The Culture Mom» PBS Kids

PBS Kids Club 13: Swedish Marionette Theatre in Central Park

CultureMom — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:51:10 +0000

The Swedish Cottage in Central Park, originally constructed as a model schoolhouse in the 1800s, is hosting a special Kids Club day, just for Kids Club 13members: featuring a pre-performance workshop with Swedish Cottage puppeteers, followed by a free – and just for Kids Club! – performance by Swedish Cottage.

WHERE: 79th Street and the West Drive, Central Park, NYC

WHEN: Sunday, March 27. 2:00pm – 4:00pm

And I will be the ambassador of the day, which is an honor (although I did volunteer)! I became an official ambassador (one of a group of fabulous NYC bloggers) for this fab club last year. Here’s some info about this great club:

Kids Club Thirteen is a family membership for the local PBS station, Channel Thirteen and as a founding member this is what you’ll get for signing up:

-Free events with your kids each month (12 per year)
-Discounts to places you’re already going, or get new ideas of outings for your family
-Your kids birthday announced on TV
-Kids will get to meet their favorite PBS characters
-Connect with your community and like-minded parents who trust their kids with PBS programming

And it’s:-Appropriate for families with kids 3-11
-Membership is good for 2 adults and up to 3 kids

You can’t beat it – and it’s a great way to meet people with common interests and family lives.

RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197812573562901&ref=ts

Disclosure: I am a Kids Club 13 Ambassador. However, I was not paid for this promotion or participation in the program.

Interview with Jacqueline Langholtz from the South Street Seaport Museum and Giveaway

CultureMom — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:36:00 +0000

The next Kids Club Thirteen event is this Saturday at the South Street Seaport Museum. In lieu of the upcoming festivities, and since I will be the official “mayor” of the event as a Kids Club 13 ambassador, I sat down with Jacqueline Lanholtz, Manager of Interpretation and Education at the South Street Seaport Museum, to find out about the museum’s history, as well as its future plans and all about its family programming.

Culture Mom: Tell us about the museum – how long has it been in existence? What kinds of programs are offered for kids? How do you make your programs accessible for kids of all different ages?

The mission of the South Street Seaport Museum is to preserve and interpret the history of New York City as a world port, a place where goods, labor and cultures are exchanged through work, commerce, and the interaction of diverse communities.

The South Street Seaport Museum, founded in 1967, is located in a 12 square-block historic district on the East River in Lower Manhattan, the site of the original port of New York City. The Museum is comprised of over 30,000 square feet of exhibition space and educational facilities in NYC’s largest concentration of restored early 19th-century commercial buildings. The Museum houses exhibition galleries, a working 19th-century print shop, an archaeology center, a maritime library, a craft center, a marine life conservation lab, and the largest privately-owned fleet of historic ships in the country.

We offer school, summer, public, and family programs that relate to the museum’s mission – there truly is something for everyone! We provide exhibition-based programming as well as hands-on activities aboard the ships and out in the historic district. On Saturday, as part of the PBS Kids Club event, we’ll be constructing wooden ship models with the kids and inviting them to decorate their completed ships. Aboard the tall ship the Peking, we’ll be teaching about the life and work of a sailor and inviting our young crew to help us raise the sails and haul the lines! The wet lab will be also be open, so be sure to stop in and meet some of the creatures that call the waters of New York Harbor home.

Culture Mom: Is there a membership program?

Yes – Museum members receive many wonderful benefits and special offers, including discounts on our harbor sails, a subscription to our quarterly magazine, and much more. There will be a membership at PBS Kids Club day, so if you’re not already a member, be sure to stop by and learn more about the perks!

Culture Mom: What are your current exhibitions?

Currently on exhibition is DecoDence: Legendary Interiors and Illustrious Travelers Aboard the SS Normandie. The SS Normandie was unmatched in its day for luxury and design – a transatlantic passage aboard it was traveling in style!

