Free and Fun Things to Do this Weekend for NYC Kids: Chocolate Show, Children's History Museum, Veterans Day Nov 11-13

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Friday is Veterans Day so most of us are looking at a three-day weekend! (My son's school is even closed on Monday.) Luckily there's plenty of family fun to be had on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

There is a slew of special events at various museums. The Jewish Museum is hosting an Ezra Jack Keats Family Day in conjunction with its exhibit celebrating the iconic children's book author and illustrator. The New York Historical Society is reopening after a lengthy renovation with a brand-new attraction for families: the DiMenna Children's History Museum. The Children's Museum of Manhattan unveils a new permanent exhibit Eat Sleep Play. The New York Transit Museum is offering special programming along with its new ElectriCity installation. And there's a brand-new museum opening on Veterans Day at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

If none of those strike your fancy, there's also the delicious Chocolate Show, BAM Rose Cinemas' Puppets on Film festival (which includes a screening of The Muppet Movie) or a Little Orchestra Society classical concert.

And that's just a few of the great things going on this weekend. Read on for all of our picks and remember, you can find additional options in our Event Calendar.

Notable News: HPV Vaccine for Boys, Renovations for Central Park Playgrounds, Sculptures on Broadway

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Has it been two weeks already? Apparently so, and we're back with our biweekly news roundup.

Before you head to the polls for Election Day (or to the playground since public school students have the day off), check out our take on a number of interesting stories, including the suggestion that boys get the HPV vaccine as well as girls (because it's nice to share), a possible space museum in Midtown West and some awesome public art.

A Celebration of Young Photographers at Arethusa Farms: ASAP

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If you live in Litchfield County, your children may have attended a workshop sponsored by ASAP, The After School Arts Program based in Washington, CT. ASAP was created 13 years ago as a way to engage Region 12 children in artistic and cultural activities that otherwise would not be available to them. What started as eight workshops has turned into over one hundred as well as a summer camp program, field trips, concerts and classes for preschoolers and adults.

ASAP's programming is extensive, covering all ages and including workshops such as beatboxing, hip hop dancing, making ecobooks and creating a musical from your favorite book. Anyone can attend one of the numerous workshops and the after school programming is open to all Region 12 area students.

A new event this year, A Celebration of Young Photographers, invites students to submit a photograph reflecting their interpretation on this year’s theme: Perspectives on Home. Joanne Torti, Executive Director, sees this as a true community event--one that is open to all children, grades 3-12, across the region. One that allows them to explore their creative side and be recognized for it. It's also a fun way to usher in the holidays.

Puppets on Film: See Movies Starring Kermit, Elmo and other Muppets and Puppets in Brooklyn

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It's no secret that we're big fans of the Muppets. In fact next week, in honor of the new Muppet movie, we're planning a post about how to get your Muppet fix in NYC. This cool film series at BAM Rose Cinemas is one of the activities we'll spotlight, but Puppets on Film sounds so awesome, we wanted to give it its own dedicated post.

Co-presented by BAMcinématek and the Jim Henson Foundation, and curated by Cheryl Henson (daughter of late Muppets mastermind Jim Henson), Puppets on Film comprises 54 movies starring creatures made of foam, fabric, metal and wood. The series include features, shorts and documentaries, including beloved kids' classics (The Muppet Movie, Muppet Treasure Island), little known international titles (Kooky) and even offerings for adults (Team America: World Police, the critically acclaimed doc Being Elmo).

We chatted with Henson about Puppets on Film, and also highlight the films best suited to families.

ElectriCity Exhibit Lights Up the New York Transit Museum

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I love taking my preschoolers to the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn. It's a great destination for families with train-and-bus obsessed kids (aren't they all?) with fun exhibits, informative displays and—most importantly for the under-five set—buses you can pretend to drive.

Even if you've been using the New York Transit Museum as your rainy day play spot for years, there's a new reason to visit: the institution's first major exhibit in over a decade, ElectriCity: Powering New York's Rails. The large interactive installation takes up about 2,000 square feet of the mezzanine, and will be on view through the end of 2016 (just in case you like to plan ahead). My kids and I went to check it out and found it really engaging. In fact, it was so cool, even my two-and-a-half-year-old agreed to put off driving that old-time bus for a half hour!

Fun Things To Do With Kids During Fall Break in New Jersey November 9-11

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Well, our kids’ teachers (a.k.a., our saviors) are off to the NJEA Convention for a couple of days this week, leaving us with bored children at home. Sure, they could watch TV for 72 straight hours or force you to do glue-y and paint-y crafts, but we’d like to give you a few more options. Try a camp or see a play or head out to the grand opening of an indoor amusement park. But whatever you do, savor the moments—you know, because we only have about ninety more school days off coming up.

Peter Pan at City Hall Plaza in Boston: Family Entertainment in the Round

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Take a walk up Cambridge Street in Boston most evenings, and you can’t miss the blue glow that comes from a 100-foot-tall tent rising from City Hall Plaza. The glowing tent is a unique theatrical space - the “threesixtyº Theatre” - where Peter Pan is performed through December. This new, in-the-round version is true to J.M. Barrie’s original tale of the boy who refuses to grow up, yet technically innovative enough for a 21st century audience. First performed in London, the traveling show has been to Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles prior to its arrival in Boston.

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