#InTheLoop | Queens Cultural Groups Offer Youth Enrichment Programs During Spring Break
BY QEDC It's In Queens
Many elementary and grammar schools will be on Spring Break next week.
While this news probably makes most students ecstatic, parents and other caregivers are justified if they feel a bit stressed out. How to take care of the little darlings while also making sure that they’re stimulated intellectually?
Luckily, Queens is on it.
The world’s most diverse county hosts wide-ranging camps that get youngsters out in nature, on the stage, in the classroom, and all over the arts.
Here’s a primer.
Queens Museum’s STEM Matters runs from Monday, April 10, to Friday, April 14. Students (grades 3-5) participate in Building Tomorrow’s Cities, a free drop-in program that includes crafting models, discussing climate change, and exploring futuristic sustainable cities. The daily sessions are from 10 am to 4 pm.
The Secret Theater’s Spring Break Camp is also from April 10 to April 14. Aspiring young actors discover and develop their talents with experienced teaching artists and work on a musical. Each day runs from 10 am to 5 pm and please note that the program is set for The Secret Theater Academy, which is located at 50-12 Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside (not the other agency venue on 61th Street in Woodside). Admission is $450.
Queens Botanical Garden gets into the act with Spring Break Activities from April 11 to April 14. Children and families visit nature-themed activity stations to create botanical crafts and listen to stories about spring flowers, insects, and animals. General admission is free, and the program runs daily from 2 pm to 4 pm.
Youngsters achieve STEM objectives and learn about ecology, sustainability, and life in the country during Spring Break of the Farm from April 12 to April 14. Hayrides, scavenger hunts, compost, and specific programs lead the way. The two-hour sessions begin at 10 am and 1 pm. Prices start at $39.19.
Additional Activities
Because April is Earth Month, other Queens nonprofits are preparing nature-focused programs. Out in Jamaica, King Manor Museum’s Climate Change at Home is on April 8 at 1 pm. This new display demonstrates how regular household objects affect the environment. Using QR code technology, visitors scan codes next to several objects in the collection – i.e. an 1850s kitchen stove — and discover how they figure into climate change models. The interactive exhibition is open on all Saturdays during the entire month.
On April 11 in Flushing, the Voelker Orth Museum presents Green Garden/Green Plant at 1 pm. This family-friendly program includes window-sill plantings, a scavenger hunt, eco-collages, a picture book/young readers book swap corner, and informative comics from Con Edison.
Egg Hunts
Warm up for the camps over the preceding weekend!
Queens Farm’s annual Barnyard Egg Hunt is on Saturday, April 8, at 11 am. (Another one took place the previous weekend.) Children enjoy Bunny Hop dancing, a scavenger hunt, and outdoor games, but the big hit is always Whiskers the Bunny (below).
Another annual tradition, Lewis Latimer House Museum’s Dino Egg Hunt: A STEAM Eggstravaganza, is on April 8 at 2:30 pm. Participants search for dinosaur eggs on the Flushing property, crack them open using kid-friendly fossil excavation tools, and reveal hidden surprises.
Top image: Queens Museum; two bottom images: Queens County Farm Museum