There are lots of new and exciting programs at Brooklyn Children’s Museum just in time for the New Year. Here’s what BCM has on tap for January.
Blooming Babies Series: Blooming Babies: Bears, Bears, Oh My!, January 2-4 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Do all bears hibernate and eat honey? Come learn about different kinds of bears, hear a “beary” special tale, and create your very own bear-paw print to take home. Ages 18 months-2½ years.
World Passport Workshop Series: Taste the World, January 3-4, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. & 3-4 p.m. Join BCM for this savory event, and touch, smell, and taste your way around the world. You’ll grind spices and herbs in a traditional mortar and pestle, and then make a delicious craft. Ages 5+.
Storybook Movie Time, January 10-11, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tots! Camera! Action! Calling all pint-sized film enthusiasts to enjoy animated films. Watch cherished children’s stories come to life on screen. Ages 2½-5.
Meet the Author Series: Grace Chang and Jin Jin the Dragon, January 10, 1 & 3 p.m. Join Grace as she reads her enchanting story, “Jin Jin the Dragon,” about a creature that doesn’t know “what” it is and embarks on an adventurous journey to find out. Beautifully illustrated in Chinese watercolor, this wonderful book explains dragons in Chinese culture (and how they differ from Western representations), Chinese writing, and a pictorial history of 13 Chinese characters that are central to the tale. All ages.
New Year’s Lanterns, January 10-11, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. & 3-4 p.m. Read about a family’s Chinese New Year celebration in the new Children’s Library. Learn about the art of making lanterns, traditional lion dances and the lunar connection. Make your own holiday lantern to take home. Ages 5+.
Can Do Wonders Series: Happy New Year, January 11, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Families with special needs celebrate the Chinese New Year. Try on a lion-head mask, view the parade video, make your own lion face mask, and finish with a parade. Pre-registration required; call 718-735-4400 extension 123. All ages.
Special Performance: UpBring Dance Company’s Dancing through the Decades, January 11, 1:30 & 3 p.m. Dancing through the Decades features dances from the 1940s through today. Come join BCM for a fast-paced, energetic dance extravaganza presented by child performers and featuring favorite ’80s music, big-band classics, current pop hits, divine disco, and other energetic tunes. UpBring Dance Company is a children’s dance group made up of kids ages 2 to 15, incorporating many different styles of dance, including African, hip hop, jazz, Latin, modern, swing, and theatrical.). All ages.
Water, Water Everywhere, January 17, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. & 3-4 p.m. Get your hands wet in this lively session. Conduct experiments to determine the quality of pond, stream, and tap water. Check your taste buds in a water taste-test. Decorate a reusable water bottle to take home. Ages 6+.
Play Lab Workshop Series: Magic Hats, January 17-18, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Celebrate the winter holidays. Explore the new World Brooklyn exhibit, and learn how different cultures around the world celebrate the holidays. Create your own holiday decoration to take home. Pre-registration required; call 718-735-4400 extension 106. Ages 2½-5.
The Little Theatre Performance Series: Yosi & The Superdads, January 18, 1 & 2 p.m. Bop along to this band’s original and traditional songs – each one is whimsical, imaginative and perfect for family fun. All ages.
X-plorers’ Club: Silver Necklace, January 18 & 25, 2:30-4:30 p.m. Among the Akha people of Southeast Asia, silver jewelry is a sign of a person’s wealth and high status. See a silver neck ring and pendant, created by the Akha, from BCM’s collection of adornments, and create your own version to wear proudly. Ages 8+.
The Many Faces of Rosa Parks, January 19, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Examine different views of the “mother of the civil rights movement,” as seen in art and photography. Discuss her life and some of the symbols, messages, and historical elements present in these portraits. Use your own style and thoughts about Rosa Parks to create your own portrait of her. Ages 5+.
Celebrate Chinese New Year, January 24-25, 12-5 p.m. Bring in the Year of the Ox with BCM. Make a craft related to your Chinese zodiac sign, meet a living “dragon,” and explore all the special cultural programs planned for this celebratory weakened. All ages.
Chase Wonder Why Workshop Series: Which Chinese Element Are You?, January 24-25, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. Happy Chinese New Year! Learn about “Feng Shui,” the ancient Chinese practice of interior design. Learn how to prepare for the new year by redesigning your room so that good luck, balance, good health, and happiness can flow in. Use natural and renewable resources to design a picture that symbolizes your personal element. Ages 5+.
Building Brainstorm Opening Weekend, January 31-February 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Join BCM for the Grand Opening of its newest special exhibition, “Building Brainstorm,” an exploration of design and architecture for children. Enjoy a special weekend of family activities where you can explore building shapes, design challenges, construction materials, and eco-friendly practices. All ages.
Ongoing Exhibitions at Brooklyn Children’s Museum
New Visiting Exhibition: Building Brainstorm, January 31-May 10: Visit an Eames-inspired design studio where kids can become an architect, a construction worker, a designer, and an engineer – all in one day. Plan a tree house, build a skyscraper, make a blueprint model, create custom carpet patterns, and much more. Come design your dream house.
New Exhibition: Totally Tots: Children five and under enter a whimsical world where kids are in charge. Splash in the stream, put on a play, build bridges with blocks, create a collage, make music, and so much more.
New Exhibition: Neighborhood Nature: Take a trek through natural habitats found in the midst of the city, from woodland fields to ocean tide pools. See what a fish sees inside a pond, harvest play vegetables in the community garden, meet live reptiles, and discover who lives under an ocean side dock.
New Exhibition: World Brooklyn: Stroll down an urban street, and journey around the globe. Design a costume for the West Indian Day Parade in the mas’ camp, make a pizza in an Italian restaurant, ring up groceries at an international grocery, and dance in the Chinese New Year parade.
New Exhibition: Collections Central: Discover treasures from BCM’s collection and find out what stories they have to tell. Pilot a boat down the Amazon, reconstruct a shattered bowl like an archeologist, discover patterns in objects, and use touch alone to identify mystery objects.
New Exhibition: Crown Heights Neighbors: Images from a photography contest reflect the architectural, cultural, and geographical diversity of Central Brooklyn neighborhoods. The works from photographers ages 10 to 71 include compelling and captivating scenes from a barber shop, a block party picnic, a senior center, picturesque streets, and more.
General Information
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is located at 145 Brooklyn Avenue at St. Marks Avenue. Admission is $7.50 per person. Museum members and children under one year old are free.
For more, call 718-735-4400 or visit www.brooklynkids.org.
