Sunday, January 27, 2013

Milk and Cookies

The State Theatre in New Brunswick is offering Milk & Cookies, a free series for children 3 to 8 years old, featuring storytelling, music, puppetry and more.

Milk & Cookies invites young people to discover the joy of watching, listening, and interacting with the arts. Events are offered once a month at 10 a.m. and noon on select Saturdays in the spring.  Free milk and cookies are distributed to children while supplies last.

The following events are scheduled:
  • Spook Handy: American Folksongs for the Whole Family, at 10 a.m. and noon Feb. 2. Celebrate America's folk music traditions with singer and guitarist Spook Handy. Sing and clap along as Spook performs treasured songs both old and new.
  • Robbi Kumalo: Girls Rock! at 10 a.m. and noon March 2. Celebrate Women's History Month with stories featuring smart, brave and powerful girls. Musician and storyteller Robbi Kumalo will have you singing, clapping, and dancing along as she shows that girls do, indeed, know how to rock.
  • Lisa Garwood: Animal Stories From Around the World at 10 a.m. and noon April 13. What do a whale, a bird, and a spider all have in common? Join storyteller/musician Lisa Garwood and help her tell her tales about some of our animal friends: what we can learn from their wisdom...and their mistakes!
Advance registration is required. To register, contact Jennifer Cunha at (732) 246-7469, ext. 545 or jcunha@statetheatrenj.org. The State Theatre is located on Livingston Avenue in downtown New Brunswick.

Drawing club at the Zimmerli museum

Children can discover the secrets of drawing when they participate in the Zimmerli Art Museum's popular drawing club this spring.

The drawing club takes place 4:15-5:45 p.m. Wednesdays at Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, 71 Hamilton St., New Brunswick. Aspiring artists from 9 to 14 years old will learn the gamut of drawing techniques, including pencil and charcoal, and genres such as still-life and portraiture. Teachers are professional educators who address the needs of both beginners and advanced artists.

Registration is required.

The program begins March 13 and runs for five consecutive weeks. Cost is $50 for members of the museum, and $75 for nonmembers. In the event of inclement weather, call the museum at (732) 932-7237 for a recorded message beginning at noon.

For more information about the program, contact the Education Department at (732) 932-7237, ext. 26766.

Art safari in Africa offered, in August

If a safari is on your bucket list, this could be your chance to go on one and boost your wildlife art skills at the same time.
The Academy of Art of Highland Park is partnering with Hemingway Safaris Inc. of New York to offer an art safari to southern Africa this August. Cost for the safari is about $4,500 per person. The experience is open to adults, and to teens from 14 to 18 years old.
The trip includes a full safari experience led by a long-established operator, including all safari ground transportation, two meals a day, lodging, daily game drives, and visits to cultural, archaeological and conservation sites, plus a 30-hour private field course for artists of all levels. The price includes all field gear and art materials.
Participants will return home with their own original drawings, illustrations and journaling from Africa.
Hemingway Safaris is a family-operated outfitter comprised of African art and archaeology connoisseurs who are also adventurers. The organization also is committed to wildlife and habitat conservation, and to protecting human societies and cultures.

For more information, call the art academy at (732) 777-2085

Homeschool week at National Constitution Center

The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia will hold its first Homeschool Week in mid-February.

Center exhibitions open to visitors include Signers Hall and the theatrical production Freedom Rising, plus tours and workshops led by the center's education staff. The center's first homeschool week , from Feb. 11-15, will highlight the American presidency. A second homeschool week is planned for June 17-21.

Admission costs $10 for students, $6.50 for parents and chaperones, and $5 for members of the National Constitution Center. Preregistration is recommended. For more information or to register, call (215) 409-6800 or email groupsales@constitutioncenter.orggroupsales. Morning and afternoon programs are available.

The week's activities are designed for students 6-14 years old.

Daily programs and workshops include:
  • "Hail to the Chief," recommended for children 6-9 years old, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Led by a member of the center's education staff, students will learn about the role of the president and the history of the Executive Branch during this interactive quiz game. Participants will race against the clock to answer questions from a variety of categories including: "Before They Were President," "Elections and Inaugurations" and "Presidential Pets." This program is paired with the Becoming the President tour.
  • Becoming the President tour, recommended for students 6-9 years old., from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., following "Hail to the Chief." Ever wonder what it was like for George Washington growing up on Pope Creek Estate in Virginia? Or what life was like for Lincoln in that log cabin in Kentucky? Children can dress up like their favorite American presidents and experience growing up, president style! This is a guided tour of the center's main exhibition, "The Story of We the People," and is paired with the Hail to the Chief program.
     
  • Headed to the White House, recommended for children 10-14 years old, at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. During this program, a member of the center's education staff will guide children through the ins and outs of a presidential campaign, from naming a candidate and building a platform to creating unforgettable campaign ads. This program is paired with the Presidential Leadership Tour.
     
  • Presidential Leadership Tour, recommended for children 10-14 years old, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. In this tour of the center's main exhibition, The Story of We the People, a member of the Center's education staff will lead students on a discovery tour of the leadership styles of George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan. This tour also includes discussion activities and a workshop and is paired with the Headed to the White House program.
Parents also may visit constitutioncenter.org/education  for standards-based teaching materials, including interactive games and lessons, and the center's web series "Constitution Hall Pass."

Located on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center is the first and only nonprofit, nonpartisan institution devoted to the U.S. Constitution. The center strives to illuminate constitutional ideals and to inspire active citizenship through a state-of-the-art museum experience, including hundreds of interactive exhibits, films and rare artifacts; feature exhibitions; and Signers Hall, where visitors can sign the Constitution alongside 42 life-size, bronze statues of the Founding Fathers.

As America's forum for constitutional dialogue, the center engages diverse, distinguished leaders of government, public policy, journalism and scholarship in public discussions and debates. The center also houses the Annenberg Center for Education and Outreach, the national hub for constitutional education, which offers civic learning resources both onsite and online.

For more information, call (215) 409-6700 or visit www.constitutioncenter.org.
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RHAW at the State Theatre

The State Theatre in downtown New Brunswick will present a show by RHAW on Feb. 6.

Performing as part of an educational outreach program, Rennis Harris' Awe-Inspiring Works showcases some of today's newest and brightest street dancers. The performance is meant for students in fourth through 12th grades, or the equivalent. Homeschoolers are welcome to attend. The show will run from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Feb. 6.
 
To register, contact Jennifer Cunha at the State Theatre at (732) 246-7469, ext. 545, or e-mail jcunha@statetheatrenj.org

Founded by Rennie Harris, this dynamic company takes Hip Hop performance back to the basics: House, Boogaloo, Breaking, and Popping and Locking. The company's young dancers bring explosive energy, jaw-dropping moves, and boundless enthusiasm to this uniquely American art form.

The show runs for one hour. All tickets cost $8.

The State Theatre is located on Livingtston Avenue in downtown New Brunswick.