Hi everyone! The weather is looking pretty good this week for January so get out and have some fun!
This week take the kids and enjoy the 43rd Annual Three Kings Day Parade & Celebration at El Museo del Barrio, Teatro SEA: El Día de los Reyes Magos/Three Kings Day Festival at The Clemente, Stomp, Clap, & Sing with Ian Hayes at Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn Public Library, Tunes & Tots at little Lola & tots, Yoga for Toddlers at the Leonard Brooklyn Public Library, Art Playgroup for Babies! at Private Picassos Art Studio, Adults with Infants: Bombshell at Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park, La Hora Mágica de los Pequeños at Sunset Park Brooklyn Public Library, Spanish Music Sing-a-Long at Busy Bodies Brooklyn, Lavender Blues at Dimensions on Stage and MOCAKIDS Storytime! Snowman Fun at Museum of Chinese in America.
Also check out the long running events like the 18th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal, Survival of the Slowest at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Origami Holiday Tree and T. rex: The Ultimate Predator exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, GingerBread Lane and The Art of the Brick at New York Hall of Science, the NYC Winter Lantern Festival at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, the Industry City Ice Rink and Holiday Express: All Aboard to Richard Scarry’s Busytown at New-York Historical Society.
There are more events so check the calendar to see everything going on. Also follow us on our Facebook page for last minute news and event reminders.
Have a wonderful time this week!
~Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Monday January 6th
Art Playgroup for Babies! at Private Picassos Art Studio (Park Slope)
Mondays 1015-1115a until until March 16th (none on Jan 20th & February 17th). $10/child, $15/two siblings. Class size is max with 8 kids. Walk-ins welcome space permitting. For 12-18 months. Let your child explore art materials in our whimsical Art Studio! Leave the mess of homemade finger paint, playdough and sensory bottles with us. We’ll prepare safe, non-toxic art materials for your toddler to explore. This playgroup is perfect for babies who are still exploring with their mouth. Come dressed for a mess!
43rd Annual Three Kings Day Parade & Celebration at El Museo del Barrio (East Harlem)
Monday January 6th 11-2p. Free. El Museo del Barrio is delighted to present the 43rd Annual Three Kings Day Parade and Celebration titled Nuestros Barrios Unidos: Celebrating our Collective Strength, honoring New York City’s immigrant and migrant communities of past and present. United by our collective experience, we pay homage to those that continue to keep our history alive by celebrating the cultural traditions of El Barrio and beyond. Join us on this joyous day of camels (live), colorful puppets, parrandas, music and dancing! See the website for all the event details.
Teatro SEA: El Día de los Reyes Magos/Three Kings Day Festival at The Clemente (Lower East Side)
Monday January 6th 3-5p. Free. The most important Latin American holiday for children is celebrated every year at #TeatroSEA @ The Clemente. Thousands of children from the community are invited to meet the 3 Kings, enjoy traditional Latino Holiday Music and receive a FREE gift. We begin the celebration at 3pm with a procession around the block. Once again this year, the procession will include 3 Giant King puppets by SEA’s puppeteer and artist, Chris Williams! We will also have live music by Los Pleneros de la 21 and the Mariachi Academy of New York!
See all the Monday events here.
Tuesday January 7th
Tunes & Tots at little Lola & tots (Bedford Stuyvesant)
Tuesdays 10a until March 24th. $20/drop in. Tunes & Tots is a 45 minute singalong for babies and toddlers (ages 0 – 4) in Brooklyn, New York. Singalong leader Hannah plays her ukulele and gets kids moving to the beat with classic kids songs and a sprinkling of original tunes. Kids get to jam along and be a part of the band with a variety of rhythm instruments. Join us to boogie down and sing along to your favorite children’s tunes!
Stomp, Clap, & Sing with Ian Hayes at Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn Public Library
Tuesday January 7th 11-1145a. Free. Join children’s musician Ian Hayes for a seasonal sing-a-long! An interactive music show to welcome the changing season with song and dance. Ian will perform children’s favorites, as well as classics that everyone will enjoy!
Adults with Infants: Bombshell at Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park
Tuesday January 7th 330pp. Tickets: $15. Babies welcome! Being a new parent shouldn’t curtail cinema-going which is why Nitehawk happily provides our ongoing Hawks with Babies series. Offering first-run features every Tuesday afternoon with full food and beverage service, our Hawks with Babies screenings are a great opportunity for new parents to be able to get out of the house and into an afternoon movie with their babies. This series is catered to parents with babies 1-year or younger. January 7th: Bombshell ~ Based on a real scandal. Run Time: 108 min. Rated R.
