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Best Things to Do This Weekend in NYC with Kids: Street Arts, EarthFest, Holi!

Alex Da Corte’s Enchanting commission As Long as the Sun Lasts is now open on The Met's rooftop garden. Photo courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Anna-Marie Kellen
Alex Da Corte’s Enchanting commission As Long as the Sun Lasts is now open on The Met's rooftop garden. Photo courtesy The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Anna-Marie Kellen
4/21/21 - By Drew Kristofik

Happy Earth Day, everyone! The official day is Thursday, but plenty of events are running on Saturday, including the Street Arts celebration, taking over West 103rd Street with music and dancing, Brooklyn Downtown's car-free bonanza, and the Bronx Zoo's annual Run for the Wild fundraiser. The American Museum of Natural History's Earth Day celebration is an all-online affair but action-packed as ever.

Kids Take Over Camp is designed to help kids build financial savvy and is offered at all three NYC Camp stores Saturday. You can toss some color around at the Brooklyn Children Museum's Holi celebration or enjoy the return of live art programs at Wave Hill.

For more outdoor art, check out Rock Center's Life Forces immersive installation, The Met's Sesame Street/Calder mashup, As Long as the Sun Lasts, or nature's own contribution to impressionism, the Randall's Island's cherry blossoms.

For more ideas, sprint over to our Event Calendar, check out our April GoList, and don't miss our spring day trip ideas.

Remember, it's time to book summer camps, and you can learn more about local and virtual options at our upcoming Online Camp Fair, where you can visit virtual booths and watch live camp demos from the comfort of your couch.

Editor's note: While we are trying to promote safer activities that occur outdoors or with social distancing guidelines in place, please keep your family and others safe by always wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. If you arrive at an event that appears too crowded, try using the “nearby” search feature on our Event Calendar to find something else to do. Please plan your outings in advance, as many venues require timed-entry tickets or reservations to limit crowd size.

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Camp is letting kids take control for the day to learn about spending, saving, and giving with a free event from Camp and Ally. Photo courtesy of Camp
Camp is letting kids take control for the day to learn about spending, saving, and giving with a free event from Camp and Ally. Photo courtesy of Camp

Best Things To Do in NYC This Week With Kids

EarthFest

Virtual–FREE
Thursday, April 22
New York's American Museum of Natural History's annual celebration of planet Earth is once again virtual this year—which means everyone on Earth can join in. READ MORE

Earth Day Planters

Upper West Side
Wednesday, April 21-Friday, April 23
Book a Superpowered Creators Adventure tour and celebrate Earth Day by decorating a mini planter and filling it with seeds you can grow at home. READ MORE

Virtual Performance: The Paper Bag Players

FREE
Friday, April 23
With thanks to NYC's Jewish Museum, The Paper Bag Players present Out And About And Together Again. This virtual show was produced for the little screen, yet bursts with big-time imagination and fun. READ MORE

Earth Day at Brooklyn Bridge Park

Dumbo, Brooklyn–FREE
Saturday, April 24
Celebrate mother nature and the outdoors with a full day of volunteer opportunities, open hours at the Ed Center, yoga, and fitness classes. READ MORE

Family-Friendly Earth Day Celebration

Crotona Park, the Bronx–FREE
Saturday, April 24
Celebrate Earth Day at an outdoor event with a river model demonstration, community paddle, coloring activities, and bike repair stations. Take a sneak peek at River House, learn about native wildlife, and celebrate the beauty of the Bronx River! READ MORE

Kids Take Over Camp

Chelsea, Hudson Yards, and City Point, Brooklyn–FREE
Saturday, April 24
Camp is letting kids take control for the day to learn about spending, saving, and giving with a free event from Camp and Ally. They’ll even earn Camp money to spend on actual toys! READ MORE

Street Arts: An Earth Day Celebration

Morningside Heights–FREE
Saturday, April 24
This festive afternoon of dance, art, and music is designed to demonstrate the healing qualities and joyful expression of a community gathering. Enjoy a variety of performances running all afternoon long. READ MORE

Hawk Watch

East Village–FREE
Saturday, April 24
Urban Park Rangers help families discover the plants and animals that inhabit the urban forest, including hawks making their home in Tompkins Square Park. BYO binoculars and field guides. READ MORE

Spring Chores 'n' Tours

Staten Island
Saturday, April 24
Explore the reawakened village of Historic Richmond Town. Costumed historical interpreters demonstrate housekeeping chores as they were managed before modern conveniences. READ MORE

