Taking less that 20 seconds, an 11-story building on Governors Island was turned into a pile of dust and rubble at the weekend. The building previously housed 165 members of the US Coast Guard and has been knocked down in order to make way for 30 acres of new park and public spaces.

The new park will have baseball and soccer fields, amongst many other great facilities, and will also provide a great view of the Statue of Liberty from the island.

If you missed it, watch here!

Image source: http://www.nyc.gov

This week sees the launch of the New York Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, aimed at getting kids interested in reading over the holidays.

There are all kinds of great programs going on at New York City’s public library systems: Brooklyn Public Library, The New York Public Library (serving the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island) and Queens Library. There are reading programs, celebrations, author events, book discussions, craft programs, music programs…and almost everything at the library is free.

Read more about the Summer Reading Program here

Image Source: NYPL

This summer, from June 1st through June 16th, the Sing for Hope Pianos return to the streets of NYC. This is one of New York City’s most vibrant public art installations with 88 artist-designed pianos (one for each key on a piano) being placed in parks and public spaces throughout the 5 boroughs for all to enjoy.

Over 1,000 Volunteer Artists and local community members were selected through an open application process and have donated their time and talent to create this beautiful gift. We can all enjoy the 88 unique and interactive piano artworks like they are meant to be enjoyed.

Once on the streets, neighborhood associations and community organizations serve as “piano buddies” and supervise each piano throughout the duration of the project, making sure they are protected from inclement weather. The Sing for Hope Pianos unite our city, as artists from all walks of life create daily spontaneous concerts and neighborhoods come together around the shared gift of music and art.

After their public residency, the pianos will be donated to under-served local schools, healthcare facilities, and community organizations, where Sing for Hope artists continue to bring the pianos to life year-round through classes, performances, and workshops.

Website

PHOTO:  singforhope.org – Sing for Hope Co-Founders Camille Zamora and Monica Yunus join students at the Bronx Betances Community Center with their new donated Sing for Hope Piano by volunteer artist Jillian Logue (Photo by Lekha Singh)

Image: Julie Larsen Maher

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo’s Dinosaur Safari opens to the public on Saturday, May 25. The exhibit includes more than 20 life-like animatronic dinosaurs up to 40 feet long which snarl, roar and spit.

The narrated ride runs through a two-acre area of the zoo and highlights some of the similar physical and behavioral adaptations many prehistoric species share with modern-day wildlife. A guide helps identify the dinosaurs and explains how animals at the Bronx Zoo use similar adaptations to survive in the wild.

Dinosaur Safari begins with the Permian period which began about 300 million years ago and concludes with the Cretaceous period which ended 65 million years ago.

Each dinosaur encountered moves and vocalizes. At the end of the experience, there is a fossil dig for children; a Tyrannosaurus rex photo-op; a paleontologist’s tent where fossil replicas will be on display; and an interactive Stegosaurus that shows how the dinosaur animatronics work.

“The Dinosaur Safari experience is a total immersive experience,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President, General Director WCS Zoos and Aquarium, and Bronx Zoo Director. “The dinosaurs are realistic and through the entire safari visitors are surrounded by thick jungle foliage, which really adds to the experience and helps you imagine that you have traveled back in time to see these amazing creatures.”

Featured dinosaur species include favorites like a 40-foot long Tyrannosaurus rex, a species that was an apex predator much like the lions on the zoo’s African Plains today; and Brachiosaurus, a herbivore that used its long neck to feed from tree tops like a giraffe. Other lesser-known dinosaur species on the safari include Pachycephalosaurus, a dinosaur that may have used its thick skull to battle for territory and females in a manner similar to the American bison; and Coelophysis, small by dinosaur standards, but an effective pack hunter like spotted hyenas.

The entire safari route includes plants, shrubs and trees that help illustrate the periods of time where these animals lived.  Some of the greenery includes monkey puzzle and gingko trees and cycads that date back 300 million years to the Permian period. Ferns begin to show up in the Jurassic period, and the magnolias, palms, and laurel are well represented in the section of the safari that illustrates the Cretacious period.

Other Dinosaur Safari-themed activities throughout the zoo include Wildlife Theater –Adaptations; A Dinosaur Musical on the stage at Asia Plaza; hands-on crafts and a LaQ Dinosaur Build Station at the Dancing Crane Pavilion; a giant 3D dinosaur puzzle; and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 4-D Experience.  A full list of daily activities is available at www.BronxZoo.com/dino.

