Free Family Programs
Appropriate for families with children ages 6-12 years old. Reservations are strongly recommended, except for drop-in programs. All programs include a free snack. Email egoldin@mcny.org or call 917-492-3371 for more information.
 
 
Upcoming Events

 
Saturday, May 11, 2013 from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Create Fashion and Fabric Designs for Mother’s Day
If you haven’t already you created a homemade gift for Mother’s Day yet, now is your chance! Begin by exploring the exhibition Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced with a museum educator who will guide you and your family through Burrows’s photographs, drawings, and original garments. Then, using inspiration from the exhibition, experiment with fashion design and make an original creation with fabric to take home just in time for Mother’s Day.
 
Sunday, May 19, 2013 from Noon to 2:00 pm
Planning Urban Places and Spaces
Explore the Museum’s neighborhood to learn about fundamental concepts in urban planning and design, such as the difference between public and private space. You will then use maps and plans to discuss zoning and land use, paying attention to the shape, size, and function of buildings and open spaces. At the conclusion of the program you’ll have a chance to create your own three-dimensional model of a city block.

 

Sunday, June 2, 2013 from Noon to 2:00 pm
Central Park: Then and Now
Forty-eight years after the 1811 Commissioners’ Plan mapped out the grid of Manhattan, a grand park opened in the heart of the island. You will examine original historical sources to see how Central Park was transformed over a century and a half by reformers, planners, and public officials and then create your own guide that can be used during a visit to the park, right across the street from the Museum! 
 
Sunday, June 16, 2013 from Noon to 2:00 pm
Chet the Secret Agent Architect
Treat dad well this Father’s Day by discovering the Museum together! Become a secret agent team while exploring the building during this family-friendly scavenger hunt. Learn architectural vocabulary and styles while discovering the secrets of this Colonial Revival building, designed by Joseph H. Freedlander. Afterwards, you’ll use these shapes to create model buildings representing your own style.
 
Drop in Programs allow families to explore the Museum together and choose one of two activities offered throughout the day, or participate in both!  No reservations required.
 

Now You See It, Now You Don’t & Mannahatta: The Lenape and the Land
Saturdays, May 25, June 1, June 8
Sundays, May 26 & June 9
Monday, May 27
10:30 am - 3:30 pm

Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Furniture of the future will need to perform multiple functions in order to make the most of small spaces.   Envision sleeping in a bed that folds up into the wall and becomes a couch. Imagine sitting at a small, low   coffee table that becomes a longer, taller table for eating meals or playing games. Explore the furniture in the exhibition Making Room and see how each element transforms, giving one piece many functions. Afterwards, use art supplies to create a model of a room containing multi-purpose furniture that you imagined.  
Mannahatta: The Lenape and the Land                                                                                
Long before Manhattan was the loud, crowded city it is today, it had rolling hills, forests, streams, and other natural features, teeming with thousands of species of plants and animals. Come explore images, objects, and stories to learn about the Lenape, the American Indians who inhabited this island for hundreds of years before any European explorers knew it existed. At the end of the program, you will create a storyboard tracing how the Lenape made use of and transformed the island’s natural resources.
 
Fashion and Fabric Design & Pushing Buttons: Activist New York
 Saturdays, June 15, 22, 29
Sundays, June 23 & 30
Thursday, June 27
Friday, June 28 
10:30 am - 3:30 pm

Fashion and Fabric Design

Do you have your own sense of style and color? Would you like to learn how to create your own special fabric designs? First, explore the exhibition Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced with your family and look at Burrows photographs, drawings, and garments. You will think about the creative process of Stephen Burrows by learning about the methods, style, and techniques of his work. Using inspiration from the exhibition, each child will create a line sheet, a page that highlights many different ideas and styles within one theme. Then each child will choose one design and make an original creation on fabric to take home.

Pushing Buttons: Activist New York
Have you ever thought something wasn’t fair and that you wanted to change it? Tour the exhibition Activist New York, which tells the story of grassroots citizen in New York City through artifacts, buttons, posters, and multi-media presentations, from the 17th century right up to the present. After exploring the exhibition, you’ll have the chance to create your own button expressing views and ideas about a cause that is important to you.
 
All Family Programs are free with admission; reservations are required unless otherwise listed.
 
Family Programs are made possible by the Brenner Family Foundation, the Bay and Paul Foundations, the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and the Frank J. Antun Foundation.

 

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