Hi everyone! February is ending in a few days and the snow is melting and Spring and flowers are coming soon! I hope you are ready for another fun weekend in NYC!
This weekend check out BAMkids Film Festival 2021, Black History Month: Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats: JAZZ GREATS, Outdoor Skills: Animal Tracking in Marine Park, Brooklyn Museum: Family Party (at Home!), Winter Landscape Photography in Canarsie Park, Just Kidding – ScreenPLAY: Journey Into Space with Symphony Space, JW’s Inspirational Singers Of NYC Presents Broadway From Home Our Way, Sports Blitz! at Alley Pond Environmental Center, Soundview NY Public Library: Let’s Celebrate Black History Month Titles for Kids!, Sounds of Nature in St. Albans Park, Architecture at Home Events with Center for Architecture, CMA Live: Club CMA with Raquel: Family Heirlooms and Sugar Hill Museum: Mara the Storyteller.
Don’t forget about long running events like Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp at Puppetworks, the Spineless Exhibit at The New York Aquarium, Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection at New-York Historical Society Museum and the The Nature of Color Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History.
These are just some of this weekend events so check the calendar to everything going on. Also like us on Facebook for last minute events and updates.
Have a fabulous weekend!
~ Deirdre (mom to O & C)
Friday February 26th
BAMkids Film Festival 2021 (virtual)
Ongoing daily until Sunday February 28th virtually. For kids 3-11y. Purchase tickets to individual film programs (starting at $5) or watch all of this year’s films with a with a festival pass (starting at $30). See the website for all the details. Brooklyn’s favorite film festival for kids bursts into the digital space with nine days of family-friendly shorts, interactive arts workshops, performances, dance parties, and more opportunities for families to get creative together! BAM is continuing the local and international partnerships that make this festival special, year after year. International curators offer six programs of superb, imaginative short films from 28 different countries. The incredible dancers of Pilobolus and MOVE|NYC| share their artistry and invite you to join in from home. Teaching artists from BRIC and BAM Education guide your family through interactive arts activities. BAM is partnering with the Colorscapes app to create digital coloring games, as well as offering, digital coloring pages. Plus, BAM is adding a well-earned emphasis on wellness with yoga and somatic breathing workshops for both kids and adults. See the website for details on the films.
Architecture at Home Events with Center for Architecture (virtual)
Friday February 26th 11 and additional events Tuesdays at 4p & Fridays at 11a until March 5th. All programs are FREE and are open to at-home learners, families, and youth ages 5+. Register here. Learn more about architecture and design from the comfort of your own home with these free, live, online workshops led by Center for Architecture Educators. Each 45-minute session explores an architectural topic through virtual tours, interactive lessons and discussions, and gets kids started on a design project they can complete on their own with simple at-home materials. All Architecture at Home events require a device with internet connection and camera.Friday February 26th 11: Rooftop Hats ~ Hats and roofs have a lot in common! Both can be designed to protect you from the cold, from too much sun, or from getting wet in the rain. Just like hats, roofs are also a great way for a building to be fashionable and distinctive in the skyline! Learn about the many different types of roofs, then design (and wear) your own rooftop hat! Materials: strips of thin cardboard (cereal box cardboard is perfect), glue, tape, scissors, miscellaneous colored scrap materials (papers, cardboard, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, recycled materials)
CMA Live: Club CMA with Raquel: Family Heirlooms (virtual)
Friday February 26th 1-130p. Free with RSVP. For ages 8-11y. 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. Canadian-Trinidadian artist Curtis Talwst Santiago draws and installs artwork that focuses on “genetic imagination,” or the ability to access generational knowledge through imaginative recollection and projection. With Santiago’s artwork as inspiration, celebrate important figures from your past by sketching family heirlooms and portraits. See website for list of materials needed.
Black History Month: Lucy Kalantari and the Jazz Cats: JAZZ GREATS (virtual)
Friday February 26th 2-3p. Free. Celebrate Black History Month with music! Lucy Kalantari will take you back in time to the jazz age, and introduce three renowned artists who shaped and inspired her music: Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Cab Calloway. This fun and interactive presentation will have families singing with her jazz-scat-along play. This program will be streamed live on Sheepshead Bay Library’s Facebook page.
See all the Friday events here.
Saturday February 27th
Just Kidding – ScreenPLAY: Journey Into Space with Symphony Space (virtual)
Saturday February 27th 11a. Prices: $12 members, $15 non-members. Get tickets here. Get ready for an exciting at-home adventure from The Gottabees, the creators of the wildly fun, and always hilarious Squirrel Stole My Underpants. This super-interactive experience allows you to channel your family’s creativity into an inspiring work of participatory art, where you and your kids become part of the story through movement, puppetry, theater, and the irresistible power of being ridiculous. In this installment, you’ll need to hang onto your astronaut helmet as you blast off into outer space! While the rocket ship may be cozy, it does tend to veer off course when meteors and aliens come into view. So clear some space at home, jump into your ZOOM square, and get ready for some fun! Please note that space for this event is limited. A link for the fun will be sent to your email the evening before the event. ScreenPLAY is best experienced on a laptop.