This limited engagement will run from Saturday, May 25 through Sunday, September 8 and will be included in the Total Experience Ticket. A 20 percent discount is offered with online purchases for Monday and Tuesday visits.

Tickets can be purchased in advance atwww.bronxzoo.com/dinotix.

With Mario’s slapstick humor and handcrafted props, his show is definitely one for the whole family to enjoy, and the latest addition to his show, Marcel the Mechanical Monkey, will certainly keep your little ones engaged. He loves getting the kids involved in the show and his old-school, retro style makes him stand out from the magician crowd!

He is performing this Saturday (May 18) at the Metropolitan Room (34 W 22nd St NYC) at 11.30am.

See here for tickets, or call 212.206.0440 (advance ticket purchase is highly recommended.)

NYLK: How did you first get involved with magic?

Mario: I always had a strong interest in the arts, thanks in large part to a very passionate teacher in high school who explained the importance of art in the world as something as vital as oxygen and water. After high school, I traveled and hitchhiked around the country, carrying that artistic passion with me, and I fell in love with the art of the street performer. He sets up in a park without an audience, and his movements and voice build an audience one by one.

I saw my first performance of magic when I was 22 in a small magic shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My interest was watered and fed every time I stopped by that magic shop. A few weeks in, and I was glued to a stool at the counter like a guy at a coffee shop, wasting the whole day away. My heroes became the folks at that shop, unknown people in the common world, names that ring no bell to the general public. To me, though, they were miracle makers. One good routine was all it took to make a believer. Five minutes in their presence, and you’d swear reality was not reality. These artists practiced a 15-second trick for two years! Their Picasso painting was a living moment. If you are alive and there at the right time you could see it, experience it, and it was worth everything. I took their dedication and passion and began adapting it to my life.

NYLK: Why New York?

Mario: It’s my home. It’s a symbol of my family. They came here as immigrants, pursued their dreams, and succeeded. NYC has a deep love for the arts. I can’t find another place with more inspiration, joy, excitement, and new ideas. It’s a waterfall of passion everywhere.

NYLK: Who is your all time favorite magician and how have they inspired or influenced you in your work?

Mario: I can’t pin it down to one magician, and I wouldn’t limit it to “magicians” in the traditional sense of the word. I am deeply inspired by Nikola Tesla and his love for electricity. He controlled a toy sailboat with radio control in 1898 in Central Park. People freaked out! Or Charlie Chaplin and the way he turned his hat and cane into magic. The Great Ballentine and how he never performed a real magic trick throughout his whole show! I have always been inspired by people’s signature pieces. Whether it’s a song, or a dance number, or an invention. It’s a universal feeling I get that pushes me to find my own voice.

NYLK: What has been your favorite/most memorable moment during one of your shows?

Mario: I would say my favorite moments are when I see a child really laugh hard when they are on stage with me. I have to laugh with them. I snap out of out of character for a moment and just enjoy their joy.

NYLK: What is in the immediate future for Mario the Magician?

Mario: I’m always building and making new props and routines. Lately I’ve been focusing on my newest creation, Marcel the Mechanical Monkey, who I recently debuted in my show. He is an automated, robotic monkey, all made from scratch, who performs with me. He’s been with me at my current run of shows at NYC’s Metropolitan Room, where I perform on select Saturday mornings through early July. That has been a lot of fun, bringing the show to a cabaret venue, where parents can sit back with a cup of coffee or drink and enjoy the show from their seats as their kids take over the area in front of the stage for a more close-up experience.

Aside from that, we recently announced that I’ll be performing two shows this summer accompanied by my “Sleight of Hand Band” for the Lincoln Center Local program in collaboration with Queens Library. We love our collaborations with Lincoln Center, and those are sure to be fantastic dates.

To read more about Mario, and see future show dates, please visit his website.

Photo credit: Dennis Kleiman

Image: AMNH

NEW LIVE ANIMAL EXHIBIT COMING TO AMNH

Brilliant orange, bright blue, dazzling red—frogs come in an astonishing array of colors. This vivid assortment of hues hints at the remarkable diversity that exists among the frog species inhabiting the globe. From lush rainforests to parched deserts, frogs are found in nearly every environment on Earth, and their survival strategies range from surprising to bizarre.

A pioneer in modern frog research, the American Museum of Natural History has one of the largest frog collections in the world. Museum expeditions to remote mountaintops, as well as surveys of local wetlands, continue to uncover new populations and species—but also reveal environmental changes that threaten frogs’ existence. Many efforts are underway to reverse this downward trend globally and in our own backyards.

Opens May 18, 2013 and runs through to Jan 05, 2014.

