Mercer Labs With Kids

If you haven’t heard of Mercer Labs, you’re not alone. Formally Mercer Labs Museum of Art and Technology opened in March, a collaboration between Israeli artist Roy Nachum and real estate developer Michael Cayre. The idea is to be a “place where the traditional hierarchies between art, architecture, design, technology and culture are dissolved,” the New York Times quoted from a news release (I couldn’t find the news release).

In the Limitless exhibit in this 36,000 square foot space, you’ll visit 15 rooms with multimedia and sensory experiences, climbing up and down stairs between the floors (of course there’s an elevator if needed). In the initial space, which was one of the least interesting, you’ll put on shoe covers and look at a digital moving object that looks like of like a space rock.

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Is Cabaret on Broadway appropriate for kids?

It’s a little intimidating (okay, a lot) to review a classic show that’s been on Broadway before, and was also a classic movie. I’m talking about Cabaret. I can’t really say if I had seen it before, yet I know so much of the music without having bought the album, CD or mp3s.

Is Cabaret on Broadway appropriate for kids? We’ll get to that later on. But let me start by saying I’ve seen a lot of Broadway shows in my life. And I have never received as many emails before the show as I did with Cabaret.

Entering Cabaret on Broadway. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Is Water for Elephants appropriate for kids?

I read Water for Elephants many many years back and enjoyed it. I didn’t see the movie. I couldn’t even remember precisely what happened in the book, other than a guy joins the circus and there’s a love triangle. So if you ask me whether it follows the book, I think it did. But that’s only from memory. Is Water for Elephants appropriate for kids? We’ll get into that later.

Enjoy the posters around the stage at Water for Elephants. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Review: Tea Around Town with kids

Pop songs reconceived as chamber music are piped through the bus speakers as the children double fist sweet tea in travel mugs and miniature chocolate mousse pastries.

My girls, aged 5 years and 364 days, and 11,  lounged against a banquet covered with a soft pink throw as the double-decker bus navigated the canyons of Midtown Manhattan. A tour guide shared a few factual tidbits, then broke out into song (and she could actually sing). 

I don’t really remember what she talked about, and neither do the kids. The city information seemed beside the point on TopView’s “Tea Around Town” tour bus. 

The upper deck of Tea Around Town. Photo by Anne Miller.
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Visiting the Tin Building in New York City

When you’re down in the Seaport area, or maybe making a specific trip to the Seaport area, make sure the Tin Building is a destination and you have time to explore (and eat). It’s maybe not the best place to take the kids for a meal (it’s pricey) but there is an awesome candy store (also pricey) and it’s gorgeous to look at.
The Tin Building at the NY Seaport. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan
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Review: The Balloon Museum With Kids in NYC

The Balloon Museum arrived in New York City in late October 2023 and will be in Manhattan at least through mid-January 2024. We went to check out the Balloon Museum With Kids in NYC so you can decide if you want to go too.

The Balloon Museum is on South Street near the Manhattan Bridge. Copyright Deborah Abrams Kaplan

While the name is Balloon Museum, it might be more appropriate to say “Inflatables Exhibit that is Instagram-friendly,” but that does not have the same ring to it. When I think of balloons, I think of fragile airy floating things that are ready to pop, and most of the balloons in the exhibit seem more sturdy. Granted, they should be since you can touch many of them. And some are just balloon-shaped or balloon-inspired.

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