See all the Tuesday events here.
Wednesday January 8th
Lavender Blues at Dimensions on Stage (Bay Ridge)
Wednesdays 10a. $20/drop in. For 0-3y. Lavender Blues is an intimate music & movement session for babies and toddlers. During our 40 minute classes kids develop an understanding of rhythm and music, build awareness and control of their body as well as develop social and coordination skills—all while singing, dancing and having fun! We sit in a circle, sing songs, play instruments, have movement with our fingers, arms and feet, as well as march, dance, and play with a ginormous parachute!!
La Hora Mágica de los Pequeños at Sunset Park Brooklyn Public Library
Wednesdays 130-230p. Cuentos, Juegos, canciones, rimas y actividades divertidas para los pequeños de 1- 5 años. Programa bilingüe en español e inglés. Stories, games, songs, fingerplay, rhymes, and fun activities for Children ages 1-5 years old. Bilingual Spanish/ English.
Spanish Music Sing-a-Long at Busy Bodies Brooklyn (Clinton Hill)
Wednesdays 4-445p. $20/per class. All ages welcome! Join us for Anza’s Spanish Music Sing-a-long. Anza’s love of music and children is ever so present during this 45 minute group class. You and your child can sit back and enjoy Anza’s Spanish songs, guitar, flute, animal puppets and bubbles! This class will help to introduce your child to spanish in a fun, social and engaging way. Classes held weekly. Best sure to get here early and/or register in advance – we cap the class at 30!
See all the Wednesday events here.
Thursday January 9th
Transit Tots-Subway Science at NY Transit Museum (Downtown Brooklyn)
Thursdays 1015-1115a in January. Free with Museum admission. Ages 2-5 and accompanying adults. Join each week for transit-themed stories and hands-on activities for the youngest transportation fans.
Yoga for Toddlers (18m-3y) at the Leonard Brooklyn Public Library
Thursdays 1030-11a until February 6th. Free. For toddlers 18 to 36 months. Tickets required. Tickets available free 10am at the reference desk. Space is limited.
MOCAKIDS Storytime! Snowman Fun at Museum of Chinese in America (SoHo)
Thursday January 9h 4p. Tickets: $5 per person. Free for MOCA members, Cool Culture Families, and Chinatown/Two Bridges families. Do you want to build a snowman? We’ll sing snowman songs and read about winter day activities before making little snowmen of our own! MOCAKIDS Storytime is a lively, bilingual 30-minute combination of fun activities and language exploration designed to enhance your young child’s word skills and vocabulary. Best for ages 3-6, younger and older siblings welcome. Storytime is held every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 4pm.
See all the Thursday events here.
Ongoing Events
18th Annual Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal (Midtown East)
Ongoing until February 23rd 2020. Free. Hours: Monday–Friday 8a–8p, Saturday and Sunday: 11a–6p. Closed for special events and major holidays. Every holiday season, the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery plays host to a city within a city with the display of a miniature electric railroad running over, through, and beneath some of New York’s most magnificent landmarks. Celebrating its 18th year of operation, this beloved annual holiday exhibit features model trains traveling along a 34’ long, two-level, “O” gauge model train layout. This year’s exhibit is set against a mural designed by cartoonist Julia Wertz. Departing from a miniature replica of Grand Central Terminal, the Transit Museum’s collection of Lionel trains including Metro-North, Polar Express, and vintage subway train sets will dazzle the eyes of children and adults alike as they make their way past New York landmarks and on to the North Pole! Note that strollers are not permitted in the Gallery & Store. Additionally, Grand Central Terminal does not permit unattended strollers. Please consider leaving your strollers at home. See website for directions to event.
