World of ants on display

World of ants on display
Six colonies of live ants mesmerize kids of all ages in the fascinating exhibit "Ants: Hidden Worlds Revealed" at the California Academy of Sciences in downtown San Francisco.
Each colony displays distinctive nest building and food collecting behaviors.
Four of the species -- Harvester ants, Carpenter ants, Honeypot ants and Argentine ants -- are commonly found in California. The other two species are the Leaf Cutter ants from South America and Army ants from parts of Africa and the Americas.
The exhibit also teaches about the highly complex social structures of the ant colonies and the cutting edge research of academy scientists.
Ants will run through April.
For more information, call (415) 321-8000 or visit www.calacademy.org.
Hotel caters to stars
The Hotel de Russie in Rome became home to the cast of "Ocean's Twelve" during the movie's filming in late May and early June.
To prepare for the celebrities, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Julia Roberts, the hotel was given a "technology makeover."
Televisions in cast and crew members' rooms were replaced with 42-inch flat TVs, as well as DVD recorders.
Clooney stayed in the hotel's Picasso Suite. Future guests in that room will find a copy of "Ocean's Eleven."
For more information, visit www.roccofortehotels.com.
Fla. park reopens to compete with Disney
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) -- When Cypress Gardens opened in 1936, it was one of Florida's very first theme parks. But it closed in 2003, unable to compete with Disney, Universal and other contemporary attractions.
It reopened Dec. 9 with a new name -- Cypress Gardens Adventure Park -- and 38 rides in addition to its traditional botanical gardens, water ski show and "belles" dressed in hoop skirts.
Rides include the Triple Hurricane, a wooden coaster named for last summer's storms; Swamp Thing, an inverted coaster; and Okeechobee Rampage, a family coaster. There's also a river raft attraction called Storm Surge and a 120-foot plunge known as the Thunderbolt.
The new park will also host live entertainment, with Lonestar, the Smothers Brothers and Aaron Carter scheduled for the coming months.
Admission through February is $29.95.
For more information, visit www.cypressgardens.com or call (863) 324-2111.
Quebec plays host to winter festival
QUEBEC CITY, Quebec (AP) -- In Quebec City, they know how to enjoy the pleasures of winter.
From Jan. 30 to Feb. 15, the snowy city will hold its annual winter carnival, with snow sculptures, nighttime parades, a dogsled race and an ice palace. Take a ride in a snowmobile or a horse-drawn carriage, or go hurtling down a hill on a giant snow raft. Package deals are available for hotels and tickets to various events.
For more information, call (866) 4-CARNAVAL or visit www.carnaval.qc.ca for details.
Canadian slopes rank best in North America
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- If you're a boarder, head for the border.
The Whistler and Blackcomb mountains come in No. 1 on a list of best places to snowboard in North America, in a survey of readers of Transworld Snowboarding.
The mountains, located in British Columbia, Canada, a four-hour drive from Seattle, are renowned for their terrain parks, glacier snow and fine resorts, most of which are located in the town of Whistler.
Transworld Snowboarding magazine's 2005 resort guide lists Mammoth, Calif., in the No. 2 slot, followed by Park City, Utah; Vail, Colo.; Breckenridge, Colo.; Squaw Valley, Calif.; Copper, Colo.; Mount Snow, Vt.; Winter Park, Colo.; and Snowbird, Utah.