Children are happy to play outside in subzero temperatures. It’s the grown-ups who need to be lured into the cold.

So, kids, here are 10 family events to entice your parents to get out of the house and into the St. Paul Winter Carnival.

Just bundle them up and make them wear hats.

1. Ice Carving: Watch sparkling sculptures emerge from blocks of ice in Rice Park. Teams in the multiblock contest start at 9 a.m. Jan. 21 and wrap up for judging Jan. 22. The one-day single-block competition is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Jan. 24. Sculptures remain on display until they melt. Dusk is a magical time to visit, when everything twinkles in the floodlights.

2. Ice Skating: Glide under the towers of Landmark Center on the Wells Fargo WinterSkate rink. Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily during the carnival, except during daily private broomball sessions from noon to 1 p.m. and 5 to 6 p.m. For hours today through Wednesday, check 651-291-5608 or capitalcitypartnership.com.

Bring your own blades or rent skates for $2 (free for everyone Saturdays and every day for Wells Fargo customers who can show a credit/check card).

3. Snow Sculptures at State Fairgrounds: These are not your average snowmen. On Jan. 22 and 23, watch teams carve giant mounds of packed snow. Or show up between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Jan. 24 to navigate a giant snow maze and watch the judging at 12:30 p.m. Between noon and 2 p.m. Jan. 24, the Vulcan Krewe will offer free firetruck rides and sponsor a mini-medallion hunt.

4. Kids Parade: If you want to watch a parade, hit the King Boreas Grande Day Parade at 2 p.m. Jan. 23 or the Torchlight Parade at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 30. If you want to be in a parade, decorate a sled and walk around Rice Park as part of the new Kids Parade at 2 p.m. Jan. 24. Hang around until 4 p.m. for activities in Landmark Center, including face painting, games and a chance to meet a real princess and other carnival royalty.

5. Sleigh and Cutter Festival: For a scene out of Currier and Ives, head to the golf course on the west side of Lake Phalen and watch teams of ponies and horses pull vintage sleighs and cutters from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 24. Sorry, no public rides.

6. Fun Days at Rice Park: The giant inflatable slide is back at Rice Park from 4 to 10 p.m. Jan. 29 and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Jan. 30 ($2 per person; $10 all-day pass). Indoor entertainment Jan. 30 provided by music groups organized by such city festivals as Cinco de Mayo Fiesta.

7. Fire and Ice: Steel-bladed boats sail around an oval track on Lake Phalen at speeds of up to 60 mph as part of the second Fire and Ice iceboat races. Qualifying races are at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Jan. 30; 10 a.m., noon Jan. 31. Final race is at 2 p.m. Jan. 31.

8. Family Day at Lake Phalen: For the first time, members of the Minnesota Kite Association will gather at the south end of the lake to showcase their giant kites (these high fliers are so big the lines are anchored to cars). Also watch bicycle racing on ice and take your cross-country skis out on groomed trails. Festivities are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 30.

9. Winter Carnival Scavenger Hunt: Slip inside Central Library or Landmark Center to warm up any time during the carnival and pick up a brochure for the carnival scavenger hunt. Look for 10 items located within these two buildings. If you find them, enter a drawing for a prize. Also check out displays of old Winter Carnival memorabilia.

10. Art by Kids: Art by St. Paul elementary- and middle-school students will be displayed weekends throughout the carnival — 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at the A-Z Gallery in Lowertown, 308 E. Prince St., St. Paul. Then, grab a hot cocoa next door at the Black Dog Cafe and see a juried show of art by grown-ups that expresses the “fun, frivolity, spirt and joy” of the Winter Carnival.

Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.

Copyright 2010 Pioneer Press.