The Industry City Ice Rink (Sunset Park)
Wednesdays-Thursdays 4-8p, Fridays 11a-8p, Saturdays 10a-8p and Sundays 10a-5p. Tickets will be $10 for adults and $6 for kids 12 and under, with skate rentals costing $9. Tickets can be purchased on site at IC Ice Rink in courtyard 5/6. The Industry City Ice Rink opens November 30 and welcomes guests to join for an iconic winter experience every Wednesday to Sunday with ice skating theme parties on Fridays + Saturdays. The rink is outside and uncovered, so dress appropriately for an enjoyable and comfortable skate. If you come at a popular time and there’s a line, there are plenty of other activities to fill your time while you wait. Pop into our game room, browse + shop The Makers Guild, hang by the fire pit or grab a drink inside any of our brewers and distillers. See website for all the details.
NYC Winter Lantern Festival at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (Staten Island)
Ongoing until January 12th. Hours: Wednesdays-Thursdays 5-930p. Fridays-Sundays 5-1030p. Also open Monday-Tuesday December 30th-31st 5-10p. Tickets: $25 general admission, $17 youth ticket (ages 3-12y), $20 Senior/Military/Student. After our success last year, the NYC Winter Lantern Festival is back to transform Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden into a whimsical world of light. There will be over 1,000 lanterns on display, sculpted into magnificent figures of luminescent art. Bring your whole family to revel in eight acres of lights, live cultural shows, interactive exhibits, and more. For those of you who attended last year’s event, prepare yourself for a completely fresh, new, and unique display! Purchase tickets here.
GingerBread Lane at New York Hall of Science (Flushing Meadows)
Daily until January 12th 2020. Hours are Monday-Friday 930a-5p & Saturday-Sunday 10a-6p. Free with Museum admission. GingerBread Lane is the record-holder of the Guinness World Records for largest gingerbread village. In order to be eligible for the title, every element of the gingerbread display must be edible, and the display must imitate a village with houses, shops and town services such as a firehouse and police station. Creator Jon Lovitch will again try to break his own record with this year’s GingerBread Lane. This year’s GingerBread Lane includes a number of storefronts with quirky names: Eleven Pipers Piping – Piping Hot Soup, My Two Front Teeth General Dentistry, Visions of Sugar Plums Eye Glasses, and Letters to Santa – GingerBread Lane’s Post Office. Also check The Art of the Brick exhibit.
Origami Holiday Tree at the American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
On display 10a-545p until January 12th. Free with Museum admission. Visit the American Museum of Natural History this holiday season to see one of New York’s most beloved displays, the Origami Holiday Tree—an annual tradition for more than 40 years. The theme of this year’s 13-foot tree is T. rex and Friends: History in the Making, with models inspired by the Museum’s special exhibition T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, which celebrates the most famous dinosaur species that was first discovered, named, and exhibited to the public by the Museum. Feeling crafty? Volunteers from OrigamiUSA will be on hand at the Museum to teach paper folding to visitors of all ages. Also check out the T. rex: The Ultimate Predator exhibit.
Survival of the Slowest at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Ongoing until February 2nd 2020. Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10a-5p, Thursday 10a-6p & Saturday-Sunday 10a-7p. Free with Museum admission. Meet Roger the sloth! He has two toes, lives in Central America, and is visiting Brooklyn with his friends. Learn about how slow animals survive and thrive in our fast-paced world at BCM’s newest exhibit. Survival of the Slowest features 19 distinct habitats with live animals, including Roger the two-toed sloth, a blood python, a roughneck monitor lizard, and many more. Each day this exhibit will offer up-close experiences with slow and small species that survive and thrive in a world where large, strong, and fast animals are often at the top of the food chain. Survival of the Slowest prompts families to appreciate the different evolutionary paths of these incredible creatures, and showcases the value of deliberation in our fast-paced city. While exploring Survival of the Slowest, young visitors will explore concepts of biology and evolutionary science. Live animal presentations are offered throughout the day to educate, entertain, and most importantly, connect visitors with wildlife and nature.
Holiday Express: All Aboard to Richard Scarry’s Busytown at New-York Historical Society (UWS)
Ongoing until February 23rd 2020. Museum hours: Tuesday-Thursday 10a-6p, Friday 10a-8p, Saturday 10a-6p & Sunday 11a-5p. Free with Museum admission. Holiday Express returns to New-York Historical this holiday season, reimagined to celebrate the 100th birthday of Busytown author and illustrator Richard Scarry. The installation showcases artwork and graphics of Scarry’s characters (like Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm!) from publisher Penguin Random House alongside Jerni Collection toys. Children and adults can also experience dynamic displays exploring the workings of the railroad, the services it provides, and the jobs required to keep people and goods moving.