There are some hobbies better kept quiet. You know, the ones you do alone in your basement late at night. And then there are some truly cool hobbies, like model railroads. These should be celebrated and dragged out in the open for all to admire - which is why the Model Train Festival, downtown Tacoma's biggest model railroad exposition (taking into account, of course, the relatively small size of the subjects at hand because they are, of course, models), will run 10 days, instead of like, a half-hour. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy every floor of the Washington State History Museum filled with operating modular layouts.  Santa is in the house 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 21-23. And, remember to look both ways before crossing, and keep your pennies to yourself.

18TH ANNUAL MODEL TRAIN FESTIVAL, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 21-Jan. 1, closed Dec. 24-25, Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, $7-$9.50, 253.272.9747