New England Kids’s Blog Fun and inexpensive family fun around New England

Ok here is what we have come up with for the weekend of Friday May 8 through Sunday, May 10. Don’t forget Sunday is Mother’s Day so look for lot of places to be free on Sunday for Mom!

Friday, May 9

Description: Musical theatre combines many different dance forms and acting techniques to communicate a story through music and movement. From “A Chorus Line” to “Oklahoma!” and “West Side Story” to “Rent” – each musical’s songs and dances have become part of our modern dance vocabulary. Famous choreographers such as Agnes de Mille, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins have reinvented musical theatre dance to fit the story they are trying to tell.

This special Master Class, a preview of Boston Ballet School’s Summer Dance Workshop offering, will begin with a ballet warm-up (the base vocabulary and movement for all dance styles) and will move on to explore how actors communicate through song and dance. We will finish with learning two different dance styles from Broadway shows.

Description: The Piti Theatre Company brings their dance-clown-theatre nature fable for family audiences Elmer and the Elder Tree to Boston Playwrights’ Theatre from May 1-17.  Elmer is a city-dweller who loses his job, wanders into the countryside and learns to revive a desolate landscape – and his own happiness. The story, inspired by Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree and Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees, is an interactive event where children play roles on stage and the whole audience creates soundscapes.

Description: Back again by popular demand at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center! Can you imagine having SIXTEEN people playing the same X-Box 360 game on a GIANT projected screen with Dolby 5.1 digital surround sound in the forty-foot domed theater of the Discovery Center? Video gaming has never been so BIG. Teams will be set up. Made possible with the assistance of the New Hampshire Technical Institute Animation and Graphic Game Programming degree program and NASA STEREO.

Murder Mystery Tour                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Location:: 580 Bellevue Ave Newport
Website:  www.astorsbeechwood.com                                                                                                                                                                                                               Hours: 7 PM
Cost: $30 adults, $15 ages 6 to 17

Description: Mrs. Astor has invited close friends and family for a midwinter social evening but she has an ulterior motive. She is screening debutantes to select a wife for her only son, John Jacob Astor IV. The young ladies know what is at stake and just might kill to be the next Mrs. Astor. What should be a night of fun turns deadly and the party swiftly unravels. Guests search the home for clues, question suspects and solve the crime in this fast-paced whodunit. Reservations strongly 

Saturday, May 10

Description:The day before Mother¡¦s Day, The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy invites families to enjoy a day of free festivities in the Wharf District Parks. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino will begin the celebration with an official unveiling of the Mothers¡¦ Walk wall.

Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch or dine at one of the local restaurants offering special menus in celebration of the event. Family Play Day is rain or shine; all festivities will be held under a tent.

Family Play Day will feature:
- New England Aquarium walkabouts
- Laughs with Chuckles the Clown, jugglers and stilt walkers
- Puppet Collaborative with life size puppets
- Multicultural music performances by Sugar Foot Band, Inkas Wasi and Zumix
- Fun and creative craft projects
- Youth fitness activities with the YMCA
- Dance performances by Ritmo En Accion
- Tour of Rose F. Kennedy¡¦s birthplace and neighborhood
- A sneak peak of the soon-to-be-released Rose¡¦s Garden ¡V a children¡¦s book featuring the story of the Greenway created by Peter H. Reynolds.

Description: Bring a picnic, the family and your friends. Activities include: exploring one of the first railroads and large scale granite quarries in the US where technological advancements aided the quarrying and movement of the stone; rock climbing demonstrations and opportunities to try rock climbing; walking tours with views of the Boston skyline; local recreation information and presentations; learning how to help protect this important “critical treasure.”

 National Astronomy Day: Clay Center
Location: Clay Center for Science & Technology  20 Newton Street, Brookline, MA
Website:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Hours: Indoor events from 4:30pm to 8:30 pm , Outdoor events begin at 3:00 with rocket launches, kite flying, Segway rides, and telescopes
9:00 – Full Moon rises, night telescopes until 10 pm                                                                                                                                                                                    Cost: Free + $3 for laser/planetarium shows

Description: The Clay Center will hold Astronomy Day events in collaboration with the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB). Many activities have been planned for families and children of all ages. Children under 12 must be accompanied by parents.

Activity Highlights
* Many different telescopes will be set up for you to see and use. Safely view the sun in the daytime, and see the moon and stars in the evening, weather permitting.
* Demonstrations, lectures, planetarium shows, rocketry, stunt kites, educational activities for all ages.

* Back again by popular demand! Prismatic Magic LASER Light Science Show!
* The 6-story RE/MAX Hot Air Balloon will give tethered rides, weather permitting.

Partial List of Activities
Ride a Segway!
Galileo Returns! Show times: 4:45 and 6:45.
Solar and Night Telescopes
NASA/JPL Ambassadors
LASER Light Show: Show times 4:45, 6:15, 7:15, 8:15, $3 per person.
Planetarium Multi-media Shows: 5:15, 6:15, 7:15, 8:15, $3 per person.
Presentations and Lectures
Clay Center Observatory open
The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory Kite Flying – Outdoors beginning at 3 pm.

