The program is free and open to UofL faculty, staff and students and their families.

The Mardi Gras party will include showings of the New Orleans-based movie “The Princess and the Frog,” as well as stations at which children will be invited to make their own Mardi Gras masks and necklaces. Kids and parents will sample king cake, with prizes going to the people who discover the babies in the cakes. A magician will perform tricks and make balloon animals for the kids.

The movie will be shown at 1:30 p.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. in the planetarium dome. Seating is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Other festivities will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the science center.

Reservations by Feb. 14 are preferred. To make a reservation, email Alice Wissel or call 852-3533.