I’m really excited about our upcoming show Alfred Stieglitz New York, opening September 14th. It’s going to include some really fantastic snapshots of early 20th century New York. Stieglitz captured these photos in ways that were truly innovative for their day, pioneering the use of early “portable” cameras, which are absolutely gigantic in comparison to today’s hand-held cameras. We’re going to launch an online photo project to encourage individuals to post their own New York snapshots, inspired by Stieglitz’s approach to photographing life and work in the city. Check the Museum’s facebook page for links to that this September – it should be a lot of fun.

The Culture Mom: What kinds of family programs do you have planned for the fall?

We have lots of family programs slated for the fall – please check our website for the upcoming calendar, soon to be unveiled. Two I’m most excited about are the launch of the Stieglitz online photo project – we’re offering a tour of the exhibition followed by a workshop with materials to help you help you participate in the project. That’s during our September 17^th Free Friday, from 6-8 PM.

On Saturday, October 9^th from noon until 4PM we’ll explore the city’s skyline through the use of photography and collage – that workshop is free with Museum admission. And of course throughout the fall we’ll be hosting our toddler playgroup, on Wednesdays from 11-12:30. MiniMates is open to children aged 18 months to 3 years and their parents. Call 212-748-8753 for information about monthly subscription discounts.

Harbor sails and historic walking tours are offered regularly; check the website for those dates and times, or email familyprograms@seany.org to join our family programs mailing list.

The Culture Mom: How long did it take to build the Imagination Playground? Tell us about it the designer and how the plans started. What makes the playground unique? What has the response been since it opened?

We’re so excited to have Imagination Playground as our new neighbor! The playground opened earlier this month, and was under construction starting in May of 2009. It was years in the planning process, and the thoughtful design is evident in the result. David Rockwell, the Designer, and the Rockwell Group recreated the look and feel of a seaport in the structure and activities available to the children using it. They can haul cargo using pulley systems rigged to masts, move their building materials in barrels and wheelbarrows, and experiment with water as a means of transportation. All of this encourages free play and creative collaborations among the children – I can see the playground from my office window and it’s always got a busy crew! The neighborhood really seems to be enjoying the space.

The Culture Mom: Is there a cost to get in?

No – the playground is part of the NYC Parks Department, so it is free to all.

The Culture Mom: Are you using social media to get word out?

Our twitter account is @wavertreewire. You can find us on facebook by searching for “Seaport Museum New York” – there are also separate pages dedicated to two of our ships, the schooner Pioneer and our tugboat the Decker. Our website is http://www.seany.org.

We are giving away a FREE one month (4 successive weeks) pass to the South Street Seaport Museum’s MiniMates toddler playgroup. This offer is good for one child only and is valued at $50. The winner can use the voucher anytime before February, 2011.

To enter, here’s what you have to do:

Comment in the section below and leave contact information (email or Twitter handle).

The winner will be chosen randomly on Friday, August 27th at 11:59pm. Good luck!

Disclosure: This certificate is being provided to this blog free of charge for the giveaway, with no requirement or agreement of review requested in turn. To enter, you must live in the United States.

Win 5 FREE passes to Kids Club 13 Event at South Street Seaport Museum Event with Curious George

CultureMom — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:20:00 +0000

Kids Club Thirteen makes its Manhattan debut this Saturday with Curious George at the South Street Seaport Museum. Now on TheCultureMom.com, you can win a chance to bring your family! On August 14th, explore the South Street Seaport, Imagination Playground and Peking ship with Kids Club and Curious George.

For a chance to bring your family to the South Street Seaport Museum this Saturday, be one of the first five people to email kidsclub@thirteen.org with the subject line “Curious George” and your contact details. To learn more about Kids Club, click here.

Kids Club Thirteen members will receive free admission, enjoy a members-only meet and greet with Curious George, private episode screening, and Curious George activities. Plus, members will receive a model boat kit to make, decorate, and sail (at home in the bathtub or pool). Plus, there will be great giveaways for early arrivals.