SPECIAL EVENT – Indoor kite flying! Come try it. In the Athletic Center from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Planetary Society Exhibit Stars Courtyard
Planetary Scales Model Rocketry
Mars Robotic Arm Class
Cosmic Choir
HAM Radio
Spectroscopes and Prisms

Desription:Worms rule the Museum on a day dedicated to these crawling creatures. Kids watch closely to learn how they wiggle, wear worm suits to squirm through a maze, and get their hands dirty digging through a wormy habitat. Ages 5 – 11.

Family Fishing Derby                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Location: Ninigret Park, Charlestown, RI                                                                                                                                                                                               Website: www.southcountyri.com                                                                                                                                                                                                    Hours:5am – 6:30    p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Cost: For information call 401-789-9301

Flutterby                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Location: Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence, RI                                                                                                                                                                             Website: www.rwpzoo.org                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Hours: 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Cost: . Activities are free with regular Zoo admission.

Description: Head to Roger Williams Park Zoo for the grand opening of the special summer-long exhibit, Flutterby: Butterflies in Bloom at Roger Williams Park Zoo. Enjoy a variety of butterfly-themed special activities, demonstrations and more

Rhode Island Folk Festival                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Location: Little Rhody Vasa Park, Foster RI                                                                                                                                                                                        Website: www.fosteringarts.org                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Hours: 9:00a.m. – 10:00 p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Cost: ADULTS$15/day 9:00am-6:00pm
$15/evening 7:30pm-10:30pm
SAVE $5! $25/day & evening

KIDS (12 and under)
$10/day, $10/eve, $15/both

Description:The 2009 RI Folk Festival will offer more than just traditional folk music. This full-day event will be host to several nationally known performers as well as interesting and exciting workshops, and the chance to immerse oneself in the fun of folk music and all of its character.

Sheep Shearing Day at Watson Farm                                                                                                                                                                                            Location: Watson Farm, Jamestown, RI                                                                                    Website:www.historicnewengland.org                                                                                                                                                                                                        Hours: 12:00 noon. – 4:00 p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Cost: . Free to Historic New England members, $10 per car for nonmembers

Description: Historic New England invites you to Celebrate Spring at Watson Farm’s Sheep Shearing Day. Watch the farm flock be shorn, see spinners and weavers demonstrate, visit with baby animals, and hike the scenic seaside farm trails to visit with the farm’s Red Devon cattle.

Sunday May 10

 Ducklings Day Parade
Location: Boston Public Garden, Boston, MA
Website: www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/kids
Hours: begins at 12:00pm on the Boston Common, opposite the State House. Registration will begin at 10:00am.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Cost: Family ticket donations are $25 day of the parade or in advance by calling (617) 723-8144 .

Description: Based on the book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, children and their families will retrace the steps of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and their family of eight ducklings. Led by the Harvard University Marching Band, children relive the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Mallard dressed as one of their favorite characters from the book.

Children, and family members, are encouraged to come to the parade dressed as their favorite character from the book. All children that are registered will receive ducky prizes and refreshments.

Description: For over two decades, KaleidoscopeChildrensTheatre.com has been presenting professional, musical children’s theatre at The South Shore Music Circus and The Cape Cod Melody Tent. Now you can enjoy The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, etc. year-round, on stage minutes North of Boston at the beautiful Saugus
Senior Center!!!

Description:Is there a better way to spend quality time with Mom? Bring the entire family to Franklin Park Zoo for an enjoyable day learning about new and unique animals on exhibit. Mothers receive free admission on Mother’s Day!

Description: Is there a better way to spend quality time with Mom? Bring the entire family to Stone Zoo for an enjoyable day of learning about new and unique animals on exhibit. Mothers receive free admission on Mother’s Day!

Description:Enjoy a beautiful Sunday at the zoo with mom. Brush up on your maternal vocabulary and play ‘What would your mother say?’ a zoo-wide search for the names of mothers in the animal world. Show your completed sheet at the admission desk for a small reward.

Description:It must be SPRING! How do we know…giant puppets, music, dance and fun, fun, fun for all, this year at March’s Hill in Newburyport (High Street opposite the head of Bromfield Street)Join Theatre in the Open as we welcome spring to Newburyport. The Rites of Spring has something for everyone: giant puppet pageant,seasons changing before our eyes, dancing and singing, stories, crafts and face painting.Bring your blanket and plan to spend an afternoon as you are entertained by art and nature. This is a fundraiser for Theater in the Open. This is event is for children of all ages.

Mother’s Day Fun at Roger Williams Park Zoo                                                                                                                                                                       Location: Roger Williams Park Zoo Providence, RI
Website: www.rwpzoo.org
Hours: 11am
Cost: Visit www.rwpzoo.org for pricing and further details. Call 401-941-4998 or 401-785-3510 x343 to purchase brunch tickets.

Description: Mothers Day Fun at Roger Williams Park Zoo All mothers will receive free admission to the Zoo on Mothers Day (when accompanied by a child). And, for those who want to treat mom to something extra special, the Zoo is also offering a Mother’s Day brunch, followed by a photo opportunity and fun activities for the whole family. Brunch requires advanced ticket purchase; price includes brunch, activities, and admission to the Zoo for the day. Seating is limited.