Nyckidsartscompleteguide
  • Alliance for the Arts
  • Also visit NYC Arts

Sept 2, 2010

NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

Also Visit NY State Arts

Kid Fun in Grown-Up Museums

Art museums are smart. They know that in terms of creativity and imagination, kids have a lot in common with the artists featured on their walls. To acclimate kids to new ways of looking and discussing what they see, grown-up museums are tailoring programs to young people and their families. It's a great way to groom future museum-goers and artists. 

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Parents

Welcome to NYCkidsARTS, created to help parents and caregivers bring the arts into the lives of young people with whom they are connected.

The organizations listed on this site, found by browsing the A-Z list, by category or discipline or using search, all have programs that are appropriate for young people.

Many of the groups found on this site have developed special programs for afterschool activities and programs for families. Programs, events and activities can be found by using the calendar or search features.

The lessons and activities on NYCkidsARTS are designed so that they can be enjoyed by everyone. They may be used with or without making a trip to the cultural organizations that provided the material—no specialists are required for the lessons.

However, we encourage you to take advantage of all that the cultural groups on this site have to offer by going and doing. Wherever possible, we highlight free or low-cost programs, as well as discounts that these groups offer. To see a list of current discounts, click here.

We also provide information to help you plan your cultural activity, including nearest subway information and whether a venue has onsite food service.

We are continuing to develop additional features and content tailored to parents and caregivers.  Please check back for updates.

Send us your ideas.

Things to Do for Kids

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    52nd Street Project

    Manhattan

    Young people from the Clinton neighborhood are introduced to the business and craft of theater production by The 52nd Street Project with playwriting workshops, classes and mentoring opportunities with members of the Broadway community.

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    A Song for the Horse Nation

    Manhattan

    This exhibition narrates the enduring relationship between Native people and the horse through songs, personal accounts, historic and contemporary images as well as 98 objects.

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    Brooklyn Children's Museum

    Brooklyn

    A menagerie of resident animals and a permanent collection of more than 20,000 natural science objects and cultural artifacts enliven exhibits and presentations at the Brooklyn Children's Museum.

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    Children's Museum of Manhattan

    Manhattan

    Through a unique environment of interactive exhibitions and programs, the museum aims to inspire children and families to learn about themselves and a culturally diverse world.

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    Ferdinand the Bull

    Queens

    In a charming narrated balled with a bull, masked dancers and mechanical figures, the Hudson Vagabond Puppets present the tale of the bull who refused to fight (based on Monro Leaf's classic story from 1936).

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    Los Pleneros de la 21

    Manhattan

    For 25 years, Los Pleneros de la 21 has provided educational performances and programs for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Educational initiatives include Bomba & Plena In the Schools, Bomba & Plena In the House, Bomba & Plena Community Workshops, and Bomba & Plena Un Paso Alante.

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    Museum of American Finance

    Manhattan

    An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum is the nation's only public museum dedicated to finance, entrepreneurship and the open market system.

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    Staten Island Children's Museum

    Staten Island

    Founded by a group of parents in 1974, the museum moved to its current home at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden (see separate entry) in 1986. The museum presents active, hands-on exhibits and programs that demonstrate that learning can be fun.

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    Staten Island Conservatory of Music

    Staten Island

    Modeled on the finest European conservatories of music, this community school offers high-quality music education by world-class instructors to all, regardless of age or origin.

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    Sunday Arts and Crafts

    Manhattan

    This Sunday's activity children five and older can use multicolored yarn to learn how to weave and make friendship bracelets or use wood, fabric and other materials to build a diorama of life in the "old country."

More Things to Do

Kids' Events

  • The Clinton Room

    ManhattanOngoing

    This room has been recreated to look how it did in 1783, when New York governor George Clinton held a dinner there for George Washington in celebration of the evacuation of British soldiers from New York.

  • Fare Game

    BrooklynOngoing

    Housed in a decommissioned subway station with 21 vintage subway cars, including the last money train, the exhibition Show Me the Money spotlights how our fares used to travel from the turnstile to a secret location. After a tour of the exhibit and stepping into the two-car money train, students play a board game, working in pairs to solve math challenges.

More events

Parent Resources

Curriculums, Lesson Plans & Activities

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