Activities will include:

In the Member Zone:
Noon – Open to Kids Club Members (must present membership card)
Noon – 1 p.m. – Exclusive character Meet & Greet with Curious George
Noon – 4:30 p.m. – Ongoing VIP Screening of Curious George, model boat making and other activities
1:30 p.m. & 3:00p.m. – Explore Challenge

Suggested Member Activities:
Take a sail on board the schooner Pioneer, celebrating her 125th birthday this year! Two-hour harbor sails are by reservation only. For more information please email reservations@seany.org or call 212-748-8786.
12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. – Sing Along with Jim Keyes Charmingly loose and delightfully funny, Jim will get you singing, dancing and laughing in the aisles!
3:30 p.m. – Juggling, etc… with Will Shaw A unique blend of physical comedy, verbal wit, and dazzling skills is irresistible to audiences of all ages.

Also, you have probably read about the recently opened Imagination Playground which is right behind the Museum.

PBS 13 Kids Club Members get in to the Museum free and experience one-of-a-kind activities plus an explore challenge that makes learning more fun for the kids. The $75 annual membership fee includes 13 free events for the year plus great discounts year-round and your kid’s birthday announced on TV.

So far, my family has ventured to the Hudson River Museum, Noguchi Museum, the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn and the Kid’s Club has had events at the Staten Island Children’s Museum and the NY Hall of Science. Upcoming locations include the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms (September 25th), the Intrepid (Ocober 24th), the Children’s Book Fair at the Children’s Museum (November 13th), the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (December) and the Rubin Museum of Art (January 2011). It’s an incredible way to explore and show your kids the best of NYC.

Disclosure: I am an official Kids Club 13 Ambassador and am working on their behalf to promote this event.

Angelina Ballerina “Love to Dance” CD Giveaway

CultureMom — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:34:00 +0000

One of my daughter’s first childhood heroines, right after Dora the Explorer, was Angelina Ballerina. We read all the books by Katherine Holabird and were transported into her world. When the phase ended, I admit I was a little disappointed. I liked her innocence, her zest for life, her love of the arts.

When I learned that the producers had taken the show into the next phase of her life on a recent tour of the PBS studios a few months ago, I was thrilled. Now, as a 7 year-old, she is equally inspired by this little girl who is now 8 on the show, who like her, loves to dance and wants to share her passion for it with everyone she meets.

This fall, Lionsgate and HIT Entertainment are releasing a new animated DVD, Angelina Ballerina: Love to Dance. New music, new friends and new dancing styles await Angelina Ballerina — a little star with big dreams — on her first day at Camembert Academy . Dancing in the lunch yard, making new friends while remembering her old friends and rehearsing for the big show, Angelina is passionate about dance, particularly ballet, and always tries to make the best out of every situation. When little girls share in Angelina’s experiences, they’re inspired to pursue their big dreams too.

The DVD includes these five episodes:

“Angelina’s New School ” – Angelina is excited, yet nervous, about her first day of school at Camembert Academy . When she finds her new classmates proficient in other styles of dance, she tries to copy their moves – without success. Angelina soon discovers that when she’s true to her own style of dance – ballet – she excels, and soon understands that everyone is different, and different is good.

“Angelina’s Dance Partner” – Angelina is ecstatic to have the opportunity to dance with her best friend, Alice, at Camembert Academy ’s “Dance With a Partner Day.” Angelina likes to choreograph the routine down to the very last detail and Alice is happy to oblige! Unfortunately, when Alice gets the sniffles Angelina must partner with Viki, whose style of improvisation contradicts with Angelina’s style. Angelina learns the importance of collaboration, cooperation and adaptability when working with a partner.

“Angelina’s Oldest Friend” – Angelina loves her new Camembert Academy friends and also loves her old friend Alice. She expects that both sets of friends will love each other too. Unfortunately, their first encounter is not as smooth as Angelina would have liked so the new and old friends work together to find a new way to play so all can have fun.

“Angelina’s Sleepover” – Angelina, Viki and Gracie decide to have a sleepover the night before a rehearsal for the big performance, but they do everything except sleep! The next day they are too tired for the morning rehearsal and have to choose between an afternoon rehearsal or attending the annual Silly Hat Carnival, a fun tradition in Mouseland. Angelina and her friends decide to rehearse and learn that being prepared is the best fun of all.

