Events for Children in NYC This Week

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Our guide to cultural events in New York City for families with children and teenagers.

CHILDREN’S POTIONS AND PLANTINGS at the McKittrick Hotel (July 22 and Aug. 12, 10 a.m.). If children haven’t received their invitations yet to study at Hogwarts, this may be the next-best thing. Gallow Green, the rooftop restaurant at this Manhattan hotel, has revived this series, welcoming young wizards (the recommended ages are 5 through 10) to learn all about herbal potions and plantings and to pot some greenery to take home. An English tea — with pink lemonade for small guests — will be served, and each participant may bring a favorite stuffed animal or doll. (An adult attending must be accompanied by at least one and no more than three children; each child should bring a recyclable bottle for concoctions, as all environmentally minded sorcerers apparently do.)
mckittrickhotel.com/events/potions-planting

COME OUT & PLAY FAMILY DAY at Nolan Park, Governors Island (July 22, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Who needs volleyball and miniature golf when you can play games like Pizza Rat and Revenge of the Third Rail? Those are just a couple of the interesting competitions at this free outdoor annual event, part of the Come Out & Play Festival, presented by ESI Design. Recommended for families with children ages 6 through 11, the day offers games invented by ESI and other groups that promise to be challenging and unconventional — with quirks like moving targets — and that interconnect to form a time-travel story line. And you can be sure that many young New Yorkers will be tickled by the prospect of portraying vermin in the subway.
comeoutandplay.org

COMMUNITY APPRECIATION DAY FESTIVAL at the Alice Austen House (July 22, noon to 4 p.m.). In this bicentennial year of the death of Jane Austen, she’s been getting a lot of glory, but there’s another (unrelated) Austen also worth celebrating: Alice (1866-1952), one of the first female photographers. This free event at the Staten Island museum that was once her home will honor her and its neighborhood with tours, food and lots of live local music. The fun for children will include scavenger hunts, face painting and opportunities to dress up as Victorians and to make sun prints, an early form of photography that uses objects and photosensitive paper (no cameras necessary).
718-816-4506, aliceausten.org

‘ENDANGERED! THE MUSICAL’ at the Davenport Theater (through Aug. 31). This production’s characters consist of members of species that are threatened by extinction — a giant panda, a whooping crane, a golden lion tamarin, a cheetah — and one that often seems to have trouble believing that it might be at risk at all: humans. Written by Keni Fine and Tony Small, the show unfolds at a zoo, where there’s an even more immediate danger: A superstorm is bearing down, and the animals must cooperate with one another and a young reporter, the Kid, to save themselves. The Friends of the National Zoo originally commissioned the project, which uses song and dance to deliver an environmental message.
212-239-6200, telecharge.com

‘KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE’ (July 23-24). Although the Harry Potter books don’t mention it, making deliveries is an ideal job for a young witch: Think of all the traffic you avoid when traveling by broom. That’s the occupation the 13-year-old title character adopts in this 1989 film from the great Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki, whose work is being honored in Studio Ghibli Fest 2017, a monthly series from GKids and Fathom Events. The movie, in which Kiki, accompanied by Jiji, her little black cat, strikes out on her own in a learning year required of all witches, only to undergo a crisis of confidence, will be screened with a program of international shorts. The film will be in select theaters on Sunday at 12:55 p.m. (in English) and on Monday at 7 p.m. (in Japanese with English subtitles).
gkidstickets.com; fathomevents.com

‘OWL DISCOVERY HOUR’ at the Brooklyn Public Library (July 26-27). Owls live all over New York City, but unlike many local birds, they rarely show their faces to their human neighbors. This program, presented by Volunteers for Wildlife, will allow children to observe closely live examples of several species. To be presented on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Dweck Center of the Central Library, and on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Bay Ridge branch, this free event will emphasize the many adaptations that make these creatures such successful nighttime hunters. Families visiting the Central Library may also want to investigate the paper, cardboard and papier-mâché animals in its Youth Wing. They belong to “Making New Friends by Matthew Sporzynski,” an exhibition of Mr. Sporzynski’s wildlife sculptures and other works created for the library’s Summer Reading 2017 program.
bklynlibrary.org

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