KIDS/SNEAK PEEK : PICTURE YOURSELF AS WINNER IN WRITING, DRAWING CONTEST.

Byline: - Nancy Hewitt

Do you like to draw? Do you like to write? Are you a kid in kindergarten through third grade? If so, the folks associated with the weekday television series ``Reading Rainbow'' invite you to enter the program's fifth annual Young Writers and Illustrators contest.

Here's the deal: You must use your imagination to create your own picture book, then submit it to KCET, 4401 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif., 90027. All children entering work will receive a certificate of achievement from actor LeVar Burton, who hosts ``Reading Rainbow.''

First prize is a computer and printer, plus a set of ``Reading Rainbow'' videos and books. Second prize is a VCR and ``Reading Rainbow'' videos and books. Each winner's school and library also receive the set.

Pick up contest rules and entry forms through January at KCET. Information: [phone].

Christmas spirit

While Mom and Dad shop, kids can get into the holiday spirit viewing a delightful video at 7 tonight at Zany Brainy.

Revisit Belle, the Beast and their enchanted friends in the sequel ``Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.'' Or, see how the Rugrats celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas in their holiday videos being shown at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Stores are in Thousand Oaks at Northgate Center, 111 S. Westlake Blvd., Suite 101, [phone]; Pasadena, Hastings Village, 3393 E. Foothill Blvd., [phone]; and Valencia, Town Center Drive, 24201 Valencia Blvd., [phone].

Mining history

Relive the Gold Rush days and learn about the colorful history of the towns of the gold country when author Elaine Zorbas lectures at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Mary Pickford Education Center at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. Zorbas will focus on the history of Fiddleton, Calif.

Special admission is $4 for members, $5 for nonmembers. The museum is located at 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. Information and registration: [phone], Ext. 317 or 234.

Holiday classic

Usher in the holiday season and enjoy some quality time with the family by attending Creative Play Ground's ``The Gift,'' an adaptation of O. Henry's ``The Gift of the Magi.''

Admission is $7, $5 for children age 4 and under. The production is staged at 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Jan. 17 at the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks' Encino Community Center, 4935 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Information: [phone].

Fun look at history

Kids age 5 and older can learn more about the archeology of Israel and the Near East at the Ziffren Discovery Center at the Skirball Cultural Center.

Plenty of activities await inquisitive youngsters, including the computer game ``Dig It!'' and a chance to actually handle the tools of the archeologist. Kids can also rub their names in an ancient alphabet and play lots of cool games.

The center is located at 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles. General admission is $8; $6 members and students. Information: [phone]. For tickets only: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Children who enter the Young Writers and Illustrators contest will receive a certificate from LeVar Burton, left, of ``Reading Rainbow.''