Picks Of The Week: July 18-20

Jeff Koons, Elephant, 2003. Mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating; 36 1⁄2 × 29 × 19 in. (92.7 × 73.7 × 48.3 cm). Private collection. © Jeff Koons. From whitney.org

This weekend holds plenty of family parties including the Best Summer Ever Under the Tent at NYSCI, a Block Party for the New Museum, and a wonderful Jeff Koons family opening at the Whitney! Great summer series are hosting fun themed days like Pier Kids’ Great Brooklyn Bridge day and a Harry Potter Creature Feature Sunday at the Scholastic Store. Finally, don’t miss our bonus Hamptons event, a special family party hosted by Citibabes!

Friday, July 18

Best Summer Ever Under the Tent
New York Hall of Science (NYSCI)
12pm-4pm
All Ages
Learn all about living a healthy lifestyle through scavenger hunts, demos, workshops, and more at this great summer series! NYSCI will be doling out helpful tips and tricks regarding fitness and food. Don’t miss out on the special Parkour Workshop with the Movement Creative at 3pm! Free with admission

Saturday, July 19

New Museum Block Party
Sara D. Roosevelt Park
12pm-5pm
All Ages
Arts and crafts projects, live performances, and interactive tours are all part of the annual New Museum Block Party. Hosted at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, the themed family festivities are based on different exhibitions at the museum and include constructing sea creature trading cards, kinetic sculptures, and American landscape postcards. Free

Jeff Koons Family Opening
Whitney Museum of American Art
9:30am-11am
All Ages
Celebrate the Whitney’s new exhibit “Jeff Koons: A Retrospective” with this fun family opening! Kids will love pieces like the giant sculpture of a balloon dog and a larger-than-life Play-Doh sculpture. Families can also enjoy art-making activities, gallery stations, and more. Free with museum admission

Sunday, July 20

Pier Kids: The Great Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge Park
11am-1pm
Ages 2-8
Join Brooklyn Bridge Park for this special themed Pier Kids! Learn about the history and engineering of the Brooklyn Bridge, then enjoy art and interactive activities based around those concepts. As for every Pier Kids event, arts and crafts and an outdoor pop-up reading room will be available. Free

Harry Potter: Creature Feature Sundays
The Scholastic Store
1pm-4pm
Ages 8 and up
The Scholastic Store is celebrating Harry Potter for the entire month of July! Each day of the week has a different theme, and this Sunday holds a fun Creature Feature! Guests will get to meet animals of the wizarding world, including an owl, a rat, a snake, or a spider! Free

BONUS Hamptons Event:

Hamptons Family Fun Day
The Country Day School
July 19, 10:30am-2:30pm
All Ages
Don’t miss out on Citibabe’s Hamptons Family Fun Day! Explore premier brands while the youngsters get their faces painted, enjoy music, and do fun activities! If that’s not enough, the first 100 guests will receive special gift bags filled with great brands including Babyganics, PediPed, Diptyque, Green Mustache, C Wonder, and Aden + Anais.

Young Actors at Strasberg

Young Actors at Strasberg&nbsp;offers a comprehensive array of acting programs for students in grades 2 &ndash;&nbsp;12. Classes provide kids and teens with a foundation in Lee Strasberg's Method Acting and the tools to succeed in the professional industry &ndash;&nbsp;all while maintaining a fun and playful environment. Programs are tailored to encompass students at all levels, from those just beginning their acting journey to Broadway veterans and professional child actors. Young Actors at Strasberg alumni include Lady Gaga, Sophia Lillis, Angelina Jolie, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Rosario Dawson! Young Actors&nbsp;Programs are available online and in-person at our New York Campus, located in Union Square. Saturday, After-School and Online classes are offered during the traditional school year (Fall, Winter, and Spring) and Monday through Friday day camps and intensives are held in&nbsp;July and August. About The Lee Strasberg Theatre &amp; Film Institute: Founded in 1969 by Lee and Anna Strasberg, The Lee Strasberg Theatre &amp; Film Institute is the only school that teaches Lee Strasberg's work in its complete and authentic form. The Institute's goal is to provide students with a craft that will help them create a reality and respond truthfully in imaginary circumstances, regardless of the style or form of material being used. LSTFI is proud to have award-winning alumni from around the world working as writers, directors, and actors in all mediums.

