A week of events

Joe Satriani performs Tuesday at the Orpheum.

Monday

On Columbus Day, there are more than 50 events for you to discover at the Opening Our Doors celebration of the Fenway area. The Boston Children's Chorus gets the party started at 10 a.m. at the Christian Science Plaza (200-210 Massachusetts Ave.), and after the performance you can spend the day enjoying museums, galleries, concerts, lectures, Fenway-area tours, and activities for all ages. There's a musical-theater cabaret by Boston Conservatory students, storytelling at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the "As Massachusetts Goes" exhibit at the Massachusetts Historical Society, and circus clowns at Wheelock Family Theatre. Check online for the complete schedule. Free.

Various Fenway-area locations. 617-437-7544. www.fenway culture.org.

Sunday 12

"Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear" is a perfect way to get in a Halloween mood. The exhibit features a Fear Challenge Course where visitors can test, in a safe environment, four common fears: animals, electric shock, loud noises, and falling. (What about fear of an economic depression?) You can see preserved brains of humans and animals, and for the intellectually curious, there's information about research on the neurobiology, physiology, and psychology of fear. Today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (through Jan. 4). Admission is $19; $17 seniors; $16 ages 3-11.

Museum of Science, Science Park 617-723-2500. www.mos.org.

Monday 13

Boston native Greg Melville and a buddy drove a 1985 Mercedes station wagon 3,900 miles without gas or a really long extension cord. They made the trip with 19 gallons of grease they collected from restaurant dumpsters along the way. We don't know what mode of transportation the freelance journalist is taking to the Harvard Book Store tonight, but he'll discuss his book, "Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future" and sign copies. 7 p.m. Free (the book is $15.95).

Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 617-661-1515. www.harvard.com/events.

Tuesday 14

Does Joe Satriani have a collection of World's Best Guitar Teacher mugs given to him by students including David Bryson from Counting Crows and Kirk Hammett from Metallica? Perhaps there's a little something from someone named Mick Jagger, who picked Satriani to play guitar on his Australian and Japanese tours. The rock guitarist is at the Orpheum Theatre tonight celebrating his new album, "Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock." Mountain opens. 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $29.50-$59.50.

Orpheum Theatre, 1 Hamilton Place 866-448-7849. www.livenation.com.

Wednesday 15

Why do zebras have stripes? How do dart frogs use color to ward off predators? When do flounder change color? Inquiring minds can find out at "Language of Color," ongoing at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The exhibit explores how animal colors are produced and perceived, and what messages they convey. Specimens include six poison dart frogs that we're told are thriving in their new habitat - we'll take their word for it. Daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Sept. 6, 2009. Admission is $9; $7 students, seniors; $6 ages 3-18; free to Massachusetts residents Sun 9 a.m.-noon and Wed 3-5 p.m.

Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., Cambridge 617-495-3045. www.hmnh.harvard. edu.

Thursday 16

Martha Mitchell and her telephone blew the whistle on the Nixon administration, and in a 1977 interview with David Frost, President Nixon said: "If it hadn't been for Martha, there'd have been no Watergate." Called the "Mouth of the South," the Southern socialite and wife of Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell made frequent calls to the press to let them know about White House shenanigans. The Nora Theatre Company presents Jodi Rothe's comedy "Martha Mitchell Calling" with Annette Miller in the title role. Shows run through Nov. 9 with calls tonight at 7:30. Tickets are $32; $22 seniors; $18 students.

Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 866-811-4111. www.centralsquaretheater .org.

Friday 17

Turkeys and presidents have a lot in common - some may say they're one and the same. Remember the episode on "The West Wing" when President Bartlet pardoned a turkey? Well, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Mamet gives us another presidential poultry connection in "November" about a commander in chief who looks to the turkey industry for financial meat to build his legacy-ensuring library. Tonight's curtain is at 8, and the Lyric Stage Company of Boston production is up through Nov. 15. Tickets are $25-$50; $5 senior discount.

Lyric Stage Company, 140 Clarendon St. 617-585-5678. www.lyricstage .com.

Saturday 18

Can you name the 57 men's and women's races at the Head of the Charles Regatta? We're better with those Heinz varieties, but we do know that the two-day race categories are club, age, lightweight, and championship, and each of these includes singles, doubles, fours, and eights. You check it out and we'll sample the free food along the 3-mile course. Be sure to stop by the Rowing & Fitness Expo near the finish line at Artesani Park in Allston. Rowing starts at BU's DeWolfe Boathouse in Cambridge. Today's races are 8 a.m.-5 p.m., tomorrow's 8:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Free. Rain or shine.

Charles River, Boston and Cambridge www.hocr.org.

Events can always be canceled, rescheduled, or sold out; call to confirm. Submit items 2-3 weeks in advance to: June Wulff, Living/Arts, The Boston Globe, PO Box 55819, Boston MA 02205-5819 or e-mail event info to jwulff@globe.com.

A week of events

By June W ulff