Click here for more info.

Mornings On The Farm @ The Art Farm In The City
Bring the whole family to farm (in the city)! Join us for a fun and special morning on our indoor petting zoo. Kids get a basket of food and get to feed our friendly animals as well as meet, pet, and hold them. With over 50 animals to visit, you are sure have a great morning!

Family Yoga @ Fort Tyron Park
Join in with some free yoga for the whole family with Robin Rosiello, a certified yoga instructor. All ages are welcome.

Family Workshop Mother’s Day Bedazzled Beads @ Sony Wonder Technology Lab
Bedazzle mom!  Explore fun shapes and fantastic colors as you make your very own beads out of modeling clay. Learn about patterns as you string them together to make mom a unique bracelet or necklace for Mother’s Day.

Family Art Labs – Raja-Rani: King and Queen for a Day! @ Rubin Museum of Art
Discover the magnificent jewels, head gears, belts and robes of the Naga people in the galleries and create your own royal costume and adornments inspired by the Exhibit Fiercely Modern: Art of the Naga Warrior.

May 11th Mother’s Day Cook & Play Saturday @ Chef Toni’s Cooking Adventure
It’s a special Mother’s Day Cook & Play Saturday like no other. Join us as our junior chefs show their love and appreciation to mommy with a healthy cooking lesson that junior chefs will be bringing home. Perfectly wrapped and ready to eat, junior chefs will also be leaving with a special gift for you when they return.

Sunday May 12

Torah Unwrapped @ Jewish Children’s Museum
Children explore the process of making a Torah during this interactive workshop. Uncover the history of hundred-year-old scrolls, see and handle unfinished hides for parchment, mix ink, fashion goose-feather quills and watch the scribe as he practices his “scribal scribble” on a piece of parchment!

Macy’s Sunday Story Time: Mother’s Day @ DiMenna Children’s History Museum
It is important to spend quality time with your mom on Mother’s Day. But a little Bear lost his mama in the middle of New York City. Help the little Bear find his mama and then share what you enjoyed about the story with your mother!

Road Trip Across America, Part II – Weekend Camp @ NY Kids Club
Young travelers will begin in the Aloha State, warming up with yoga, relay races and a basketball game of volcanic proportions in Hawaiian sun. Next it’s time to dash off to the Show Me State to create opossum puppets in good ole MO.

Archaeological Dig Drop-In @ The Jewish Museum
Our simulated archaeological dig is open for families on the second Sunday of each month. Ages 3 to 10.

Second Sunday For Families @ Queens Museum Of Art
Every Second Sunday of the month the Queens Museum of Art expands its regular family art workshop and engages participants of all ages in a roster of studio art, family-designed gallery tours and live music and dance performances, inspired by the museum’s permanent collection and changing exhibitions. Free refreshments included.

All Weekend

Family Art Workshop: Supersize It! @ MoMA
Discover Claes Oldenburg’s oversized sculptures of ordinary objects. Then, play with scale as you reimagine the everyday and make your own sculptures.
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. and 2:00–4:00 p.m.

Mother’s Day Weekend Picnic in the Garden @ Queens Botanical Garden
Take mom to lunch at QBG! Pack a picnic basket or a brown-bag lunch and spend a delightful afternoon enjoying the flowers.

“WINK” An Imaginative Journey For The Very Young @ Brooklyn Arts Exchange
What happens when we go to sleep? Spellbound Theatre’s “Wink” is an imaginative and multi-disciplinary performance that explores dreams from the perspective of a young child and her bear. Blending shadow puppetry, physical theatre, and animation, this unique show is a captivating journey designed to engage and inspire the very youngest audience members.

For the full list of events happening this week please see here

*The above events were correct at time of going to press – please check with venue before setting off

Dinosaur Safari is coming to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo beginning, Saturday, May 25, Memorial Day weekend. The new attraction will include a ride through the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods with more than two-dozen animatronic dinosaurs up to 40 feet long which move, snarl, roar and spit.   

In anticipation of the new exhibit, the Bronx Zoo is offering New Yorkers a chance to vote for their favorite dinosaur species at www.bronxzoo.com/dino and win tickets to see the dinosaurs. Included in the vote: long-necked Brachiosaurus, the intimidating Tyrannosaurus rex, the gator-like Baryonyx, the massive Triceratops, or the flighted Quetzalcoatlus. Exclusive Bronx Zoo Dinosaur Safari stickers that can be used with a safari field guide will be given to those who vote.

Dinosaur Safari will include a ride through a two-acre area of the zoo and will highlight the physical or behavioral adaptations many share with species that are alive today.

