KIDS/SNEAK PEEK : JET LAB ROLLING OUT MARS ROVER FOR NIFTY DRIVING DEMONSTRATION.

Byline: - Nancy Hewitt

Mars has the distinction of not only being known as the Red Planet but also as the only planet, other than Earth, with its own vehicle - the Pathfinder Rover. Come and see this unusual vehicle and learn how it works at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday. John J. Callas from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will demonstrate how the vehicle travels over Mars' terrain.

Visitors will become part of a human obstacle course for the Rover to climb over at the May Family Discovery Center, Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission $7 adults; $5 seniors and students; $3.50 children ages 5 to 12; children under age 5 are free. Information, call [phone].

Exploring nature on foot

Take a leisurely stroll and marvel at the wonders of nature Sunday at Topanga Canyon Park. Explore local wildlife and examine native plants, including wild lilac, as you accompany a park docent on a nature walk.

After learning about the park's various forms of life, visit the nature center and get better acquainted with the mammal and bird collection. Meet at the bulletin board near the parking lot at the Trippet Ranch entrance at 1 p.m. Parking $5. Information and directions, call [phone].

A `Noteworthy' story

Children will delight in the narration of ``A Noteworthy Tale,'' as read by authors Brenda Mutchnick and Ron Casden. The story centers around a nefarious plot to put an end to music everywhere.

Not only will young ears hear an imaginative tale, but young minds will be taught the music of scales and begin to develop an appreciation for music. Readings are noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Los Angeles Children's Museum, 310 N. Main St., Los Angeles. Admission $5 adults and children over age 2.

Celebrate Abe's birthday

Come join the birthday celebration and make a stovepipe hat just like President Abraham Lincoln's between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday at the Los Angeles Museum, 310 N. Main St., Los Angeles. Admission is $5, adults and children over age 2.

Dinosaurs roam Earth again

Approximately 14 robotic dinosaurs are stomping, roaring and battling in the new dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum. These newest additions include a 15-foot mother Maiasaura, a duck-billed dinosaur, nurturing her nest of hatching eggs and babies; an Albertosaurus, a close relative to the Tyrannosaurus rex; an Euoplocephalus, an armored dinosaur; 22-foot Tenontosaurus, a dinosaur with a lizardlike tail; two dueling 13-foot Pachycephalosaurus and a pack of flesh-eating, warm-blooded Deinonychus attacking a Tenontosaurus.

Part of this exhibit features rare dinosaur fossils on display, including the remains of the only complete skeleton collected in California, a new Tyrannosaurus-like species and a working paleontology lab. Check out this lively exhibit, which opened Jan. 31 and runs through May 17, at the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Admission $8 adults; $5.50 students and seniors; $2 children ages 5 to 12; children under age 5 free.

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Photo: ``Dinosaurs!'' at the Natural History Museum includes full-size, animatronic creatures.