Global warming may have caused Georgetown to forget that winter existed with that string of 70-degree days, but the snow has fallen and proven that winter can’t be kept away for long. With the advent of winter, the District offers a bounty of cold weather activities for all, whether you adore the season or the mere sight of snow makes you shiver.

Glide the Night Away

A winter in Washington, D.C., wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the skating rink at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden. This small yet beautiful outdoor rink brings out the romance of the season, as skaters glide around gracefully in the shadows of modern sculptures and the National Mall.

The rink is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., staying well-lit during the evenings. You’ll need to plan ahead, though, as the rink only sells a limited number of tickets for designated two-hour time periods and often reaches its maximum capacity. If the Sculpture Garden’s rink is full, try Pentagon Row in back of the shopping center at Pentagon City. Although this rink doesn’t offer student discounts, it promises extended public skating hours on days when schools are closed, such as weekends or snow days. It’s the perfect way to break up a shopping trip or work off your food-court dinner.

Serious skaters should investigate the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, home of the Washington Capitals and Georgetown’s own club hockey team. The Iceplex contains multiple rinks with opportunities for public skating and hockey practice sessions every day. The rink also offers lessons for skaters of all levels.

The National Sculpture Gallery is located at 700 Constitution Ave., NW. Tickets are $6 for students and $3 for skate rentals. Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (Yellow and Green lines), Gallery Place-Chinatown (Red, Green and Yellow lines).

The Pentagon Row ice rink is located at the Pentagon City Mall at Intersection of South Joyce Street and Army Navy Drive in Arlington, Va. Tickets are $8 and $3 for skate rentals. Metro: Pentagon City (Blue and Yellow lines).

The Kettler Center Iceplex is located at the corner of Fairfax and Stuart Streets in Arlington, Va. Metro: Ballston-MU (Orange line).

See Stars in 3-D

When the weather outside gets a little too frightful, head to the Albert Einstein Planetarium at the National Air and Space Museum to see what lies above the stormy winter skies. The Einstein Planetarium offers a unique chance to relax and be entertained, especially if you haven’t been to a planetarium since a field trip in fifth grade.

The planetarium offers 20-minute “Cosmic Collisions” shows every half hour from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $8.50 and can be purchased online. This show, narrated by Robert Redford, takes viewers on a trip through the supersonic collisions that shape our universe, far away from Earth’s tranquil sky.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11 a.m., the planetarium staff presents a free show called “The Stars Tonight,” describing constellations and celestial bodies visible in the night sky. The planetarium recently installed a digital projection and surround-sound system that promises to take viewers to the edge of the galaxy without leaving their seats.

The IMAX theater at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History offers another great chance to take in a full-screen, larger-than-life film experience for a price comparable to your average movie theater. Popular animated penguin tale Happy Feet is playing until Jan. 31 at the Samuel C. Johnson IMAX Theater, located at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue. The theater is also screening several 3-D films, including Wild Safari 3-D, Sharks 3-D and Lions 3-D: Roar of the Kalahari, opening Feb. 1.

The National Air and Space Museum is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue, SW. Metro: Smithsonian (Blue and Orange lines), L’Enfant Plaza (Blue, Green, Orange, and Yellow lines).

The IMAX Theater at the National History Museum is located at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. Tickets are $8.50. Metro: Smithsonian (Blue and Orange lines).

Hit the Slopes

While the rolling green hills of the mid-Atlantic don’t exactly reach the altitude of the Rockies or the Alps, skiers and snowboarders looking to take advantage of some fresh powder before it melts should consider a weekend trip to the Appalachians in Maryland, West Virginia or Pennsylvania. A scenic winter experience is closer — and more affordable — than you might think, so gather up a few friends and head out for a weekend on the slopes (added bonus — man-made snow is guaranteed).

Pick up a ZipCar in Rosslyn and head to Wisp Mountain, located just off U.S. Highway 219 in Deep Creek Lake, Md., a short two-and-a-half-hour drive from the District. Wisp is larger than it first appears and boasts an extensive network of trails for skiers of all levels spanning both sides of the mountain.

An hour west, in Davis, W.Va., it’s the Timberline Four Seasons Resort and Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center that dominate the ski and snowboard landscape and offer many options for winter fun.

At Canaan Valley, you’ll find ice skating, snow tubing and snowshoeing in addition to skiing and snowboarding, but call ahead: The resort will close some of the activities if there’s not adequate natural snowfall.

Lift tickets and ski rentals vary for all three mountains, so call ahead for information about upcoming discounts and events. Timberline offers discounted rates for college students on Thursdays.

The Davis area also offers several affordable lodging options at or near the mountains. Due to winter’s sluggish start, Canaan Valley’s lodge has four-person hotel rooms for as low as $35 per night during January if booked online.

For those looking to hit the slopes without losing a weekend, Georgetown University Outdoor Education offers ski trips to Liberty Mountain in Carroll Valley, Pa., on Wednesday evenings, provided there is enough interest. For $25, which covers lift tickets and ski rentals, students can sign up to go skiing and snowboarding, leaving campus around 4 p.m. and returning by midnight.

For more on Wisp Mountain, visit http://www.skiwisp.com.

For Timeberline Resort, see http://www.timberlineresort.com.

Contact Georgetown University Outdoor Education at outdoored@georgetown.edu.

Warm Up and Relax

And when another winter evening draws near and the cold wind starts to whistle, you can always warm up and wind down with some cappuccino and culture at an area coffeehouse.

For a break from the usual grind near campus, venture to U Street and check out Busboys and Poets. The store boasts an extensive menu, including appetizers, gourmet pizzas and other entrees in addition to standard espresso drinks. With a distinctively bohemian feel, this large establishment is an intriguing and innovative hybrid of a coffeehouse, bistro and intellectual gathering place.

An array of events are held in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets including poetry readings, book signings, film screenings and discussions on topics ranging from hip-hop culture to local politics. A small sampling of upcoming events includes a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s Cold War classic Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb on Saturday and a discussion on language and American power with activist and poet Sekou Sundiata, author of Writers in a Time of Empire: What Is to Be Done. There’s also open mic poetry nights each Tuesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Admission to the open mic night is $3, but many of the other events are free of charge.

Busboys and Poets is located at 2021 14th St., NW. Metro: U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green Line).