“Angelina and the Hip Hop Kid” – Angelina is very excited to be directing her very first Hip Hop Show when suddenly her star, AZ, falls and hurts his foot! Who can step into his shoes at the last minute? Marco is the number one choice. However, though he can play Hip Hop music, dancing Hip Hop is another thing. The show is in danger of not going on… unless Angelina can step with a solution in time.

The retail price of this DVD is $14.98 and is available in retail stores on August 31st, 2010.

Right now I have one copy of “Love to Dance” to give away to the lucky winner of this contest.

To enter, here’s what you have to do:

Comment in the section below and leave contact information (email or Twitter handle).

The winner will be chosen randomly on Friday, August 7th at 11:59pm. Good luck!

Disclosure: This DVD is being provided to this blog free of charge for the giveaway, with no requirement or agreement of review requested in turn. To enter, you must live in the United States.

PBS Kids Club at the Hudson River Museum on Sunday, August 8th

CultureMom — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:47:00 +0000

Join Kids Clubs Thirteen and my family at the Hudson River Museum on Sunday, August 8th. It will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and will include an episode screening of Peep and the Big Wide World, special crafts and activities, and more. Kids will also be able to meet Peep, live in person.

Admission to the Museum that day is free for Kids Club members. You can also arrive early for great giveaways.

Members-only exclusive activities include:

In the Member Zone:

10:30 a.m. – Open to Kids Club Members (must present membership card)
10:30 a.m. – noon – Ongoing VIP Screening of Peep and the Big Wide World, exclusive character Meet & Greet with Peep, and activities
12:30 p.m. – Riverama Explore Challenge

Suggested Member Activities:

1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. – Riverama Lab Carts (Hudson Riverama)
2 p.m. – The Sky Tonight Planetarium Show (ages 8 and up)
3:30 p.m. – Solar System Safari Planetarium Show (ages 6-10)

Admission to the museum is free for Kids Club Members only, as is participation in the activities. Not a member? Join before you go – click here. Kids Club members enjoy 13 Fun & Free events a year which can save your family hundreds of dollars in entrance fees to your favorite places.

So far, my family has ventured to the Noguchi Museum, the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn and the Kid’s Club has had events at the Staten Island Children’s Museum and the NY Hall of Science. Upcoming locations include the South Street Seaport Museum (August 14th), the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms (September 25th), the Intrepid (Ocober 24th), the Children’s Book Fair at the Children’s Museum (November 13th), the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (December) and the Rubin Museum of Art (January 2011). It’s an incredible way to explore and show your kids the best of NYC.

Disclosure: I am an official Kids Club 13 Ambassador and am working on their behalf to promote this event.

PBS Kids Club at the Noguchi Museum

CultureMom — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:32:00 +0000

This past Sunday, we, along with forty Kids Club Thirteen members, were treated to a unique afternoon at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens. It’s a very special place, actually the first and only museum in the country to be founded by an artist during his lifetime. The collection focuses on Iasamu Noguchi’s extensive productions. As part of the PBS Kids team, the kids created a Bendaroos art sculpture and participated in a treasure hunt around the museum. I had never been to the Noguchi Museum before and it was quite an incredible experience. It’s an oasis in the middle of Queens. The museum offers a plethora of summer activities and events for families Get more info at www.noguchi.org.

Kids Club Thirteen enjoy 13 free events a year which will save your family hundreds of dollars in entrance fees to your favorite places all over NYC. Join today. It’s a great way to experience the city, whilst supporting PBS to ensure quality programming for your children.

Disclosure: I am an official Kids Club 13 Ambassador.

Join PBS Kids Club Thirteen at the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Queens

CultureMom — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:11:00 +0000

On, Sunday, July 11th, 11:00-2:00pm, Kids Club Thirteen Members are in for a special afternoon of music and art at the Noguchi Museum. Featured activities in the Member-Zone include a hands-on musical project, Bendaroos art sculpture, and an instrument-themed episode from the PBS Kids show, Design Squad. Stick around in the afternoon for a performance in the garden by Talujon Percussion Quartet.

Disclosure: I am an official Kids Club 13 Ambassador and am working on their behalf to promote this event.

