We visited this museum for the first time today with our toddler. We bought the tickets online and…read morethey were scanned once we entered the museum. The only ticket that was $0 was for kids under 1 year old. My toddler was not. For the 3 of us it was $45 which I thought was a bit much. They also have annual memberships starting at $120. That may be something to consider if you plan to visit the museum multiple times. There was a Lunar New Year celebration at the museum today so we went to check it out. They had a museum wide lion dance parade as well as activities for the kids which included: Kung fu moves demo, ribbon dance workshop, calligraphy, and storytime with Author Michele Wong McSween of "Gordon and Li Li: Celebrate Chinese New Year. We also got to meet City Council member, Susan Zhang who had a booth there. Our little one enjoyed the lion dances and the exhibits as well as walking outside on the 2nd floor outdoor area. I'm looking forward to bringing her here again for other events. Things to consider - it did get a bit crowded because of the event and also the cafe that served food was alright. They ran out of some food items and the quantity of the food they were giving for the prices was not okay. I'll be bringing my own food for my toddler and us next time. Otherwise, it was a fun day for the family.

A great place to take kids for artistic educational, interactive fun. The staff is friendly, there…read moreare often great events for kids, families and occasionally adults as well. My favorite events of the year is the Dia de los Muertos on the rooftop. Its calming, educational, beautiful and reverent. Check out their calendar! Note: Adult admission requires a participating child, unless specified.

Puppets certainly fun for toddlers and older, but these puppets and the shows need an update…read more They're so old fashioned in style, which tends to mean they appear on the creepy side. my daughter told us she found them a little scary. Aside from the aesthetic, I found some of the stories wildly outdated in a slightly harmful way. One story that was shown to a group of toddlers had a fight over the ownership of a girl (never explicitly stated but not subtle either). The evil character won the battle and now the girl toy was his against her will. I don't think I have to point out what's wrong with that. The toys were also pretty mean to each other. Hoping all this went over her head but we won't be back to expose her to more stories like this.

I recently had the opportunity to come to Puppetworks for the first time and watched The Sleeping…read moreBeauty. Puppetworks make fairy tales come to life through marionette puppetry, offering hour-long performances geared to kids that will charm everyone in the audience. Kids are encouraged to sit on rugs in front of the stage, while adults and other kids can also sit on the sides and back of the event space. Dozens of beautiful, colorful marionettes of all sizes hang from the wall, giving the impression that they are also part of the audience. The performance itself is professionally curated: the story, the voices, the sound effects, the music, the scenery, and the lights. Artistic Director Nicolas Coppola and his crew clearly put a lot of passion in their work, and it shows in the production. I was definitely impressed. Kids loved it, of course, with lots of active participation during the show. Plus, at the end of the show, Mr. Coppola came out of the stage with a marionette for the kids to meet. Since 1980 Puppetworks offer fun entertainment for kids and family in the neighborhood. Tickets are currently $10 for children, and $11 for adult. You reserve your tickets in advance[1] and pay at the door. As a parent, I also appreciate the fact that they offer performances on school closure days. They also offer interactive in-school presentations for Pre-K classes, and school shows for groups of 20 or more persons every weekday. ------------------------------ [1] Call 718-965-3391, or e-mail to: puppetworksinfo@gmail.com.

This place is PHENOM. As an American, I feel fairly educated on my culture. When I walked in to the…read moremuseum, however, I was instantly hit with HOW MUCH culture is outside of the states and how much more there is to learn. Vira's collection is incredible with over 500 pieces of ORIGINAL African art collected from villages throughout Africa. I would highly suggest checking it out or making donations to help keep them going!!

What is it about the Sideshow Acts that draws us in? I've enjoyed this form of entertainment from…read moreelementary school. The Circus used to come and park in a vacant lot near my house in Florida. That was my first experience seeing a sideshow. I was in Second or Third Grade. Every time I get the opportunity I have to go see the sideshow acts. Coney Island was my go to place at one time. I'm fond of the Fortune Teller. That was pre-Covid-19. I don't know what you will find if you visit Coney Island now. I'm posting some photos I took a long time ago. I have my memories of fun times until I can get back to Coney Island Park again. I hope the sideshow will still be there. There's one of my photos of what was a beer joint. Coney Island Brewery is there now. The old Coney Island Lager has a connection to the Sideshow atmosphere of Coney Island. I'll let you do the research and look it up! I'm posting my favorite Shmaltz Brewing Company photo. That's what I remember most about Coney Island Lager. There's a long history here. I Love it!

We were so excited to visit the Sideshow while at Coney Island and were extremely disappointed. We…read morewent to the 2pm show & paid $15 each to enter. Half the show time was spent trying to get us to buy more tickets and spend more money. After the first little act, they kept telling us where to buy more tickets. After the second, they wanted us to spend $10 on the show poster. Then after the blade box act, they wanted us to pay to come up and see the trick. There was one more act & then they were asking us to pay more money to see something else. I appreciate the art & understand the sideshow needs to be supported, but I paid for a show & saw maybe 15 minutes of actual acts. I hope they reconsider the format & their approach to donations.

