Presidents' Day Weekend 2012 for NYC Kids: Kids Week at the Intrepid, Family Mardi Gras Celebrations, Washington Birthday Bashes

There's plenty to do this three-day holiday weekend, which kicks off February break for public school students. The Intrepid's Kids Week starts this weekend with two days of circus-themed activities, the Bronx Children’s Museum drives its art bus into Mott Haven and teams from the annual Sword Dance Festival perform throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Since it is Presidents' Day weekend, there's also lots of historical fun, like a look at 19th-century architecture at the King Manor Museum and retro birthday bashes for George Washington at the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden and Morris-Jumel Mansion. If you're up for something a little more raucous, you can celebrate Mardi Gras and Carnaval family-style at El Museo del Barrio, Bryant Park and the Children’s Museum of the Arts.

These are just a few of the great things going on this Presidents' Day weekend. All of our best bets are below. You can find additional options in our Event Calendar and our Winter Fun Guide. And if you're looking for cool activities over midwinter recess, check out our February break fun post.

All Weekend

Annual Sword Dance Festival – Manhattan and Brooklyn
This jolly old English tradition features dancers holding linked swords to create intricate patterns. NYC’s own Half Moon Sword troupe and many others perform in various Manhattan and Brooklyn locations. Saturday and Sunday only. FREE or free with museum admission, depending on venue.

Circus Weekend at the Intrepid – Midtown West
As part of the museum's annual Kids Week, visitors can see performances by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clowns, hit the circus fun zone, and catch acrobatic or stilt walking shows. There will also be a screening of the soon-to-be-released animated film Pirates: Band of Misfits. Free with admission: $24 for adults, $19 for children ages 7-17, $12 for ages 3-6, free for kids under 3.

Junior Engineer: Dig It – Brooklyn Heights
Kids can grab a shovel and try to unearth archeological treasures at the New York Transit Museum's mock excavation site. Saturday and Sunday only. Free with admission: $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 2-17, free for kids under 2.

Bronx Children’s Museum's River on the Go – Mott Haven
Although the Bronx Children’s Museum isn't scheduled to open until 2014, families can enjoy its mobile bus exhibits until the building is finished. This three-day weekend, BCM parks River on the Go at the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market. Kids can learn about the Bronx River by exploring a multi-sensory diorama, and then head to the nearby Home Depot to work on a related art project. The market will also be hosting giveaways and special events while the exhibit is on view. FREE

The Hundred Dresses – Midtown West
One of our favorite children's theater companies in NYC, Atlantic for Kids, presents a musical based on Eleanor Estes’ 1944 picture book about an immigrant girl who's taunted for wearing the same dress to school every day. It's a heavy story that elementary schoolers should relate to. $20 for adults, $10 for children under 13.

Saturday, February 18

Washington’s Birthday Celebration – Washington Heights
Head to to the historic Morris-Jumel Mansion to celebrate George Washington’s birthday. The retro fun includes trying on colonial costumes and participating in a scavenger hunt. FREE

The Okee Dokee Brothers – Upper West Side
This Minnesota folk/bluegrass duo is a real hootenanny. The band will pick, strum and croon tunes from its kids' albums Take it Outside and the soon-to-be-released Can you Canoe? at Symphony Space today.

Super Sabado: Carnaval – East Harlem
El Museo del Barrio celebrates Carnaval at the February edition of its monthly family festival. Kids can dance to traditional music from Trinidad and Tobago, create festive masks, strike a party pose in the photo booth, hear a concert by Grammy Award-winning Mexican singer-songwriter Lila Downs and more. FREE

Global Weekends: The African-American Musical Mosaic – Upper West Side
In honor of Black History Month, the American Museum of Natural History hosts an afternoon of amazing African-American music, including the First Corinthian Baptist Church Choir, the classical Harlem Quartet and hip-hop pioneer Darryl "DMC" McDaniels from Run-DMC. Free with suggested admission: $19 for adults, $10.50 for children 2-12, free for kids under 2.

