fountain. The Children's Museum is located on the North Side.

PITTSBURGH — The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh will be closed on Thursday for Christmas Day but will feature extra programs at other times during the holidays.

All programs and events are free with museum admission unless otherwise indicated.

Exhibits at the museum at 10 Children's Way, Allegheny Square, include "Tough Art" through Jan. 18, presenting the work of four artists who made art "tough" enough to withstand kid handling during a summer residency.

Studio gift making programs will continue through Tuesday and feature:

• Memories to Keep and to Give — Strike a pose in the studio with zany props for the silliest family portrait yet. Then design a frame using mosaic, collage and sculpture to take home.

• Create with Clay — Sculpt a unique gift from clay and have it glazed. Pieces will be fired and ready to pick up in a few weeks. Extra cost is $5 per child; register at the front desk.

• Eve of the Future: New Year's Eve Celebration — Create New Year's resolution bracelets all day Wednesday in the Studio. Write wishes for 2009 on colorful streamer bracelets, then be ready to shake them festively at the New Year's countdown to noon. Make a kazoo for noisemaking during the countdown. Futuristic face painting will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Clockworks workshops run from at 10:30 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Scheduled performances are:

• Joe Wos and Once Upon a Toon (r), storytelling and live cartoon illustrations, at 1, 2 and 3 Friday and Monday.

• Actor/storyteller Tim Hartman tells the story of southwestern Pennsylvania folk hero Joe Magarac at 1 and 2 Saturday.

• Live puppet performance by Millennium Marionettes at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Sunday. Puppet-making planned too.

• African puppet show, "How the Animals Came," and make a puppet after the show, 1 p.am. Tuesday.

• Family Dance Party noon to 2 p.m. Dec. 31.

Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The Children's Museum will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.

Admission is $9 for children 2 to 18 and senior citizens and $10 for adults; children younger than 2 are admitted free. Parking is $3 for members, or $5 for nonmembers in the museum's lots. On-street, metered parking is also available.

For more information, call 412-322-5058 or visit the Web site, www.pittsburghkids.org.