Hi everyone! This weekend is special since we have the Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day so get ready for a busy weekend!
This weekend check out Celebrate Lunar New Year at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Photo Scavenger Hunt Hike in Prospect Park, Celebrating Lunar New Year with New York Transit Museum, Backyard Bird Count Scavenger Hunt in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Downtown Brooklyn Lunar New Year Celebration, Let’s Get Loud! Nian Monster Noisemakers with the Museum of Chinese in America, A Laurie Berkner Family Concert – Valentine’s Party, FIAF: Animation First, Nature Craft: DIY String Valentine Heart, Presidents’ Day in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, CMA Live: Lunar New Year with Raquel, Lunar New Year Chinese Temple Bazaar, Living History @ Home: Lincoln in the Time of Crisis, Chinese New Year Celebration with Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Birding: Winter Waterfowl at Bush Terminal Piers Park, Chinese New Year Family Festival with China Institute and the start of Virtual Kids Week with the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
Don’t forget about long running events like Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp at Puppetworks, Ice Skating at Winter Village in Bryant Park, the Spineless Exhibit at The New York Aquarium, the The Nature of Color Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History and the last week of the Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection at New-York Historical Society Museum.
There are more events this weekend so check the calendar to everything going on. Also like us on Facebook for last minute events and updates.
Happy New Year & Valentine’s Day and stay warm!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday February 12th
FIAF: Animation First 2021 (virtual)
Daily until Monday February 15th. $20 Festival pass. FIAF’s annual Animation First Festival celebrates the enduring legacy and trailblazing innovation of French animation. Presented for the first time entirely online, the Festival’s fourth edition will reach a nationwide audience, from Friday, February 5 to Monday, February 15. Films are in French with English subtitles, and talks are in English. An affordable $20 pass provides full access to the entire eleven-day Festival. See the website for all the Festival details.
Let’s Get Loud! Nian Monster Noisemakers with the Museum of Chinese in America
Friday February 12th 1030-11a. Free. Legend says the Nian monster comes out the night before every Lunar New Year to scare villagers and devour their food. Join educators from the Museum of Chinese in America for a thrilling retelling of the Legend of Nian. Then, learn how to turn ordinary household items into festive rattle drums that you can use to scare away the Nian monster until next year. See the website for all the event details.
Celebrating Lunar New Year with New York Transit Museum
Friday February 12th 11-1145a. Free online program. Recommended for ages 6-10. Register here. Join us to celebrate Lunar New Year! We’ll read a story about a family celebrating the many traditions of this holiday, explore a poem by Chinese-American poet Arthur Sze that was featured in the New York City Subway, and then create our own poems to welcome in the New Year.
CMA Live: Lunar New Year with Raquel (virtual)
Friday February 12tn 1-130p. For ages 5+. Free with RSVP. RSVP here. CMA Associate Director of Museum Programming Raquel Du Toit leads her popular Club CMA with Raquel class as part of Free Fridays, which provide free access to our most popular CMA Live! classes while amplifying important community topics. Artist Lu Zhang recreates experiences, memories, and time with clay sculptures, video projections, and sound installations. Create your own sculptural object celebrating a new start to a new year. Bring your best wishes to this fun and interactive sculpture workshop! See the website for the list of materials needed.
See all the Friday events here.
Saturday February 13th
Celebrate Lunar New Year at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Saturday February 13th. Free with Museum admission. Sessions from 10am-1pm and 2pm-5pm. Please note the Museum is closed for cleaning between 1pm-2pm. Purchase timed entry tickets here. Join Brooklyn Children’s Museum as we usher in the Year of the Ox! Create an ox puppet in the ColorLab art studio, learn about the festival and traditions of Lunar New Year in workshops led by the Chinatown Young Lions (CYL) and parade around the Museum’s rooftop with CYL’s impressive lion puppets!
