Summertime: A Guide to Entertainment, Activities And Excursions : Learning Without School : Museum workshops teach children about almost any subject. And no one says, ‘Don’t touch.’

Anne Brubaker calls them Los Angeles’ best-kept secret for kids.

In years past, local museums were merely places to walk through and look with one simple rule: Don’t touch!

But not any more, according to Brubaker, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Children’s Museum.

“It used to be that the only place a child could get involved in hands-on museum workshops was at the Children’s Museum,” Brubaker said. “But for the past few years every museum seems to offer exciting summer workshops and classes for kids.”

This summer, children of all ages can get involved in workshops dealing with topics that range from water conservation to rain forest construction to creating an ocean in a jar.

At the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum, children can participate in the Adventures in Nature Program, which will include several classes in July and August.

“Kids will get a chance to actually handle and work with live snakes and other reptiles in one of the courses,” said Ann Morrissey, children’s programs coordinator at the museum. “Sometimes it’s the best experience children have all summer, getting out of the sun and having a chance to learn about nature by touching and planting and becoming a part of it.”

The museum will also have a special Make-a-Circus day, July 28, which will include a circus show followed by half-hour workshops on juggling, clowning, acrobatics and stilt walking.

“Everything we do at a museum doesn’t have to be geared toward education,” Morrissey said. “We want the kids to know that a museum is a place they can not only learn but have a good time also.”

Adjacent to the Natural History Museum is its Discovery Center, with a special hands-on gallery for children. This summer the center is offering workshops where kids can compare skulls, skeletons and X-rays of animals, as well as special classes called “Whale Tales.” The center’s most popular exhibit is its Insect Zoo Preview, which gives children a chance to view the world of insects up close.

At Kidspace Museum in Pasadena, designed to help children explore the world around them, workshops are held several times each week and range from space and science to storytelling and crafts. Titles of the workshops, which begin Tuesday and continue through early September, include “Junk to Jewelry,” a course taught by environmental artist David Orozco; “Kids’ Kaleidoscope Workshop,” about mastering the magic of mirrors and making a kaleidoscope to take home, and “3-D Mania,” in which children will work with artist Elmira Adamian and construct three-dimensional artwork.

In this summer’s program, “we’ve included a little bit of everything to meet the needs of every child,” said Trina Duke, director of school programs. The Children’s Museum will host a variety of summer workshops based on three themes. In June, the museum will focus on geography; in July, on architecture and building, and in August, on different types of artwork.

“I think this will be the summer when kids and parents really discover what the Children’s Museum and other museums have to offer,” Brubaker said. The workshops are “usually inexpensive and they give the kids a chance to do something different when they’re feeling bored of summer vacation.”

As the heat makes water rationing more necessary, the California Museum of Science and Industry will host a free “Brainstorming” workshop each Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. These will give children a chance to think up ways to solve California’s drought while working on their own science experiments.

“Kids love it when adults ask their opinions on something as serious as the drought,” said Evan Nossoff, museum spokesman. “We’re really looking for some answers here while also giving the kids a fun day at the museum.”

This summer the California Museum of Science and Industry will also offer numerous science workshops on topics ranging from rockets and animation to lizards and rainbows.

At the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, children may participate in weeklong and Saturday classes designed to explore Western history topics through art and music projects.

In a class called “Indians and the Mountain Men,” children ages 8 to 12 will learn how to pitch tepees, make matchless fires, track animals and discover native food.

“This kind of Western history class can teach children things they might otherwise never learn about,” said Geri Fitchett, museum spokeswoman. “It really helps them enjoy their heritage.”

The museum also offers Western sing-alongs and various Indian and Western craft courses, ranging from Indian blanket-making to Western pouch design.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will offer several five-week art courses this summer for children, including instruction in clothing design, French artists and international design.