This limited engagement will run from Saturday, May 25 through Sunday, September 8 and will be included in the Total Experience Ticket.

A 20 percent discount is offered with online purchases for Monday and Tuesday visits.  Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.bronxzoo.com/dino.

Image Credit: Julie Larsen Maher

At AppliedLabels.com, you can personalize labels with names, icons, and more. You’ll find all the labels you need for school, camp, daycare, and for use at home.

Shop for household labels, clothing labels, baby bottle labels, and much more; waterproof, dishwasher safe, & iron-on labels available; label your kids’ belongings for school and before they head to camp!

$12 for $25 Toward Any Labels
$20 for $40 Toward Any Labels

Customized, Waterproof Labels for All Needs [click for deal: expires May 10, 2013]

Reviving the Renaissance: Sidewalk Chalk Contest @ Torly Kid
Join in with this first ever sidewalk chalk contest. Each participant is provided with a 2 foot chalk frame area and chalk to create their artwork. Kids and adults can choose from a stack of inspiring pieces to replicate or create their very own work of art! Prizes will be awarded.

Touch-A-Truck @ PS 295, The School of Arts & Culture
Trucks, vans, buses, and large vehicles of every description will once again be available for children to sit in, climb on, marvel at, and generally have their way with. Over 25 vehicles are scheduled to take part, along with their drivers/operators, who will be on hand to explain how these automobiles work and what purpose they serve in the community.

Families And Folk Art @ American Folk Art Museum
Families and Folk Art is offered the first Saturday of every month from 1 to 2 pm. The program introduces children ages 4 to 12 and their accompanying adults to folk art through interactive and discussion-based tours in the galleries followed by hands-on art-making activities inspired by objects in the museum.

Meet The Fledglings! @ DiMenna Children’s History Museum
How do you feed and care for a fledgling? Participants will learn about the bird life of New York City and about actual wild bird rehabilitation cases. They’ll also feed some of the baby birds in the WBF’s care, and have the option of crafting nests for baby bird patients.

Mario The Magican And His Suitcase Machine @ Metropolitan Room
Join Mario the Magician for an uplifting, inventive, and highly interactive magical performance for the young and young-at-heart! Part retro, part rock and roll, Mario is an artist and inventor who creates his own props. Mario’s old world looks and physical comedy style are reminiscent of his heroes, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but he puts a thoroughly modern spin on everything he does.

SUNDAY MAY 5

Little Swappies @ Avenues: The World School
Come along and swap the clothes that your child has outgrown. Swappable items include: Children’s clothing size 0-5T, costumes, books, toys, and maternity wear.

Live Concert and Video Taping Event: The Suzi Shelton Band @ 92YTribeca 
New songs, gumdrops, horns, fire fighters, and music video taping! You can be part of the action – free firefighters hats to the 1st 100 kids! All you have to do is purchase a ticket and come to the live concert, and you may have a chance to be in Suzi’s brand new music video!

Celebrating Japan’s Children’s Day Through Performance & Crafts-Making: Kodomo no hi @ Japan Society
Enjoy Children’s Day with a fun theater performance introducing a classic Japanese children’s story featuring Peach Boy (Momotaro) and festival-related song and dance by Theatre Banana.  Children will create their own samurai helmets (kabuto) and carp streamers (koinobori), traditional Children’s Day decorations.

Sunday Studio @ MAD Museum
On the first Sunday of the month, join a professional artist to explore the galleries followed by a hands on workshop inspired by the objects in the exhibition. This program is suitable for ages 6 and up.

ALL WEEKEND

A Year with Children 2013 @ Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Learning Through Art, the pioneering arts education program of the Guggenheim Museum, presents A Year with Children 2013, an exhibition that showcases select artworks by students in grades two through six.
Molly Bloom Lately @ Marjorie S.Deane Little Theater
This educational and entertaining musical tells the story of a third grader who, after being teased for being small, must learn to not only stand up for, but also believe in herself. The story encourages a celebration of individuality and to always be kind even when others are not. For ages 5+

“WINK” An Imaginative Journey For The Very Young @ Brooklyn Arts Exchange
What happens when we go to sleep? Spellbound Theatre’s “Wink” is an imaginative and multi-disciplinary performance that explores dreams from the perspective of a young child and her bear. Blending shadow puppetry, physical theatre, and animation, this unique show is a captivating journey designed to engage and inspire the very youngest audience members.

For the full list of events happening this week please see here

*The above events were correct at time of going to press – please check with venue before setting off