Join PBS Kids Club Thirteen at the Staten Island Children’s Museum

CultureMom — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:27:00 +0000

Come to the Staten Island Children’s Museum this Sunday for a day of bugging out with Sid the Science Kid and Kids Club Thirteen. Kids Club Members get free entry to the Museum and exclusive activities. We took the Staten Island Ferry and then a bus straight to the Children’s Museum last summer. It was a memorable day for all of us, and this day is sure to be memorable, too. Here’s the schedule:

* 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Members-Only Meet & greet with Sid the Science Kid, plus crafts and activities
* 12:30 – 1:00 p.m. — Members-Only Bug Experience
* 1:00 – 2:00p.m. — Explore Challenge through Bug Exhibit
Suggested Member Activities:
* 2:00 p.m. — Ant craft lead by Museum volunteers
* 3:00 p.m. — Performance by the Mighty String Demons featuring songs about insects and other flying creatures

Hope to see you there – you’ll also meet many of the other groovey bloggers I share the PBS Kids Channel 13 Ambassador role with. Check us all us out here.

Visit to PBS Studios in New York City

CultureMom — Sat, 15 May 2010 21:34:00 +0000

A few days ago, all of the PBS Kids Club 13 Ambassadors gathered at the new WNET Studios at Lincoln Center for a meet & greet luncheon. Debbie Adler, PBS Channel 13/WNET’s Director of Online Marketing, has put together such an amazing group of women to join the team of ambassadors, including some of my favorite NYC bloggers, there are 14 total, and I am extremely honored to be a part of it all. In addition, I am doubly honored to be associated with PBS Kids, a brand that I have known all of my life. From the minute my own children were born, I introduced them to the high quality, educational programming that PBS Kids offers.

The PBS Kids Club is the new family membership program offered for our local NYC station, Channel 13/WNET. If you love NYC and want to connect with other like-minded parents, as well as go to monthly events all over the city with PBS Kids as your host, you will want to join this program. Last Sunday was the first of the year’s twelve event offerings at the Prospect Park Zoo with FETCH! + Fleece Festival with star Ruff Ruffman.

My kids were so memorized by all the great activities that were scheduled only for PBS Kids Club 13 members – crafts, a sheep sheering, an explorer’s hunt around the zoo, music, goody bags. When we left, my daughter deliriously asked me when the next event would be. She enjoyed it that much. Actually, next month’s event is taking place at the Staten Island Children’s Museum on June 13th. Find out more about it here.

Other landmarks on the Kids Club 2010 schedule include the South Street Seaport (August), the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers (also August), the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in Morristown, NJ (September), the Intrepid (October) and the Brooklyn Museum (November).

The new WNET studio is stunning. It literally just opened two weeks ago, so we were some of the first lucky guests to occupy the studio. Located on 66th Street & Broadway, it offers street-level and second-floor studios that will allow New Yorkers and visitors to watch tapings of WNET’s shows. Right now they are shooting episodes of the new national prime-time news & public affairs magazine Need To Know, as well as locally focused shows Sunday Arts, Metro Focus, and introductions and cut-ins for Reel 13 and Great Performances.

Sandra Sheppard, WNET’s Head of Children’s Programming, spoke to us about some of the exciting work she’s doing this season and next. A mother herself, she’s on a mission to provide solid educational programming that will inspire every child watching. Cyberchase is going into its eighth season. The show is close to her heart,and she’s one of its executive producers. Her mother was a math teacher, so math is in her blood and is at the heart of this program. Cyberchase is American’s only math series for school-age kids. Targeted at kids aged 8-11, it features a diverse group of kids who travel into Cyberspace, where they use math and brain power to thwart the villain and save the day. The series reinforces the message that “math is for everyone.” Season 8 premieres on June 25th with 5 new and 3 encore episodes airing every Friday through August 13th.

