The Niles District Library and Niles History Center are joining forces to present several activities during the Hunter Ice Festival, which is scheduled to take place Jan. 22-24, in Niles.

The two organizations are sponsoring a large ice sculpture that will be placed between the two buildings — adding to the dozens of hand-crafted frozen works of art that will be on display throughout downtown Niles.

Festival-goers looking for shelter from the cold can find plenty of winter-themed activities at all three venues — the Fort St. Joseph Museum and Chapin Mansion (both make up the Niles History Center) and the library.

The Fort St. Joseph Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. In addition, the first floor of the Chapin Mansion will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The History Center will offer crafts for kids and two new exhibits at the Fort St. Joseph Museum — “Michigan’s Mighty Mastodons” and “From Hunter Ice to Tyler Refrigeration: Keeping Cool in Niles.”

Christina Arseneau, history center director, said a pair of mastodon tooth fossils would be on display as well as information about other prehistoric creatures that once roamed the area, including a giant beaver that was the size of a black bear.

“People will learn a little more about the prehistory of Niles,” she said.

There will also be a scavenger hunt at the Chapin Museum Saturday, requiring people to find numerous unique decorative features throughout the mansion.

“It will give people a chance to see things they might not have noticed before,” Arseneau said.

The Niles District Library, in addition to serving as a warming station, will offer several activities of its own, including a non-traditional student art show and a Star Wars movie marathon on Saturday.

Arseneau said she hopes the library and history center, which are located next to one another, can partner for other events/projects in the future.

“Being a neighbor of the library we have a lot of potential for collaborating together,” she said. “It is a partnership we are looking forward to building on and doing it for the benefit of the community.”