Time Out Kids' Spring Kids Fest is on Saturday, May 19!
We couldn't be more excited for our upcoming Spring Kids Fest this Saturday, May 19 at Madison Square Park from 10:30am to 1:30pm. Once again, we've teamed up with the Madison Square Park Conservancy to host a midday festival of free family fun. Kids can listen to live performances by Songs for Seeds (10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm), the Rockdoves (11am) and the Fuzzy Lemons (1pm) or watch a special magic show from the Amazing Max (noon); sporty types can even participate in a storytime yoga session with Karma Kids Yoga (10:30am, 11:30am, 12:30pm). Children can also get their pictures taken against our jumbo Time Out Kids cover or make craft projects with Rubin Museum of Art the Museum of Mathematics, Appleseeds and the Children's Museum of the Arts. When hunger strikes, grab free snacks from the Treats Truck, PopChips, Pirate's Booty and more. Scroll through our pictures from last year's Fest, and we'll see you on Saturday!
Check out our pictures from the Hudson River Pageant!
Last weekend's Hudson River Pageant displayed a stunning array of costumes, oversize puppets and body decor. Kids, too, showed up in costume to enjoy the visual spectacle and the gorgeous May weather. Scroll through our pictures of the day to see if you can spot your little reveler.
The best things to do this week for NYC kids: May 14–18
Monday 14
Check out a collection of works by NYC public school students in the Guggenheim Museum's new exhibit "A Year of Children: 2012."
Tuesday 15
Board a century-old barge as it's pulled by the tugboat Pegasus through New York Harbor from Red Hook to Pier 25.
Wednesday 16
Learn what it takes to plan a mission to Mars in the new exhibit Tom Sachs' Space Program: Mars at the Park Avenue Armory.
Thursday 17
Watch a staging of the classic kids' tale The Secret Garden at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church.
Friday 18
Let kids wear their dancing shoes and bring along their favorite stuffed animal for Laurie Berkner Band's Animal Party Concert at the Concert Hall, on the Upper West Side.
The ten best things to do on Mother's Day weekend for NYC kids: May 12–13
Saturday
FREE Watch a parade of 15-foot puppets and revelers costumed as garden spirits and river species, then visit stations offering harmonic chanting, oyster planting, river cleaning, live catch-and-release fishing and more at the .
Take your budding buccaneer to , a show led by Billy Bones at the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge. $15, children under 10 $12; advance tickets $13, children under 10 $10.
FREE Check out interactive exhibits with model trains and take tours of Amtrak and other railroad cars at Grand Central Station's National Train Day celebration.
Kids learn about what it’s like to climb Mt. Everest, then “scale” the walls before settling in for a sleepover at the . $175.
Spend Mother’s Day at the Museum at Eldridge Street with bagels and rugelach, then go on a walking tour of the neighborhood. $20, students and seniors $15, Facebook friends $10.
View works of art created by kids at 11 NYC public schools at the Guggenheim’s "A Year of Children 2012" exhibit. Free with museum admission.
FREE Little baseball aficionados will learn tons about the Bronx’s role in baseball history in "Baseball in the Bronx: Nine Innings of Bronx Baseball," an exhibit at the Bronx Museum of the Arts that closes this weekend.
Watch the story of two friends whose picnic is thwarted by apples falling from the sky in the New Victory Theater's Plop! $20.
J.J. Byrne Playground in Park Slope is now open
Park Slope parents, you're in luck: At long last, J.J. Byrne Playground is open once again, after closing for a 13-month renovation in April 2011. The highly anticipated redo features cool interactive panels by Brooklyn sculptor Julie Peppito that share a theme of the farming and Revolutionary history of the Old Stone House, the playground's esteemed Washington Park neighbor. State-of-the-art play equipment, swings, new game tables and gorgeous perimeter gardens are sure to create instant fans of neighborhood kids. We couldn't include the playground in our top 25 playgrounds list, but we're pretty sure we would have if it had opened by the time we went to press a month ago. The J.J. Byrne playground is located inside Washington Park.
Learn about raising children to take on challenges at Room to Grow's Parents Power Breakfast on Tuesday, May 15
Research has shown that children who take on challenges not only do better in school, but in life in general as they get older. At Room to Grow's Parents Power Breakfast on Tuesday, May 15, moms and dads can join Katie Couric and featured speaker Ellen Galinsky, the president and cofounder of the Families and Work Institute and the author of Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, to discuss this topic and others on the minds of New York City parents. Tickets are $150 each and on sale through Sunday, May 13; click here to purchase. Tue May 15 8:30–10am. Bryant Park Grill, 25 W 40th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (roomtogrow.org).
Join Sanctuary for Families and Polarn O. Pyret on Wednesday, May 16, for a fund-raising event
Sanctuary for Families, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping domestic abuse victims and their children, is teaming up with Polarn O. Pyret for a special night of shopping in Tribeca on Wednesday, May 16. Enjoy Swedish treats and a glass of wine while picking up summer staples for all the little ones in your life, plus some goodies for yourself—all P.O.P items will be 15 percent off. The best part: A portion of the proceeds will benefit Sanctuary for Families. R.S.V.P to sanctuary@polarnopyretusa.com. Wed May 16 6:30–9pm. 200 Chambers St between Greenwich and West Sts (212-201-1944, polarnopyretusa.com).
