We are celebrating Black History Month with quilting, learning about Black trailblazers, cooking dishes from South Africa and Guyana, and West African drumming workshops.
Visitors to the Walk in! Workshop will be making fabric quilt collages inspired by various fiber artists in the African American Art community. African American quilting has a deep and rich historical connection to African heritage, migration and settlement. Contemporary Black artists create artistic quilts that highlight Black identity, empowerment and beauty.
On Saturday, February 12 at 4:00 pm, MakerspaceNYC will guide visitors in making astronaut helmets inspired by Mae Jemison, an engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut, and who became the first Black woman to travel into space!
ShopRite Kidz Cook with Ms. Becky will focus on dishes from South Africa and Guyana. Throughout the day, Sunday, February 13, visitors will be making sweet oat bars called Crunchies from South Africa and similarly on Sunday, February 20, they will be making Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower from Guyana.
During Mid-Winter Recess, Sunday, February 20 through Saturday, February 26: we will be open daily with timed admission sessions and host a week-long camp Monday through Friday for children aged 5 – 9. Camp details are available here. For visitors, choreographer Walter Rutledge will be with us Monday through Wednesday, throughout the day, offering alternating dance parties and West African drumming workshops with percussionist and Staten Island native Tom Steely. There will be instruments for all participants to play. On Thursday and Friday, Walter will lead Mardi Gras mask-making dance parties incorporating New Orleans music.
In honor of Children’s Dental Health Month, on Wednesday, February 23 at 12:00 pm and 2:15 pm, Dr. Marcia Greene of Bayview Dental Care will lead walk-in, 50 minute workshops on dental hygiene and clay tooth creating.
Saturday, February 26 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, children will be excited to see Casey Carle’s funny and informative Bubble Mania (rescheduled from January). Visitors will learn how bubbles form, why they are spherical, how to make a cube bubble and the science of bubble bursting all while watching sculptures being created out of bubbles.
