Cooking Classes, Story-Hours and More Set for New-York Historical Society's Family Programs, Jan 2013

The New-York Historical Society is offering a large and diverse selection of activities in January 2013 designed for families to enjoy the holiday spirit together and make history come alive. The exciting series of family programs at the DiMenna Children's History Museum at New-York Historical-the first-ever museum bringing American history to life through the eyes of children.

Highlights of the January programs include kids' cooking classes, Martin Luther King Jr. Day events, Spanish language arts and crafts, story-hour sessions, and our first event family benefit event – Passport Through History

Currently on view at New-York Historical are the special exhibitions WWII & NYC, Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection (closing January 6th), Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School, and John Rogers: American Stories. All New-York Historical Society exhibitions are family-friendly and inspire the broad range of family program offerings.

Family programs run January 1, 2013 through January 31, 2013 (specific program dates/times listed below). All family programs take place at the New-York Historical Society at 170 Central Park West between West 76th and West 77th Streets. To RSVP for a family program, e-mail: familyprograms@nyhistory.org. For more information on family programs and the DiMenna Children's History Museum, call (212) 485-9293 or visit www.DimennaChildrensHistoryMuseum.org.

FAMILY PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS FOR January 2013:

HOLIDAY EXPRESS: CAN YOU SPOT IT?

January 1, 5, 6, 2013 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Ages 3 and up

Families take this I-spy hunt into the Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection to spot the intricate details in these amazing model train scenes, composed of miniature trains, stations, people, and decorations made by the Märklin model train company. Can you spot the refreshment stand? The station clock? How many train cars are pulling into the train station? Bring the whole family, pick up your hunt, and see who can spot the most!

WWII & NYC: JANUARY SCHOOL VACATION WEEK

Through Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Family Gallery Cards: all day: Ages 8 and up

Plane Spotting Bingo: 2:00 pm: Ages 6 and up

See 1940s New York City through the eyes of kids! WWII & NYC family gallery cards all day, with Plane Spotting Bingo at 2 pm.

The family gallery cards, Walk in My Shoes, guide families through the exhibition through the eyes of a fictional young New Yorker. In Code Breakers! learn and practice wartime code making techniques. Keep your eyes peeled for WWII planes in Plane Spotting Bingo, mark your cards, and call BINGO!

AT THE KIDS' TABLE: HOW THE KITCHEN HAS CHANGED

Saturday January 12, 2013 2:00 pm

With Sarah Lohman

RSVP required, $10 materials fee

Ages 8 and up

What does eighteenth-century Tupperware look like? How about a nineteenth-century toaster? In this program, you'll go on a family scavenger hunt in the New-York Historical Society to uncover the kitchens of the past. Then we'll cook together, making cinnamon toast from SCRATCH-everything from grinding the sugar to making butter by hand! You'll find out how much the kitchen has changed from 1813...to 1913...to 2013! RSVP at familyprograms@nyhistory.org

HAPPY 307TH BIRTHDAY, Benjamin Franklin!

Sunday, January 13, 2013, 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Ages 4 and up

Celebrate one of America's Founding Fathers! See up close and hear the beautiful and rare sounds of a glass armonica – one of the many inventions by Ben Franklin! Or decorate your own Ben Franklin proverb plate to take home. Don't forget to have some cake!

HABLEMOS DE LA HISTORIA Y DEL ARTE: LANDSCAPES

Saturday, January 19, 2013 2:00 pm

RSVP required, $20 for a family of four, includes admission rose.tejada@nyhistory.org

Ages 4 to 10

Families look, discuss, and create – in Spanish! This Spanish-language monthly family program combines times in the galleries with art-making in the studios. In January, families will visit our Hudson River School painting exhibit and discuss the American landscape. In the studio, families will paint their own landscapes together.

Martin Luther King JR. DAY

Celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation with author Tonya Bolden

Monday, January 21, 2013: 2:00 pm

Hear Tonya read from her new children's book Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty and celebrate the 150th anniversary of this essential part of American history.

Martin Luther King JR. DAY SCAVENGER HUNT

Celebrate James McCune Smith: Abolitionist, Physician, New Yorker

Saturday - Monday, January 19 - 21, 2013: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Ages 6 and up

Learn about the abolitionist who spoke up against injustice in America and discover the story of James McCune Smith, the first African-American university-trained physician practicing in 19th century New York City. This scavenger hunt will take families throughout the whole New-York Historical Society.

PASSPORT THROUGH HISTORY: DIMENNA CHILDREN'S HISTORY MUSEUM FAMILY BENEFIT PARTY

Saturday January 26, 2013 11:00 am – 2:00 PM

Join us for our first ever family benefit party! Kids will be inspired and challenged at activity booths ranging from early New Amsterdam to the World War II era. Add your signature to the Declaration of Independence, hand-crank some historical ice cream, take a photo of you at a Civil War encampment – and don't forget to collect passport stamps for each century!

READING INTO HISTORY BOOK WRAP: PICTURE THE DEAD – MEET THE AUTHOR!

Sunday January 27, 2013 3:30 pm

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown

Ages 9 to 12
At this Book Wrap, we'll discuss the book; examine Civil War era artifacts; and have author Adele Griffin read aloud, answer questions, and sign books!