She also executive produces Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps. This is a 3D computer generated take on the original program. Shappard said that it introduces kids to pursuing their dreams and called Angelina the “little ambassador to the arts.” A team of accredited dance instructors and music education specialists helped develop the show’s arts education curriculum, and consultants from the American Ballet Theatre helped to choreograph the dance movements animated on the program, ensuring that they are age-appropriate for the characters. My own daughter grew up with the young Angelia Ballerina. The character guided her through her time as a toddler. Now, as a 7 year-old, she is equally inspired by this little girl who is now 8 on the show, who like her, loves to dance and wants to share her passion for it with everyone she meets. My daughter was crazy about the screening copies that I brought home. Ten new episodes will premiere in September 2010.

Franny’s Feet carries the same theme, about a young girl in an empowering position who travels the world. These are also shows that have been key in my own household, so it was so inspiring to hear about the passion that carries these shows through development. The stories interweave global awareness, science, geography, math and language arts. It is currently in its 4th season.

Of course, there are many, many other programs on WNET, you can read all about them on PBSkids.org and it’s an incredible web site for your children. At age 5, my son can already maneuver himself completely around the site and play games and watch videos on his own.

Then we heard from Kim Mullaney, WNET’s Associate Director, State and Local Education. She oversees delivery of services to the Office of Early Childhood Education at the NYC Department of Education, and she’s directing WNET.org’s work on a project with the Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy, SchoolSourceNYC. She oversees a staff of 24 that is responsible for the literary program, particularly for the group age 2-8, working with libraries, using media for real learning, helping to promote PBS Kids programming at the museum level, a speaking series at libraries and much, much more. Part of her focus is Thirteen/WNET’s Ready To Learn service that provides parents, teachers and caregivers in New York’s Tri-state area with public television resources that help children develop a lifelong love of learning. Thirteen builds partnerships with community organizations, childcare networks, schools, libraries, and government agencies. She’s also works on the station’s flagship outreach events like Children’s Day at the Seaport and SuperCyberchase Day.

The Kids Club offers an amazing slate of activities for 2010. Marcos Stafne, Head of Education at the Rubin Museum of Art (January) and Rebecca Hertz, also Head of Ecucation at the Noguchi Museum, (July) spoke to us about their respective institutions. Both are places I have yet to explore and am so excited that I will have the opportunity as a PBS Kids Club 13 Ambassador. Marcos Stafne – Head of Education, Rubin Museum of Art

The Rubin Museum of Art (located in Chelsea) features a plethora of early childhood and family learning opportunities. This summer they are offering the Little Explorer’s Club for kids ages 3-5, as well as various workshops and tours for families. Their programs are listed here.

The Noguchi Museum (located in Long Island City, Queens) also offers a variety of family programs, all of which are listed here. They’ll be hosting an innovative music program for kids this summer called “Bang on a Can.”

If you love New York City as much as I do, you won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to team up with PBS Kids/WNET. Join PBS Kids Club 13 today, and we’ll take this special journey with our kids together.

Disclosure: These screening copies were provided to me free of charge with no requirement or agreement of review requested in turn. I am an official Kids Club 13 Ambassador.

Kid Culture: FETCH! + Fleece Festival = Family fun!

CultureMom — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:43:00 +0000

Here’s a great way to spend Mother’s Day with the family. Channel Thirteen is hosting its inaugural event on Sunday, May 9th at the Prospect Park Zoo Fleece Festival for the new Kids Club Thirteen, a family membership program. Families with kids 3-11 will get year-round benefits that include on-air mentions of your kids’ birthdays and discounts to places you’re already going around the city (museums, parks, festivals, etc.). It’s also a great way to get new ideas of outings for your family just in time for summer break!

Plus, what’s really cool is that each month the Kids Club hosts an exclusive event just for its members – including chances to meet your kids’ favorite PBS characters. This Sunday, May 9, they’re heading to the Prospect Park Zoo where kids and parents will share Mother’s Day with FETCH! star Ruff Ruffman. Admission to the Zoo that day is free for Kids Club members with members-only exclusive activities from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. that include:

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. — Members-Only Meet & greet with Fetch! star Ruff Ruffman, plus crafts and activities
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. — Members-Only Animal Encounter with photo opportunities
12:30 – 1:15 p.m. — Explore Challenge along the Discovery Trail
There will also be Sheep Shearing and Sea Lion Feeding!
Families can RSVP at Facebook.

I’ll be there! I hope you will be, too.