Weekend Planner: Everything Families Will Love Doing This Weekend (April 21-23)

Earth Day Celebration at Museum of the City of New York
Go green and celebrate Earth Day with MCNY! The event, which honors the 47th annual Earth Day, features family-friendly and educational activities for all ages including songs, books, and healthy snacks. Enjoy learning about numerous ways New Yorkers work to protect our planet through an interactive scavenger hunt. Afterward, design a pot inspired by nature and plant a seed to take home and watch grow. Show your kids that learning about our planet can be fun! (Saturday)
Car Free NYC: Earth Day
In celebration of Earth Day and protecting our world’s natural resources, Car Free Day NYC wants to encourage New York City drivers to find alternative means of transportation this April 22. To encourage the families of NYC to go car-less for the day, six of Manhattan's busiest plazas will turn into mega block parties, including Union Square Plaza, Flatiron Plaza, Times Square Plaza, and more. So what can parents and kids expect to find at these city wide parties? There will be something for everyone, and more activities than you can possibly imagine, including performances by The Project Dance Foundation, historic bike tours, art workshops, fitness classes, games and activities, giveaways, and more! (Saturday) Photo: nyc.gov
"In A Pickle" at BAM
Beginning this Saturday, Oily Cart will present “In A Pickle” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Inspired by Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, this theatrical performance will take audiences on a sensory adventure. Geared for ages 2 through 5, this production tells the tale of a shepherdess who discovers a lost baby and must journey over land and sea to return the child to its family. Several of the performances will be “relaxed performances.” During these shows, modifications such as the maintaining of moderate house lighting, the lowering of sound volume, the allowance of audience vocalization and movement, and the elimination of blackouts will be in effect. (Saturday-Sunday) Photo: bam.org
"Chihuly" Exhibit at New York Botanical Gardens
For the first time in ten years, visitors to the New York Botanical Garden can view the works of internationally acclaimed artist Dale Chihuly. This new installation, designed specifically for the Garden, will feature approximately 20 installations which use organic shapes and lively colors to highlight the Garden’s beautiful views. On select days, there will also be weekend celebrations, poetry readings, film screenings, art programs for children, and more. (Saturday-Sunday) Photo: nybg.org
Elizabeth Mitchell and You Are My Flower at The Jewish Museum
Guitarist and folk-rocker Elizabeth Mitchell and her family band create gentle, heartfelt music that transfixes audiences of all ages with homespun renditions of great songs by musical greats Woody Guthrie, Bob Marley, The Velvet Underground, Vashti Bunyan, Gillian Welch, and more. (Sunday) Photo: thejewishmuseum.org
Timbaloo Duo Workshop at National Sawdust
Oran Etkin is an acclaimed clarinetist and composer who has been renowned all over the world. Etkin invented the teaching method of Timbalooloo based on young children’s intuitive learning abilities, especially evident in their learning of the languages at an early age. Etkin has trained a group of professionals who will conduct Timbalooloo classes throughout New York City. (Saturday) Photo: jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl
Holi: The Spring Festival of Colors
Stop by The Queens Museum to celebrate Earth Day and Holi, the spring festival of colors. As spring returns with liveliness and energy, our planet Earth is filled with colors. The Hindu Temple Society of North America wants to bring the joyous spirit to NYC by hosting this celebration of spring and our planet. Join them and enjoy some of the best dances and music from across different cultures. (Sunday) Photo: queensmuseum.org
2nd Annual Taste of Battery Park City
Join the Battery Park City community for the 2nd Annual Taste of Battery Park City! The event will benefit PS 89 and will feature 19 neighborhood restaurants dishing up tasty tasting plates. Participating restaurants include Blue Smoke, Shake Shack, Naya Express, Sprinkles Cupcakes, North End Grill, and many others. Kids can enjoy balloon art, face painting, and tattoo art in the Kids Corner. Plus, don’t miss performances by the TriBattery Pops and students from PS 89. Beer and wine from City Vineyard will be available for purchase (cash only). (Sunday) Photo: batterypark.tv
Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Grand Slam Finals
The Apollo Theater will be presenting the Teen Poetry Grand Slam Finals on Saturday, April 22. The competition includes 15 top candidates from New York City who will battle it out until there is one winner to represent the Big Apple in the National Teen Poetry Slam. (Saturday) Photo: urbanwordnyc.org
It's My Park Day
Join the thousands of other New Yorkers who will come out to celebrate It’s My Park Day, a day where residents volunteer and work together to brighten up the city’s public parks. From painting to planting, get involved on your own or by joining a team! The parks ask that those who wish to volunteer in groups larger than 10 people submit a request to Partnerships for Parks. (Saturday) Photo: nycgovparks.org

Brooklyn Robot Foundry - Virtual Classes

Brooklyn Robot Foundry offers super fun online robot-building classes for children 2-13 years old!&nbsp;&nbsp;Each week, students are introduced to new engineering concepts and components while building that day&rsquo;s robot in their own &ldquo;workshop&rdquo;.&nbsp;&nbsp;All classes maintain a very low student-to-teacher ratio, allowing for plenty of individualized instruction and socializing. The supplies are shipped in advance and classes are led by amazing instructors, taking all the pressure off parents.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Foundry&rsquo;s main focus however, is that kids have fun, get creative, and enjoy being part of this STEAM-loving community!&nbsp;

New York Society of Play Summer Camp and Classes

Summer Game Camp There are many who do not feel safe sending their children back out into the world with summer camp, this year. To serve those parents and keep the children connected and stimulated during this challenging time, we are offering NYSP Digital Summer Camp. The name of the game with NYSP Summer Camp is community. We have made a large effort to make our camp feel like a living space, with features including &ndash; - Role-Playing games familiar and new, led by our master storytellers! - Enriching electives such as Chess, World Building, Character Acting, Crafts, Drawing, and more! - Discussion and media screening rooms during lunch! - A digital campus! - Moderated chat hours! &nbsp; Join us for a summer of games, friends, and more! Mon - Fri 10am - 2:30pm &nbsp; Roleplay Expeditions: Dungeons &amp; Dragons No experience is required to join one of our Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our game masters have pre-made character sheets, so you'll be able to start playing the game right away! We adapt the rules of traditional Dungeons &amp; Dragons to make them more approachable to children of various ages. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop!&nbsp; &nbsp; Public games meet once per week, with different groups every time. Private games meet 1 to 2 times per week with the same group of kids. Since the players and the storyteller in the group are consistent, this enables us to tell epic tales of adventure together! &nbsp; Dungeons &amp; Dragons Junior No experience is required to join one of our drop-in Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our Dungeons &amp; Dragons Jr. game provides a D&amp;D storytelling experience without character sheets. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop! A great way to introduce young children to D&amp;D so they can eventually move onto the main game.