Soundview NY Public Library: Let’s Celebrate Black History Month Titles for Kids! (virtual)
Saturday February 27th 11-1145a. Free. Best recommended for children ages 5 to 9. Parents or caregivers must be present. Register here. Join us for an exciting morning full of great book recommendations and wonderful resources. Take the opportunity to bring your favorite book and share your favorite stories with us. Tell us something that caught your interest about your favorite book and why you dare us to read it.
Sounds of Nature in St. Albans Park
Saturday February 27th 12n-1p. Free. Join the Urban Park Rangers in discovering music in nature by using natural materials and exploring the sounds inside the park. Please see the website for the Covid-19 protocols.
JW’s Inspirational Singers Of NYC Presents Broadway From Home Our Way (virtual)
Saturday February 27th 1-2p. Free. A look into the Broadway World from the comfort and safety of our own chateaus. In March 2020, The entire Theatre World was put on pause due to the Corona Virus Spread. To date, shows are still unable to resume. In an effort to pay homage to the many shows that went dark, across the world, Juson Williams, Executive and Artistic Director of J.W.I.S., as well as, Star of the up and coming “A WONDERFUL WORLD” Biopic Musical, as LOUIS ARMSTRONG, puts together a stellar afternoon featuring members of the choir, who are from The Broadway World, TV, and Film Industry. The afternoon promises to Entertain, Enlighten, and Excite viewers, who have missed the presence and sheer Energy of Musical Theatre. As Black History Month comes to a close, JW’s Inspirational Singers of NYC has a special opening performance that “STANDS UP“ for Solidarity. While the group focuses on the African American experience of Broadway, they are also celebrating LIFE. 2020 was tough for us all. You owe it to yourself to sit back, relax and allow J.W.I.S. to take you on a journey of HOPE, HEALING, INCLUSION, but most of all, LOVE!!!!!! Here’s to a New Year!!!!! You don’t want to miss this Epic Concert! This pre-recorded program will air on the BPL Facebook page and remain there for 48 hours, then will be taken down.
Winter Landscape Photography in Canarsie Park
Saturday February 27th 1-2p. Free. Location: Canarsie Park House. Bring your own digital camera or smartphone to capture the beautiful landscapes of Canarsie Park during the winter. See website for Covid-19 protocols.
See all the Saturday events here.
Sunday February 28th
Sports Blitz! at Alley Pond Environmental Center
Sunday February 28th 1030-1145a. $22/child. For ages 7-12y (drop-off). Register here. Animals at APEC are doing their warm-up stretches and gearing up for some serious sports fun! Join APEC educator, Mr. Jacob, as you learn the incredible athletic abilities of the animal kingdom. Wear your favorite team’s jersey while brainstorming together what games frogs, tarantulas, ostriches, and squirrels would accel at, based on their unique skill sets. Then, get ready to cheer on two of our APEC animal athletes and predict which of these four-footed all-stars will complete our brand-new APEC obstacle course first! Masks must be worn by all participants for the entire program. Limited to 10 participants.
Outdoor Skills: Animal Tracking in Marine Park
Sunday February 28th 11a-12n. Free. Location: Salt Marsh Nature Center. Our Urban Park Rangers are skilled in the techniques and development of diverse outdoor skills. In this program, learn how to identify animal tracks to understand animal behavior. See the website for Covid-19 protocols.
Sugar Hill Museum: Mara the Storyteller (virtual)
Sunday February 27th 1-145p. Free. Register here. Join performance storyteller Mara Menzies on an exciting voyage of discovery as we celebrate black history month. Drawing on the rich African storytelling tradition and sprinkling in her own brand of magic, she tells spectacular stories that will enthral, delight and leave you wanting more.
Brooklyn Museum: Family Party (at Home!) (virtual)
Sunday February 28th 3-4p. General Ticket: $25 (suggested donation). Virtual event access for 1 family. Even though it’s virtual, this year’s Family Party will still be the most fun family event of the year! Grab the kids, some art materials, and your dancing shoes, and get ready to amplify your weekend at home with an hour of art-making, movement, and creativity. Your support in the form of a ticket purchase is more meaningful than ever, and helps our free and low-cost arts education programs thrive. See the website for all the event details and to purchase your ticket.
See all the Sunday events here.
All Weekend
Aladdin & the Wonderful Lamp at Puppetworks (Park Slope)
Saturdays-Sundays 1230p & 230p until March 28th. 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.
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.
Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection at the New-York Historical Society (UWS)
Ongoing until April 11, 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.
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.