First of all, I created a new page because I am writing the Broadway Show of the "War Horse", not…read moresure why many others writing the show of War Horse under the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Theater, not the show. Well, what can I say, because I'm in the business, and is one of the lucky one, I often get free tickets for Broadway shows. When I first received the invitation, I saw "War Horse"? Never heard of it First, I'm not a big fan of war movie, Second, I'm not a big fan of the horse, but every Broadway Shows I been to, I never once get disappointed. First I went online and read a little bit what this show about, the name pretty much say it all, "War Horse", the horse that going to war, right? Well, that's not the point, the point is this show is more about just a horse going to the war, is more about, family relationship, friendship, and more importantly, what important to your child and knowing what he or she thinking Just like to clarify, if you are looking for singing and dancing, this is not the show for you, this show is not a musical I also like to clarify something else, Broadway Show is a live performance, all the performers are doing their best to create the most possible imagination for the audiences. The reasons why I brought this up is because I over heard the people sitting behind me was saying "this is stupid" when some performers brought out the birds eating the dead body That is NOT stupid, you have to use your imagination, this is during the war back in 1914, and dead bodies are every where in the middle of no where. But the only down side about that, I believe the performers should wear all black including covering up their head to blame in the dark, so it will showing more of the birds it self, instead of wearing brown color clothing Another down side is that, this is actually a family show, so you can bring your children's and make it a family night out, however, because this show is 2 1/2 long, and the show time started at 8pm, 2 1/2 hours later will be approx 10:45 by the time you come out the theater, and to many family with children's, by the time they get home, it will be approx 11:30 to midnight, so that's maybe some problem for some children's going to bed so late during weeknights Overall, I'm giving it 4 stars, due to what I explained above issue But it is a great show, will I go again? Probably not. But will I recommend to others? Yes, definitely, specially people with children's

War Horse is simply amazing. The story captures your attention immediately tugging at you…read moreheartstrings as you watch the story of a boy and his horse. I'll be honest, I had my doubts going into this one. I was blown away. The puppeteers are artists. You forget that you are watching figures on stage and not real horses. The story draws you in and the puppeteers make it seamless. With the use of the simplest of props with almost not background scenery the entire cast captivates the audience for almost 2 1/2 hours. The pace of the story moves so fast that time just flew by. I highly recommend this play if your looking for a heartwarming story!

Do you want to meet Tom the Lizard in real life?…read more Well, here's 300+ of his extended family. Seriously, the owners told us that this tiny gallery houses more than 300 geckos, lizards, and other reptiles of the adorable variety. You might have to play Magic Eye (popular '90s book series featuring optical illusions, for you 21st century-born young 'uns)s to find some of the geckos because they camouflage so well in their cases, but it's worth it for the unique sights, spectacular colors, and in some cases, unusual feels. Yes, you can touch, hold and pet some of the geckos--just ask the owners for help. I highly, highly recommend you make the trip out to Bushwick to check this place out and learn everything you ever wanted to know about the cutest reptiles on the planet. Lizard! Lizard! Lizard!

really cool experience, the owners were super knowledgeable and kind. Also had an interactive piece…read morewhere we got to hold the lil guys.

I really wanted to love this museum, as I've been looking forward to bringing my daughter here for…read moreyears. First of all - there's so much potential. Many of the exhibits are cool but most of the stuff isn't working, which is sad. The mini golf course is in complete disrepair. A great deal of that is probably due to parents not watching their children, but still - it would be great for the museum to fix up some of the damage. The museum was not inexpensive, which added to the frustration at many things being unavailable/dirty/broken. I really hope that the museum spruces things up soon so that children can continue to enjoy it.

ZERO STARS!!! Purchased some tixs for my daughter and her Dad which are both muslim... I teach my…read morekids diversity and enjoy exposing them to different cultures, ethnicities, etc, as we do live in a melting pot. Within the about section on the museum's website, it states all are welcome. Apparently this was not the case. My daughter and her Dad got stares galore, to the point that my child's Dad did not feel welcome. He felt uneasy and this weighed heavy on his heart. He was made to feel like the outkast. With that said, I encourage EVERYONE to visit this museum so that perhaps they can learn to interact with all walks of life!!!

This cute, versatile gallery space contains a lot of mix media artwork…read more The space can also be rented out for parties, and it includes an upstairs and downstairs space (each with a max capacity of 150 people). Zeina is very chill, thorough, and easy to talk to.

NY Studio Gallery is an intimate gallery space located 6 floors above street level. A friendly and…read morehelpful receptionist is hidden behind a rack of postcards which feature the myriad of artists who have been showcased in the space. Kristen Copham, an artist herself, owns & operates the gallery. http://kristencopham.com/ If you are visiting any of the other galleries in the neighborhood, definitely stop by. Make a FREE appointment to sit for Ms. Copham & she will paint your portrait in an hour to add to her "Your Face Here" series. http://kristencopham.com/Your%20Face%20Here.htm If you like the painting of you (or me), you may purchase the original for less than $500. A print on canvas will run you less than $200. I was painted this week as #470. Don't worry about sitting still. Ms. Copham is more interested in capturing your essence and energy than making an exact copy of your visage. Thank you fellow Yelper, Brave G. for introducing me to Ms. Copham & her gallery! 5/5 stars.