NY Botanical Garden Holds Broadway Day, 4/19

The New York Botanical Garden offers families the chance to discover the beauty and fun of nature this spring break. Parents and children can take in the theater of nature in Showstoppers of Spring family programming taking place during The Orchid Show: On Broadway (through April 25).

Broadway Day on April 19 features appearances from cast members of Billy Elliot and interactive Broadway programming for kids. Earth Day on April 22 includes an outdoor biodiversity scavenger hunt, guided tours of the Native Forest, and earthworm-focused composting activities. Kids can help get the garden ready for spring all week by planting seeds, spreading compost, and digging in Wake Up, Garden! Families can enjoy an indoor theatrical presentation of Peter and The Wolf by the Bronx Arts Ensemble on April 24. For information on all family events visit, www.nybg.org

Broadway Day at The New York Botanical Garden
Tuesday, April 19, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
In the Everett Children's Adventure Garden
In celebration of The Orchid Show: On Broadway, some of the most popular productions on the Great White Way have created unique and interactive programming for the Garden. Have fun with cast members of Billy Elliot and activities from Broadway's The Addams Family, Million Dollar Quartet, and more. Bring your plastic bags to the Broadway Green Alliance Education booth to participate in their recycling drive.

Showstoppers of Spring
Tuesday, April 19-Monday, April 25, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
In the Everett Children's Adventure Garden
The 12-acre Everett Children's Adventure Garden comes alive this spring break with the cast of characters only a garden can showcase. Come sort plant parts such as leaves, buds, stems, flowers, and roots; make a viewfinder to use in outdoor exploration; and decorate a field notebook to record observations of nature, just as real scientists do. The caterpillar topiaries will be revealing their new spring costumes while a chorus of birds fills the air with nature's tunes. Each day of spring break will also feature special programming additional to the hands-on activities, like daily bird walks through special Broadway- and nature- themed galleries.

Activities for Showstoppers of Spring include:

Kids' Karaoke at the Stumps
Wednesday, April 20-Monday, April 25, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Be inspired by the chorus of birds to belt out a ballad or sing a song with special help from our garden emcee.

Curtain Call Bird Walk
Tuesday, April 19-Monday, April 25, 4 p.m.
Meet at the Discovery Center
Finish up the day with an afternoon stroll through the special themed Habitat Hub garden and search for birds. We may hear more than we see, but there surely will be a show.

Earth Day Programming
Friday, April 22
Across Garden Grounds
What better place to celebrate the earth and its gifts than at the Botanical Garden? Explore nature in the Native Forest, learn how worms recycle plants into compost, and find out ways to go green at home.

Self Guided Biodiversity Scavenger Hunt
All day
Across Garden grounds
Pick up a scavenger hunt sheet at any admission booth or in the Everett Children's Adventure Garden. You lead the way with clues that help you solve the Garden riddles.

Guided Forest Tours
1 and 2 p.m.
Meet at the Reflecting Pool in the Visitor Center
Experience the beauty of the Garden's 50-acre Native Forest on this walking tour with an expertly trained Docent. You'll learn facts about the trees, history, geology, and ecology of this original, uncut woodland.

Earthworms on Earth Day
1:30-5:30 p.m.
Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Learn all about our slimy friends and how they are hard at work in the garden. Sift nutritious worm compost to take home for your houseplants.

How to Create a Worm Bin
1-3 p.m.
Everett Children's Adventure Garden
Check out how easy it is to recycle your food scraps by composting them in a kitchen worm bin. See what a working worm bin looks like, learn the basics for sustaining this earth-friendly ecosystem, and get the practical tips, advice, and encouragement you need to begin composting and making natural plant food at home.

Wake Up, Garden!
Tuesday, April 19-Monday, April 25
1:30-5:30 p.m.
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Children and families learn about plants and the natural world through hands-on gardening in at the one-and-a-half acre Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden. Kids: help us get the garden ready for spring in Wake Up, Garden! by planting seeds, spreading compost, and digging with help from parents, volunteers, and staff. Join us in the Meadow to collect sticks and twigs to turn into imaginative arts and crafts. Learn how to play the game "pick-up-sticks" and make your own bundle so you can play at home. Wake Up, Garden! activities run through May 6.

Bronx Arts Ensemble Family Concerts featuring: Peter and the Wolf
Monday, April 24, 1 and 3 p.m.
In the Garden Terrace Room
The Bronx Arts Ensemble wind instruments portray Grandfather, the Bird, the Cat, the Duck, the Hunters, the Wolf, and other characters in Serge Prokofiev's popular musical fairy tale, Peter and the Wolf. The audience is introduced to each instrument and can join in the madcap adventure to help capture the Wolf!