Hands on History: This Old House – Jamaica
The King Manor Museum teaches kids about 19-century architecture through craft projects and stories. FREE

Fastelavn — Murray Hill
Got little kids who love to dress up? (Of course you do.) Then they'll love celebrating Fastelavn, a sort of Danish Halloween at Scandinavia House. Come in costume for sing-alongs, games and lots of sugary treats. Afterward, stick around and explore the recently remodeled Heimboldt Children’s Learning Center. $7 for Fastelavn, $8 for the children's center.

Mardi Gras Celebration at Le Carrousel – Midtown West
Put on your best purple, green and gold outfits and head to Bryant Park for G-rated Mardi Gras fun including mask making, music, a magic show and a kids' parade. FREE (carousel rides cost $2).

Hands-On Nano Demos – Midtown East
The Sony Wonder Technology Lab invites kids to explore this tiny field of science with hands-on activities that reveal the properties, structures, materials and scale of nanoscience. FREE

Saturday Family Programs: Urban Stages presents Musical Tales with Atiba – Prospect Heights
In celebration of Black History Month, the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library welcomes storyteller Atiba Wilson, who'll share his favorite African folktales with musical accompaniment. FREE

Family Day at the Center for Architecture: Skyscrapers – Greenwich Village
Learn about the tricked-out new skyscrapers that are gracing city skylines all around the world, and then collaborate on your own new-fangled highrise. Pre-registration required. $20 for a family of four.

See all Saturday events.

Sunday, February 19

Arty Gras Festival and Parade – Hudson Square
The Children's Museum of the Arts throws its version of a Mardi Gras festival. Kids can make their own masks, noisemakers and floats, and then participate in a music-filled parade. Pizza from Two Boots will also be on offer. Free with admission: $10.

Washington’s Birthday Ball – Upper East Side
Celebrate George Washington’s birthday the way New Yorkers did back in the 19th century. Watch and learn country dances from the period, take a tour of the museum and enjoy some refreshments. $15 for adults, $10 for children.

Jumpin Juniper Presents: Spellbound Theater’s Wink — Park Slope
The tale of Wynken, Blynken and Nod comes to life via shadow puppets, physical theater and projections at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. After the show, tots can romp in the well-appointed playroom for an hour. Buying tickets in advance is recommended. $$7, free for children under 2.

Preservation Detectives: Patterns and Paint Family Program – Lower East Side
Families can learn how the Museum at Eldridge Street's beautiful painted interiors and faux marble walls were made, and then create art inspired by the decor. $15 per family.

Doktor Kaboom – Corona
In this silly one-man show, a "doctor" performs a variety of scientific experiments on stage at the Queens’ Theater in the Park. We predict the biggest hit will be the doc trying to catapult a banana into an audience member's open mouth. $14

See all Sunday events.

Monday, February 20

Holiday Monday at the Met – Upper East Side
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open on Monday in honor of the holiday, and offering family sketching programs throughout the day. Free with suggested admission: $25 for adults, free for children under 12.

Staten Island Children’s Museum – Staten Island
If you've always wanted to check out this tot spot, today's a great day to go. Due to the holiday, the museum is offering free admission. FREE

LIFE: Kids Nature Film Series – Prospect Lefferts Gardens
My son loved watching LIFE when it aired on the Discovery Channel. If your family missed it, you can catch this beautiful and illuminating documentary series throughout the week, including today, at the Audubon Center in Prospect Park. FREE

Presidents' Day Event – Hunts Point
The Hunts Point Recreation Center hosts a Presidents' Day program, where kids can learn about former U.S. leaders, and pen letters saying what they would do if they ran the country. FREE

Engineering Day at the New York Hall of Science – Corona
Spend the day building and tinkering at the Queens science spot. Kids can make toothpick/gumdrop domes, bridges from paper and paper clips, towers from Jenga blocks and other cool creations. Free with admission: $11 for adults, $8 for children ages 2-17, free for kids under 2.

See all Monday events.

Outside of NYC

On Monday, learn all about our former leaders at the Newark Museum Presidents' Day Open House.

In Norwalk, Connecticut, families can go on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Maritime Aquarium to feed the sharks and stingrays.

Don’t forget: There are lots of other options in our Event Calendar.

Planning an event? Submit it to our Event Calendar.

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