In the novel Picture the Dead author Adele Griffin tells the story of Jennie, a young woman whose twin brother is killed during the war. Jennie lives with her fiancé's family, who reluctantly take care of her while her fiancé, Will, and his brother, Quinn, are at war. When Quinn returns from battle without Will, some strange things start to happen to Jennie, and she begins to realize that nothing is as it seems. This story is full of mystery and suspense, and maybe even ghosts! Griffin's writing is illuminated by Lisa Brown's illustrations, which appear as a scrapbook of memories and events. This is a fun, sophisticated novel, especially perfect for our older readers.

Reading Into History is a monthly book club for kids ages 9 – 12. Each month we read a new historical fiction or non-fiction book, meet authors, and see historical objects and documents up close. Past authors have included Walter Dean Myers and Gail Carson Levine.

CROSS-STITCH CIRCLE

Thursdays January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 2013 3:30-5:30 pm

No preregistration required. Free with Museum Admission.

Ages 6 and up

Drop in to try your skills at one of the oldest forms of embroidery in the world. Beginning cross stitchers will learn the basic stitch and create a bookmark with their new skill. More seasoned stitchers can continue working on their bookmark or branch into more complicated designs-make a handcrafted gift for someone!

LITTLE NEW-YORKERS

Tuesdays, January 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Fridays, January 4, 11, 18, 25 2013 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Free with Museum Admission, for ages 3 – 5

Each class will include story readings, time with historic toys, free exploration, a special Little New-Yorkers hello song.

MACY'S SUNDAY STORY HOUR:

Sundays, 11:30 am

Ages 4 – 7

Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library

Free with Museum admission

Hear tales of New York and learn about your city's history in these stories for young children. Themes are related to New York and American history, current holidays, and New-York Historical Society exhibitions.

MACY'S SUNDAY STORY HOUR: CITY IN THE SNOW

January 6, 2013 11:30 am

Ages 4 – 7

Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library
Want to know what it is like to live in the most populous borough in New York City? Six-year-old Michelle shares what she looks forward to every year in I Live in Brooklyn. After the story, share what your favorite parts of the year are in your neighborhood! I Live in Brooklyn by Mari Takabayashi

MACY'S SUNDAY STORY HOUR: CITY IN THE SNOW

January 13, 2013 11:30 am

Ages 4 -7

Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library

Do you stay inside or play outside when it snows? If you go outside you can make special tracks, snow angels, and snowballs. Young Peter can't wait to explore and play in the snow-join in his adventures by reading The Snowy Day! The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

MACY'S SUNDAY STORY HOUR: HOW MARTIN CHANGED THE USA

January 20, 2013 11:30 am

Ages 4-7

Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library
What ideas did Martin Luther King, Jr. share with others that changed our country's history? Everyone can be great and anyone can make the world a more loving place-big ideas that are alive today thanks to Dr. King.

MACY'S SUNDAY STORY HOUR: GRAND CENTRAL CENTENNIAL

January 27, 2013 11:30 am

Ages 4 – 7

Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library
Get ready for the 100th anniversary celebration of Grand Central Terminal's opening by exploring how unique and diverse the station is in Maira Kalman's book Next Stop Grand Central! Next Stop Grand Central by Maira Kalman

FAMILY CLUBHOUSE AT DIMENNACHILDRENSHISTORYMUSEUM.ORG

On-line interactive site for families and kids ages 6 and up.

Play our on-line games (Sloppy Copy and Meet New Amsterdam) and catch up on history for kids on our History Detectives blog!

For more family programs, visit http://www.nyhistory.org/programs/family-programs

The DiMenna Children's HistoryMuseum is a museum-within-a-museum and occupies the New-York Historical Society's entire lower level. It includes character-based pavilions, the Barbara K. Lipman Children's History Library, a Whiz Bang Quiz Machine, and interactive exhibits and games. The DiMenna Children's HistoryMuseum encourages children to identify with the people whose enterprise and creativity changed the course of our history. All ages can enjoy and learn in the DiMenna Children's HistoryMuseum, but the exhibits are targeted at age 8-13.

New-York Historical is recognized for engaging the public with deeply researched and far-ranging exhibitions, such as Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America; Slavery in New York; Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School at the New-York Historical Society; Grand and Lee in War and Peace; and the 2009 exhibition Lincoln and New York. Supporting these exhibitions and related educational programs is one of the world's greatest collections of historical artifacts, works of American art, and other materials documenting the history of the United States and New York.

From October 5, 2012 through May 27, 2013, New-York Historical is presenting WWII & NYC, a major new exhibition on the most widespread, destructive, and consequential conflict in history. WWII & NYC will restore to memory New York's crucial and multifaceted role in winning the war, and commemorate the 900,000 New Yorkers who served in the military while also exploring the many ways in which those who remained on the home front contributed to the national war effort.

MUSEUM AND STORE HOURS:

Tuesday- Thursday: 10 am – 6 pm
Friday: 10 am – 8 pm (pay-as-you-wish from 6 pm – 8 pm)
Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm

MUSEUM ADMISSION:

Adults- $15
Teachers and Seniors- $12
Students- $10
Children (5-13) - $5
Children (4 and under)- free