Tag: museum

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Three Museums not to miss in Washington D.C.

This is part of a series on Washington D.C. with kids. Most of the attractions in Washington D.C. are free, making a trip like this much less expensive than trips elsewhere (after factoring in hotel costs!). Here are three free museums you shouldn’t miss (Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the National American History Museum and the Postal Museum):

Bureau of Engraving & Printing

During the tour, you’ll walk above the printing floor, watching the workers. They have a sense of humor, posting signs like “tomorrow only: free samples” and “just think how I feel – I printed my lifetime salary in a few minutes.” You’ll see the printers (which we saw getting jammed), sheets of bills then getting cut and trimmed, computers that inspected the currency (at ½ second per sheet), carousels/trays of money moving through the packaging process, $400,000 bricks of money (and $100 billion in one room alone). The exhibit before the tour is interesting as well, with the history of the bills and printing.

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Review: National Building Museum with Kids

This is part of a Jersey Kids series on Washington D.C. with kids. Most of the attractions in Washington D.C. are free, even if they’re not part of the Smithsonian complex. That said, here’s one museum that’s worth the money you have to pay (depending on your family/kids).

Interior of the National Building Museum. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

National Building Museum

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Review: International Spy Museum with Kids (and discount tickets) – in Washington D.C.

This is part of a series on Washington D.C. with kids. Most of the attractions in Washington D.C. are free, even if they’re not part of the Smithsonian complex. That said, here’s one museum that’s worth the money (but you can get discounted International Spy Museum tickets on Goldstar just in case).

International Spy Museum

This high tech International Spy Museum was a lot of fun for the whole family. As you enter, you go up the elevator (there are some great videos playing as you wait), and then you to pick a “cover,” memorizing all the details about your new identity. After entering the gallery, look for the computers that question your identity (there were really long lines for the three computers), and get tested on what you know. You’ll also get more information to memorize and tested again at the end. That was fun!

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Review: Newseum with Kids in Washington D.C.

This is part of a series on Washington D.C. with kids. Most of the attractions in Washington D.C. are free, even if they’re not part of the Smithsonian complex. That said, here’s one museum that’s worth the money you pay.

Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Newseum

Newseum turned out to be my daughter’s favorite museum on our trip, and I loved it as well. In fact, after spending 2.5 hours at it one day, we went back the next day to catch what we missed (the tickets allow a 2 day consecutive entry at no extra cost).

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Where to go during the New Jersey Teachers’ Convention

Those of us with kids in New Jersey public schools look forward to a two day school break in November, for the teachers’ convention. You can either sit around at home, or take off in the car or on a plane for a family trip.

It’s not too late to plan something! If you haven’t yet thought of what to do, I rounded up some great links to vacations in driving distance of New Jersey, provided by seasoned fellow bloggers and travel writers. Let me know where you plan to go!

NEW YORK CITY

For a staycation, here are some ideas for local fun. See a Broadway play. I’ve got reviews of Matilda here  and reviews of Mamma Mia here. See all my Broadway reviews here.

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Review: CSI: The Experience with Kids – New York City

You’ve seen CSI the show (or maybe you haven’t). Now try it for yourself. CSI: the Experience is making its way around the country, and is in Discovery Times Square (I’m not sure of the ending date, though it is a limited engagement).

The exhibition has three scenarios (crime scenes). While we were able to go through all three (we had to complete one circuit and then go back to the entrance again), my understanding is that this is not the case any longer, and that you have to pay an additional fee to go through a second scenario.

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Coming Up: Smithsonian Free Museum Day

Have a great family day at a museum – for free! Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day made is possible, and they are doing it again on Saturday, September 25th. Download an admission card here, and get into New Jersey museums like the Newark Museum, the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts, the Stickley Museum, and others. In New York, you can go to the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the Barrio, Historic Richmond Town, the Intrepid (that’s a big ticket one), the New York City Fire Museum, the Jewish Museum and others

The card is good for you and one guest – one card per household. Find participating museums here:

New Jersey

New York

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What to Do on September 11 in New York City

copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

This year, the 10th anniversary of September 11, falls on a Sunday. Given that the kids won’t be in school, it’s a good chance for the family to reflect on what happened, its impact on our lives, remember those whose lives were lost, and join with with the community. I posted some events here which you can consider attending. NYC.gov has a list of activities on its calendar.

9/11 Memorial Site – official opening is on 9/11/11 for families who lost someone in the attacks.  The ceremony for family members starts at 8:30 a.m. and all the names of those lost will be read after the city-wide moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. There will be a second city-wide moment of silence at 9:03 a.m. and then affected families will be allowed to access the memorial to see their loved one’s names in the bronze plaques.  Continue reading “What to Do on September 11 in New York City”

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The Tenement Museum – with Kids

In its day (1832-1935), the Lower East Side (LES) was the largest Jewish community in North America. The Lower East Side is defined as from the East River to South Street Seaport, from Broadway to Lafayette to 14th Street. This was in an era where there was no Tribeca, no SOHO. The LES has always been an immigrant neighborhood, and is also associated with the Irish, Chinese, Poles, Ukrainians, and many others.

The Tenement Museum is a unique place where you’ll learn about the lives of actual families who lived (and sometimes worked) here. I’ve been to the Tenement Museum twice, once with and once without my kids, who are 8 and 10. I’ll share a lot of information here, and give you the thumbs up or down for the kids at the end. And if you disagree with any of the history I mentioned, feel free to leave a comment. The information came from my tour guide.

TENEMENT MUSEUM HISTORY

In 1988, Ruth Abram and Anita Jacobsen wanted to create a testament to immigration. They couldn’t find a worthwhile place, while looking for something that had deteriorated naturally and hadn’t turned into a crack house. The finally found this, where they also found 9,000 artifacts from some of the 7,000 people (from 20 countries) who lived here over 100 years. They later bought the buildings next to the museum and are converting those now as well. Read more about this history here. This is the first tenement to be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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American Museum of Natural History – 7.5 Ways to See it with Kids

The American Natural History Museum is so immense you just can’t see it in one visit. Or two. Or three. So here are 7.5 ways to explore it with your kids!

1. PICK AN EXHIBIT

Whether you choose a special exhibit or a permanent one, pick one and explore it in depth. Given the high cost of visiting the museum, newcomers to the museum might want to stick with the standard holdings unless there’s an exhibit you REALLY want to see. The special exhibits are add-ons, i.e. they cost extra.

Add-ons:

–Space movies

–special exhibitions

–Butterflies – (open part of the year, now through May 27, 2013)

–Our Global Kitchen (open through August, 2013)

–IMAX movies

For permanent exhibits, don’t miss the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life (that’s where the big whale is), Fossil Hall (with the dinosaurs), the Grand Gallery (the beautiful 77th Street lobby), or the gemstones.

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