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.

‘ANGRY BIRDS UNIVERSE: THE ART & SCIENCE BEHIND A GLOBAL PHENOMENON’ at the New York Hall of Science (through Aug. 27). Those feathered furies of video game fame are now helping human fledglings learn physics, engineering, ornithology, animation and design. This exhibition in Queens transports the popular characters from smartphone screens to a three-dimensional world of science demonstrations. Some interactive stations mimic game play: Young visitors can build structures representing the lair of the birds’ enemies, the Bad Piggies, and then catapult Angry Bird projectiles into them with giant slingshots — a lesson in mechanics. They can also construct and race model cars, as in the new game Angry Birds Go!, and investigate the wingspans and egg sizes of real avian species. Other areas touch on magnets, pulleys and earthquakes, while a Cave Studio enables junior cartoonists to draw and animate their own flocks.
718-699-0005, nysci.org

HUDSON RIVERFLICKS: ‘KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS’ at Pier 46 at Charles Street (July 28 at dusk, about 8:30 p.m.). And you thought Dorothy was unlucky. Kubo, the young one-eyed Japanese hero of Travis Knight’s stop-motion animated adventure, is on the run from not just one evil supernatural being, but three: his own twin aunts and his grandfather the Moon King. Yes, this PG-rated feature has its dark moments, but it also offers humor as Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson) and two unusual sidekicks — a serious-minded monkey (Charlize Theron) and a sillier beetle (Matthew McConaughey) — go on a quest to find the powerful warrior regalia of Kubo’s dead father. Part of Hudson River Park’s Family Fridays series, this free movie presents a great opportunity to picnic — and the popcorn is free, too.
hudsonriverpark.org

‘KIDS ROCK’ at Rockefeller Plaza (July 29, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Christmas season isn’t the only time that children will be drawn to Rockefeller Center. At this free event on the plaza, they can expect fun in forms both large (giant games of foosball and Connect 4) and small (mini Lego building stations). The attractions will also include a Popsicle stand and a photo booth, and lots of live music will supply the rock in the day’s title.
rockefellercenter.com

‘LOLLIPOPS FOR BREAKFAST’ at Flushing Town Hall (July 30, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.). That morning menu sounds like a parent’s nightmare, but it’s a little girl’s dream in this puppet production by Bonnie Duncan, who developed the show and plays all the parts. Ms. Duncan, who last appeared in this Queens location in the fall with the irresistibly titled “Squirrel Stole My Underpants,” once again enacts a tale about Sylvie, an enterprising child whose animal co-star is this time a bird. Together, they set off to find ingredients and create the ideal lollipop. Accompanied by a bit of dance and acrobatics — but no words — their journey unfolds to live music performed by Ms. Duncan’s theater troupe, the Gottabees.
718-463-7700, Ext. 222; flushingtownhall.org

MOTH NIGHT at the Staten Island Museum (July 29, 8:30-10:30 p.m.). It might seem as if every summer evening were Moth Night, but this one is special: A collaboration this year between the Staten Island Museum and the Staten Island Children’s Museum, the celebration, part of National Moth Week, will allow young naturalists to build moth attracters and go on a guided hike of the Snug Harbor area. The object is to search for the creatures and learn about their varieties, adaptations and habitats. (Visitors should take flashlights, cameras, notebooks and containers for observation.) The fun will also include face painting, shadow dancing, eating frozen treats and, of course, staying up late.
718-727-1135, statenislandmuseum.org

‘PEACE, LOVE AND CUPCAKES: THE MUSICAL’ at the Acorn Theater at Theater Row (through July 30). You could say that this show, which Vital Theater Company has revived as part of the New York Musical Festival, is all about just deserts — and, of course, desserts. Its heroine, Kylie Carson, a tomboy who doesn’t fit in at middle school, finds a creative outlet by starting a cupcake club, but the club proves so successful that it draws envious sabotage by one of the local mean girls. Adapted from a novel by Sheryl Berk and her young daughter, Carrie Berk (the Berks wrote the script with Jill Jaysen), and with a pop score by Rick Hip-Flores, the production demonstrates how easy it is for the bullied to become bullies, too — at least until sweeter impulses prevail.
212-352-3101, nymf.org

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