Chinese New Year Family Festival with China Institute
Saturday February 13th 11a-5p. Free. Kick off the Year of the Ox with the virtual edition of China Institute’s signature New Year Celebration for families.The festival opens with a lion dance and puppet performance followed by New Year-themed workshops and activities including dumpling making and lantern painting. See the website for the schedule of events.
Backyard Bird Count Scavenger Hunt in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Saturday February 13th 1-4p. Free. Location: Environmental Education Center. Register here. In celebration of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, this month’s park scavenger hunt will prompt you to search, count, and collect observations about birds. Registrants will receive a PDF copy of the activity a few days before the event. There will be an opportunity to stop by a prize table at the back of the Environmental Education Center and share your completed hunt with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy! This event is free and suitable for kids of all ages! Also check out the Family Bird Walk with Heather Wolf at 11a.
Photo Scavenger Hunt Hike in Prospect Park
Saturday February 13th 1-2p. Free. Location: Audubon Center at the Boathouse. Our Urban Park Ranger hiking guides will introduce you to the hidden gems of New York City. On our hikes, you may explore nature, discover our city’s urban forests, or just unplug from the world to clear your head. This guided hike through Prospect Park will challenge your photography skills as you work to complete a photo scavenger hunt. Bring your own digital camera or smartphone. Please see website for Covid-19 protocols.
Downtown Brooklyn Lunar New Year Celebration
Saturday February 13th 130-3p. Free. Location: Albee Square. On February 13th, ring in the Lunar New Year of the Ox at Albee Square with a celebration featuring traditional lion dance performances by the Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club and DJ KDOTLIM. Tradition says that a good lion dance performance brings one good luck and happiness! Snap a social-distanced selfie with the Lion Dancers or at the selfie station, tag @downtownbrooklyn on Instagram, and you can pick up a traditional red envelope, which contain small prizes! Some lucky red envelopes include gift cards to spend at the amazing food stalls at Dekalb Market Hall! Happy Lunar New Year from Downtown Brooklyn!
See all the Saturday events here.
Sunday February 14th
Birding: Winter Waterfowl at Bush Terminal Piers Park
Sunday February 14th 10-11a. Free. Location: 43rd Street and First Avenue. New York City is home to an amazing abundance of wildlife. From falcons and salamanders to deer and seals, wildlife viewing opportunities exist year-round in all of our parks and beaches. Our Urban Park Rangers will guide you to the best wildlife viewing spots in New York City. Discover the amazing variety of birds that winter here in NYC. Birding programs are appropriate for all skill levels and beginners are welcome. See the website for Covid-19 protocols.
A Laurie Berkner Family Concert – Valentine’s Party (virtual)
Sunday February 14th 12n & 5p. Show runs approximately 1 hour, 20 min. Tickets: $20 ($10 need based tickets) your ticket gets you access to both, so choose the time that works best for you (or come to both!). Purchase tickets here. Sing, dance, and play interactive games through your device with Laurie Berkner she performs your favorite songs, interacts with you through the computer, and brings in a few surprises – from her house to yours! This special virtual concert event is the 6th in this series, and your ticket helps support the team in continuing operations while we can’t tour. Join us for the hour before the concert for some fun pre-show activities and to make sure your stream is working smoothly!
Nature Craft: DIY String Valentine Heart (virtual)
Sunday February 14th 1-2p. Free. Best for ages 7+. Register on Eventbrite. Nature Craft with Angel: Valentine’s Day Edition. Celebrate Valentine’s Day by crafting something special from the heART for someone who is special to you! You may even want to keep this unique gift for yourself! Environmental Educator Angel Ehlers will bring you through the relatively simple (but really fun) process of making your very own String Valentine Heart Nature Craft in a pre-recorded video. You’ll make this from just a few simple materials, including an actual slice of a tree that fell in the Greenbelt, so that you can share the heART of the Greenbelt with someone you love. You’ll even learn a little bit about the native trees that grow on Staten Island, as well as how to tell how old a tree is by counting its rings!