Celebrate Holi with the Brooklyn Children's Museum

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, April 24
Holi, BCM’s annual celebration of the springtime holiday focused on renewal, color, and play makes all ages feel as if you’ve been transported to the streets of India, Trinidad, or Guyana. Visitors take over neighboring Brower Park with pounds of color powder to throw in the air. READ MORE

Run for the Wild

Bronx Park, the Bronx
Saturday, April 24
The WCS Run for the Wild raises awareness of the threats facing wildlife while fundraising to help the organization's conservation work at the Bronx Zoo and beyond. This year's focus is on lemurs. READ MORE

Bel Aire Drive-in: The Little Mermaid (PG)

Astoria, Queens
Saturday, April 24
Astoria's Bel Aire Diner invites families to drive in for a whole new season of alfresco movies. On tap this weekend: a screening of Disney's The Little Mermaid. READ MORE

Downtown Brooklyn Car-Free Earth Day at Albee Square

Downtown, Brooklyn–FREE
Saturday, April 24
Earth-friendly fun is guaranteed at Albee Square Plaza and Albee Square West, which is closed to traffic all day. Bring your bikes, roller skates, and beach chairs to enjoy a car-free street. READ MORE

Skyline Drive-In

Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Saturday, April 24 | Jumanji: The Next Level (PG-13)
Sunday, April 25 | News of the World (PG-13)
Sunday, April 25 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (PG-13)
The Skyline Drive-In, on the Greenpoint waterfront, offers family-friendly movies with the Manhattan skyline as its backdrop. Don't have a car? No problem—socially distanced seating on lawn chairs is also available, weather permitting. READ MORE

Family Art Project: Imagined Landscapes

Riverdale, the Bronx
Saturday, April 24-Sunday, April 25
How have the landscapes in which you've spent time shaped who you are? How have you shaped how the landscape is? Recall landscapes that hold special meaning for you and create a collage of a detailed landscape using natural and upcycled materials. READ MORE

Mushroom Hike

Prospect Park, Brooklyn–FREE
Sunday, April 25
Urban Park Ranger hiking guides lead a moderate hike through Prospect Park in search of some of the different varieties of mushrooms found in the vicinity. READ MORE

Outdoor Cinema: Raya and the Last Dragon (PG)

Gowanus, Brooklyn
Wednesday, April 28
Visit Parklife for tasty tacos and the chance to enjoy Disney's latest animated hit, Raya and the Last Dragon, projected on the big outdoor screen. READ MORE

Cherry Blossom Celebration Week

Randall's Island–FREE
Monday-Sunday, April 26-May 2
Celebrate the spring season and Japanese culture at the free Cherry Blossom Festival on Randall's Island with grab and go cherry blossom projects a selfie station at the Urban Farm, and virtual fun, too. READ MORE

Life Forces

Rockefeller Center–FREE
Monday, April 26-Wednesday, June 30
A new interactive digital art installation uses emerging technologies like 3D scanning and real-time human body tracking to take viewers on a vivid, interactive exploration through the natural world. READ MORE

As Long as the Sun Lasts

Upper East Side
Through Sunday, October 31
Up on the roof at the Met Museum, Philadelphia-based artist Alex Da Corte (born 1980) has created a 26-foot-tall kinetic sculpture featuring the beloved Sesame Street character Big Bird in the modern aesthetic of Alexander Calder’s standing mobiles. READ MORE
Polka dots, pumpkins, and mega-sized sculptures are fun for kids to see at NYBG's new Kusama installation.
Polka dots, pumpkins, and mega-sized sculptures are fun for kids to see at NYBG's new Kusama installation.

More Things To Do in NYC This April

See Yayoi Kusama's Whimsical Art at NYBG's Newly Opened Exhibition

Infinity rooms, Dancing Pumpkins, seasonal blooms, and fresh air make this a must-visit. READ MORE

Cherry Blossoms in NYC: Cherry Blossom Festivals and Where to See the Blooms

NYC's flowering cherry trees are an annual delight of spring: Here's where to see them. READ MORE

Find an Amazing Petting Zoo near NYC Where Kids Can Meet the Animals

Feed a cow, pet a bunny, or meet friendly goats at one of these nearby petting zoos. READ MORE

NYC's Best Playgrounds: 21 Parks Worthy of a Subway Schlep

We've scoured the city and swung on the monkey bars, and these are our favorite spots. READ MORE

See Alexander Calder's Work Up Close at New MoMA Exhibit

Introduce kids to Calder's whimsical sculptures at MoMA through summer. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Randall's Island Urban Farm & Fields 62/63