Like universities, children’s museums provide young people a place to study nature, an outlet to explore their creativity, and an excuse not to have a real job. Procrastinate constructively with today’s Groupon to EcoTarium in Worcester. EcoTarium sells discounted tickets for $8 for children ages 2 to 18, students, and seniors. Children younger than 2 get free admission. Choose between the following options:

• For $12, you get two tickets (up to a $24 value).
• For $20, you get four tickets (up to a $48 value).<p>

Dubbed a 2011 Best Family Fun Destination by Worcester Magazine, EcoTarium’s three floors of exhibits creatively use wildlife, scientific concepts, and the museum’s natural-history collection to help children discover the natural world. A new permanent exhibit, The Arctic Next Door: Mount Washington acquaints explorers with the climate and terrain of New England’s highest peak, letting them glimpse the mountain’s icy surface during a virtual visit and test mountain-scaling skills on a climbing wall. Another permanent exhibit, Secrets of the Forest whispers deciduous gossip into the ears of explorers, and a minerals exhibit lets tykes appraise gems, ores, and crystals. Many animals, including bald eagles, wood turtles, and otters frolic peaceably within the museum grounds, which also feature 55 acres of nature trails.

Visitors may also opt to explore the digital planetarium to spy planets, stars, and subspace Waldos in a three-dimensional solar system projected onto a 40-foot dome (tickets not included with today’s Groupon).