Truckin'

SUN 1/11

Mike Gorman

To the trucks!

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More About

• Dan Sweeney
• Audra Schroeder
• Mitch Spero
• Wildlife
• Nature and the Environment

Why do little boys obsess over big toys? The bright-yellow construction vehicle, the fire engine -- these have been popular for decades. But wherefore this obsession? What, in the end, is the dealio? Perhaps psychological experts could do better to explain it than we mere journalists.

So let's ask one.

"Our society in general tends to socialize boys to value power, size, and control," says Dr. Mitch Spero, director of Child and Family Psychologists in Plantation and Weston. "When we think of vehicles on the road, we think of the largest vehicles as being the most powerful. For example, the bulldozer having the ability to push other large vehicles/objects out of the way. The dump truck having the ability to move large amounts of sand or soil... it's about socializing boys to value power."

Huh. Well, you want your son to be one of the boys, don't you? Teach Junior to value the important things in life at T.Y. Park (3300 N. Park Rd., Hollywood) from noon to 4 p.m. Kids age 10 and younger can play on all sorts of heavy equipment, from construction vehicles such as bulldozers, cranes, and dump trucks to assorted other big darned people-carriers such as buses, fire trucks, and antique army equipment. Admission is $1. Call 954-985-1980. -- Dan SweeneyHotel Bug

Our house, in the middle of our tree

SUN 1/11 Do you think grasshoppers, beetles, ants, or spiders are picky about the places they live? Do you think they feng shui? Perhaps there is a home catalog for bugs that we don't know about, like IKEA, but featuring furniture with more leg room -- or at least room for more legs. These are pressing questions, we know. And now, you have a chance to build a bug house -- ranch style, Spanish colonial, you name it -- during the Artful Family Workshop at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth). Just pick a bug, any bug, and design a house you think suits it best, using a variety of paints, woods, papers, metals, and inks. The workshop starts at 2 p.m. and is free with admission to the museum. Call 561-582-0006. -- Audra Schroeder