Lunar New Year Chinese Temple Bazaar (virtual)
Sunday February 14th 2p. Free. RSVP here. For centuries, people in China have celebrated the Lunar New Year in temple fairs with performances and food to start off a good year. This year, we will celebrate together virtually. Please join us for lively performances, arts and crafts, and food demonstrations to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Ox and the final stretch of harsh winter before the spring renewal. This free virtual event will feature a feast of Lunar New Year celebrations, including traditional folk dance by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company; “Hao Bang Ah, New Year!”, a new Chinese hand puppet performance by Chinese Theatre Works; a paper-cutting demonstration by Hongyi He and Ling Tang; a Chinese comic crosstalk episode; “A Guide of New York Love”, by Shuimu Xiangsheng; and, a fish-drawing demonstration by Arthur Liu of the Queens Arts Center. And, for those seeking culinary experiences, tune in to see classic Lunar New Year dishes: sweet and savory rice ball demonstration by Queens Night Market’s Wanda Chiu; a meatball dish called “braised lion head” by Queens Night Market’s Johnson Hu; and, a whole fish demonstration by Glow Community Center.
Chinese New Year Celebration with Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (virtual)
Sunday February 14th 3-5p. ADMISSION: $10 (Snug Harbor Members: $8). Welcome the Year of the Ox with a virtual Chinese New Year Celebration! Children will enjoy tales and traditional crafts as part of one of the biggest cultural celebrations in the world. Learn some Chinese phrases and New Year traditions you can use in your home to bring good fortune and fun. With the admission price, you’ll receive a package of festive materials, which you can pick up from Snug Harbor. These include celebratory decorations, crafting materials, supplies for paper arts, painting, and mask-making, and a how-to sheet. Your family can work with these alongside common items in your home to create a festive Chinese New Year celebration for your household! See the website for all the event details.
See all the Sunday events here.
Monday February 15th
Presidents’ Day at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Monday February 15th 10a-430p. Weekday Ticket: $18 adult, $12 senior/student, children under 12 free. Purchase timed entry tickets here. Specialty gardens begin to close 30 minutes before closing time. Note: Conservatories, interactive exhibits, and some outdoor areas are closed for your safety. Face coverings are required.
Virtual Kids Week with the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Monday-Friday February 15th-19th streaming live from 10a-3p. Free. Register here. Kids Week at the Intrepid Museum is going VIRTUAL! Kids Week welcomes kids of all ages and interests to join us for online as the Museum hosts dozens of fun-filled demonstrations, live animal shows, hands-on workshops, musical performances and special guests that the whole family will enjoy. Through themed daily activities, kids can explore space and science, engage with the arts and music, and learn all about animals! Monday February 15th: Safari & Nature. See the website for the schedule of events and for the events the rest of this week.
Living History @ Home: Lincoln in the Time of Crisis (virtual)
Monday February 15th 1-2p. Free. For all ages. Register here. President Abraham Lincoln took office during a time of great division in the United States. Join us on Presidents Day to discover how he brought the nation back together. Families can ask questions to historical interpreter Dennis Boggs about Lincoln’s most difficult decisions. Then, learn methods for having productive conversations about challenging topics. Use our discussion starters to practice with friends and family after the program. Note: New-York Historical is now open to visitors. The DiMenna Children’s History Museum remains temporarily closed.
See all the Monday events here.
All Weekend
Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp at Puppetworks (Park Slope)
Wednesday-Fridays at 4p and Saturdays-Sundays 1230p & 230p until March 28th & Monday February 15th 1230p & 230p. Tickets: Children $10 each, Adults $11 each (suggested for ages 3 and up). Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp from “1,001 Arabian Nights”. Adapted for Marionettes by Nicolas Coppola. Call for Reservations: 718-965-3391 or e-mail to: puppetworksinfo@gmail.com NO same day e-mail reservations please. Performances are @ 25% Capacity, Masks Required.
Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection at New-York Historical Society Museum (UWS)
Ongoing until February 21, 2021. Free with Museum admission. Purchase timed entry tickets here. Hours are Fridays 11a-8p, Saturdays-Sundays 11a-5p. Friday 10-11a is for Members and age 65+ and immunocompromised. A magical wonderland awaits visitors with the return of this holiday tradition. Featuring toy trains, figurines, and miniature models from the renowned Jerni Collection, Holiday Express transports young and old alike to a bygone era. The installation includes a variety of toy train stations dating from the turn of the 19th century to the WWII era, showcasing the evolving designs of American and European toymakers. New to the display this year are Marklin’s Onion Dome Station and Grand Station (1904–08). Visitors are greeted by animations and fun facts about the toys on nearby screens, and kids will be delighted by a specially created bench inspired by a sleigh in New-York Historical’s collection.
Ice Skating at Winter Village in Bryant Park
Skating hours daily 8a-10p until March 7th. Admission is free. Skating rental vary by day. Reservations must be made in advance. See website for all the information on skating & the shops. Bryant Park is Manhattan’s winter wonderland. Enjoy New York City’s only free admission ice skating rink, the Holiday Shops, and rinkside eats and drinks at The Lodge Deck.
Indoor Exhibits Open at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Crown Heights)
Museum hours Saturdays-Sundays are 10a-1p & 2-5p. Museum admission: $13 per person (children under 1 free). Purchase your advanced timed entry tickets online. Play Sessions are Saturdays & Sundays at are 10a-1p and 2-5p. The Museum is closed between 1pm-2pm for cleaning. ColorLab Workshops are one hour long and take place on weekends within Play Sessions. During the AM Play Session (10a-1p), your ColorLab Workshop takes place between 1145-1245p. During the PM Play Session (2-5p), your workshop takes place between 215p-315p. Before and after your workshop you are free to play in the exhibits during Play Session hours. See our ColorLab page for more information on art workshops. Masks required. See website for all the details.
Brooklyn Public Library Vitural Storytimes
Daily usually at 11a & 2p. Free. Sometimes the storytimes are on the Brooklyn Public Library Family facebook page and other times they are on a specific branch facebook page. See the website for all the details.
The Nature of Color Exhibit at American Museum of Natural History (UWS)
Museum is open Wednesdays-Sundays with timed entry tickets are available 10a-4p (museum closes 530p). Exhibit is open until March 8, 2021. Select a General Admission + One or General Admission + All ticket, choose date and time of entry to the Museum, then select The Nature of Color. Reserve tickets here. Our world is awash in color. Color makes the world feel vibrant and alive. But that’s not all. Color helps us make sense of the world. It contains vast amounts of information—about the natural world, and the human world. Come and explore the world of color in this immersive exhibition.
Spineless Exhibit at The New York Aquarium (Coney Island)
Daily 10a-330p (park closes 430p) until March 2021. Admission included with ticket. All visitors must reserve a date-specific ticket in advance. Please check Know Before You Go for details. We have great news: The New York Aquarium is reopening on August 27! Buy tickets to see all of your favorite marine animals today and enjoy summer on Coney Island! Explore Spineless, our latest exhibit, and marvel and the jellies, octopus, and more. Come wave hello to Erie the sea lion and Murphy the Harbor Seal. Relax in Ocean Wonders: Sharks! and watch the rays, sharks, and turtles.
Children’s Museum of Manhattan at Home
CMOM is now open Wednesday-Sunday 10a-5p. CMOM at Home is still ongoing. Activities are sent in a daily email newsletter. CMOM can still be a part of your day through videos, sing-a-longs, games and so much more for you to do together with your family at home! Sign up for emails here. From slime-making, dance parties and being transported to Japan with a recipe for sushi, to making animal puppets from recycled materials around the house, creating a bedtime routine and storytimes, “CMOM at Home” is sure to delight. Each day of the week will feature a different theme: Magical Monday, Move & Grove Tuesday, Our World Wednesday, Artsy Thursday, Feel Good Friday, Storytime Saturday and Surprise Sunday.