Broadway Dance Center Children and Teens

With more than 35 years of experience, Broadway Dance Center Children &amp; Teens provides young movers ages 3-18 with exceptional training. BDC delivers the finest all-around dance experience for students by offering a wide variety of styles and levels, performance opportunities, and the highest caliber dance instruction that only New York City and BDC Children &amp; Teens can provide. This studio is so much more than a training course for young dancers; it is a diverse, family-friendly community for budding creatives. It has an exemplary faculty who follow the vision to not only develop a dancer&rsquo;s love and ability in dance, but to do so in a nurturing and supportive way.

Explore MetroWest Boston

<h1>Turn Whining into Winning in MetroWest Boston</h1> From beer gardens to corn mazes, state parks to beautiful art, MetroWest Boston is a great destination for a weekend trip! Enjoy <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/get-outside/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-state-park-61a91acef30b531a665ab64d">Hopkinton State Park</a>&rsquo;s gorgeous foliage while kayaking on the lake or hiking, mountain biking, or snowshoeing on the amazing trails. In the evening, catch a play, musical, concert, art exhibition, dance performance, or immersive theatrical event at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=hopkinton-center-for-the-arts-63c03d7e0d792d753263b4d1">Hopkinton Center for the Arts</a>. Get a great night&rsquo;s sleep at one of the region&rsquo;s hotels, such as <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=the-verve-hotel-boston-natick-tapestry-collection-by-hilton-61aa4790f30b531a666119e4">The VERVE</a>, with its fun and funky pop art d&eacute;cor, or <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=aloft-framingham-6216279ccc891d1d0862c8c2">Aloft</a> with their pool tables and lobby games. In the morning, visit the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=danforth-art-school-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d90">Danforth Art Museum</a>, a jewel box housing 3,500+ artworks from three centuries, including groundbreaking sculptures depicting the African and African American experience by Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. Cross the street to the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=framingham-history-center-61a8e11cf30b531a66592d92">Framingham History Center</a> to explore their new multilingual exhibit that traces the city&rsquo;s immigration story, from those fleeing the 1690s Salem Witch trials, to the Irish and Italian influx in the 1800-1900s, to the current migration of Brazilians. &ldquo;Framingham&rsquo;s Collective Journeys&rdquo; includes oral histories, interactives, and artifacts. No visit to Framingham is complete without stopping at legendary <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/eat/?imgoing-place=jacks-abby-craft-lagers-61a8e11cf30b531a66592da0">Jack&rsquo;s Abby Craft Lagers</a>, one of 17 breweries in MetroWest, where you can enjoy a flight with a schnitzel sandwich or their famous Framinghamburger. Afterwards, spend a few hours at <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/activities/?imgoing-place=level99-64a8389c51f92a351a6a3f06">Level99</a> testing each other with 50+ mental and physical escape rooms and challenges. The next day, tour the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/where-to-stay/?imgoing-place=longfellows-wayside-inn-61aa7aa3f30b531a66621f57">Wayside Inn</a>. The oldest inn in America&rsquo;s 100-acre property includes the Old Barn, now a farm stand with displays of antique farming tools, the historic Grist Mill, and beautiful grounds containing the Longfellow Memorial Garden, the Redstone Schoolhouse from the poem &ldquo;Mary Had a Little Lamb&rdquo;, the Martha-Mary Chapel, and Josephine's Pond for fishing. Stay for a delicious gourmet meal in their historic dining room. Spend the afternoon at the <a href="https://www.metrowestvisitors.org/culture/?imgoing-place=american-heritage-museum-61a92852f30b531a665b17bf">American Heritage Museum</a>. Start your tour in the depths of a WWI trench listening to a nurse&rsquo;s first-hand account from the Western Front while bombs explode above you and the floor begins to shake. This extraordinary museum features one-of-a-kind historic aircraft, tanks, cars and rare relics from the Revolutionary War to today, in immersive exhibits and living history events. Afterwards, wander the charming shops and boutiques of downtown Hudson. <h3>MetroWest Boston offers these and many other attractions, activities and events for the whole family!</h3>