Weekend Planner: May 11-13

Contributor: Meghan Gearino

This weekend’s
edition of fun around town is all about the mamas. From a two-day garden party
(Mr. Sun, please stay!) to workshops for all ages and stages—
New York Family wishes you and yours a very delightful Mother’s
Day. —

FRIDAY

Aspiring dancers ages 6-10 should head to Chinatown’s PS 124 to
audition for the prestigious School of American Ballet. Boys and girls are
welcome even without prior training.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

A Year with Children 2012, the Guggenheim’s newest exhibit,
kicks off this weekend. Bring kids ages seven and up for a special showcase spotlighting
art from their peers. (Friday-Sunday)

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

CELEBRATE
MOM
: The New York
Botanical Garden is hosting a weekend-long
Mother’s Day Garden Party filled
with croquet, kite-flying, cupcakes and live music for the entire family.

Acquaint your children with the art form
of arias
through an
hour-long
Introduction to Italian Opera workshop at the Dicapo Opera Theatre.

SATURDAY

For
local kid-friendly fun, Amtrak is hosting
National
Train Day
at Grand Central. The event will include train tours, arts &
crafts and musical performances. To get on board early, check out our
Q&A
about family train travel
, which covers everything from where to go to what
to bring.

Enjoy the earth with 15-foot river puppets and
costumes at the
Earth Celebrations Hudson River Pageant and Parade. Kids of all
ages can enjoy live music and participate in oyster planting.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: French
storytelling, performances and Mother’s Day crafts fill the
French Institute’s
Family Saturday
, perfect for kids of all ages and their families.

It’s part two of the High Line Kids’
Museum Mornings series
, and
this Saturday’s creative partner is El Museo del Barrio. Ages four and up will
dig the bilingual singing, dancing and storytelling.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: Create a
Mother’s Day card that will touch the sky! The Skyscraper Museum’s
greeting
card workshop
is perfect for children looking to DIY this year.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: We didn’t forget
about the younger ones! Head to the Sony Wonder Technology Lab for two
Mother’s
Day Workshops specializing in homemade gifts
: scented bath products and personalized,
take-home gardens.

Climb Mt. Everest (on a slightly
smaller scale!)
at
the Rubin Museum of Art’s
Peak Experience VII Sleepover. Children ages 9-12 are
invited to learn mountain-climbing safety tips, leadership skills, and of
course, scale a mock Mt. Everest.

Pirate School! Is a hilarious, interactive
performance in all-things buccaneer. Head to the Waterfront Museum where
Professor Billy Bones is sure to school you on how to be a good pirate through
magic, comedy and theater.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: For moms who
love to garden, kids ages five and up should head to the Mount Vernon Hotel
Museum & Garden for their
Terrarium Workshop. Every mama deserves a
mini-indoor garden surrounded by vintage glass, right?

If
your child loves
 hands-on
science, stop by the
SciTech
Kids Open House
on the Upper East Side for a taste of their imaginative camps
and afterschool programs.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: socialsklz:-) is
hosting their
Manners for Mother’s Day workshop at Whole Foods Upper West Side
where kids ages four and up will learn table-setting and meal-time etiquette
just in time for Sunday brunch.

SUNDAY

CELEBRATE
MOM
: Speaking of
brunch
Dean Street in
Prospect Heights
is offering a great deal for foodie families from
11am-3pm. Kids under 10 eat free!

CELEBRATE
MOM
: Have a rockin’
Mother’s Day with 92YTribeca’s
Mil’s Trills Collective Moms Celebration. The
band will perform interactive songs with their signature ukuleles for ages 0-5.

CELEBRATE
MOM
: Surprise Ma with
a sweet and creepy-crawly treat from Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
Mother’s Day
Cupcake Decorating workshop
. With toppings like Pop Rocks, chocolate-covered
insects and bacon bits, kids can let their imagination run wild.


NYC Wildflower Week
kicks
off this weekend, and there’s a slew of great family events to look forward to
in the coming days. Be sure to check out the Family Flora Walk in Prospect Park
or discover the colorful salamanders in the Bronx’s Urban Forest.

For even more events and activities this weekend
and beyond, check out our
Family Calendar.

And if you haven’t already, click here to register for our free weekly newsletter
which features our favorite events to enjoy every weekend in the city and
beyond.

Relevant Directory Listings

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The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">The School at the Mark Morris Dance Center offers year-round, community-based dance and music programming in a fully inclusive and nurturing environment, located in the heart of the Brooklyn Cultural District. The School’s diverse and professional faculty provides progressive and non-competitive instruction with all of our classes accompanied by live music. Though we are a non-recital school, there are opportunities for students to perform and for parents to see their dancers in action.</span></p>

Brooklyn Robot Foundry - Virtual Classes

<p><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">Brooklyn Robot Foundry offers super fun online robot-building classes for children 2-13 years old!</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">  </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">Each week, students are introduced to new engineering concepts and components while building that day’s robot in their own “workshop”.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">  </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">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.</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">  </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;">The Foundry’s main focus however, is that kids have fun, get creative, and enjoy being part of this STEAM-loving community!</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small; background-color: #ffffff;"> </span></p>

British Swim School - Long Island

<p>The premier learn-to-swim provider for people of all ages, offering programs for children ages 3-months through adults.  British Swim School uses gentle teaching methods and a survival-first approach to help people of all experience levels become safer, stronger swimmers. British Swim School’s safe, fun, and effective instructional program has made it the preferred choice for parents and students for over 40 years. Come see the British Swim School difference!</p>