Events: Top Kid-Friendly Activities For The Week

"The Discovery of King Tut" exhibit will open this Saturday at Premier Exhibitions at 5th Avenue. Photo via tutnyc.com. — “The Discovery of King Tut” exhibit will open this Saturday at Premier Exhibitions at 5th Avenue. Photo via tutnyc.com.

This week, we have an eclectic mix of both holiday and non-holiday themed event picks for everyone. Those specifically seeking some holiday spirit will enjoy a modernized version of “The Nutcracker”and the New York Botanical Garden’s train show. For the rest of you, there are three picks you are sure to enjoy: a Duke Ellington concert, a fairytale fest and a King Tut exhibit. Happy fall to all!

Friday, November 20-Saturday, November 21

“The Hip Hop Nutcracker”
The United Palace
Friday: 8pm; Saturday: 2pm
This weekend, the classic holiday ballet will get a modern makeover at The United Palace in Washington Heights. A DJ and an electric violinist will update Tchaikovsky’s original score while hip hop dancers take the stage during this adaptation geared for the 21st century. Plus, the “King of Rap”, Kurtis Blow, will return as the show’s opening night special guest. Saturday’s matinee proceeds will benefit the United Palace of Performing Arts’ Youth Arts Academy. Tickets start at $10.

Beginning Saturday, November 21

Holiday Train Show
New York Botanical Garden
10am-6pm
The New York Botanical Garden’s annual Holiday Train Show is back this Saturday and is bigger than ever! This year’s exhibit will cover 3,000 square feet of additional space, with room for dozens of new G-scale trains, bridges, and a quarter mile of track. These amazingly detailed mini locomotives will speed past beloved sights like the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, and Rockefeller Center that are recreated with natural materials like bark and leaves. Plus, check out the rest of the garden’s 250 acres, and enjoy special tours, musical performances, and holiday activities for kids throughout the season. Free with garden admission. Runs through Monday, January 18, 2016.

“The Discovery of King Tut” Exhibit
Premier Exhibitions at 5th Avenue
11am-7pm
Ever wonder what it felt like to discover Tutankhamun’s tomb? Beginning this Saturday, visitors to Premier Exhibitions on 5th Avenue can experience “The Discovery of King Tut”, a one-of-a-kind exhibit that will display more than 1,000 replica artifacts and treasures that were buried in the tomb of arguably the most famous pharaoh in Egyptian history. The exhibition recreates the site of the tomb’s excavation based on the photographs of the original dig’s photographer, Harry Burton. Tickets start at $20. Runs through Sunday, May 1, 2016.

Saturday, November 21

Jazz for Young People: “Who is Duke Ellington?”
Symphony Space
11am & 1pm
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz for Young People series kicks off with “Who is Duke Ellington?”, a tribute to one of jazz’s great composers and performers. Led by Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will give an interactive performance following Ellington’s journey from DC to New York City, where his discovery of the blues and the development of his own innovative ideas would forever change the jazz landscape. Please note: This performance will take place at Symphony Space. Tickets start at $10.

Galli’s 2nd Fairytale Festival
The Galli Theater
3:30pm-5:30pm
Families with children of all ages can enjoy the best of what the Galli Theater has to offer during Galli’s second annual Fairytale Festival! This two-hour event will feature puppet shows of beloved fairy tales, a mini-theater workshop for kids, arts and crafts, and giveaways. The theater will also debut an exclusive fest production entitled “The Wolf and the 7 Little Goats.” Tickets start at $20.

Adventuring Portal

<a name="m_-1473885667065203258__Hlk72147528"></a>Adventuring Portal runs Dungeons and Dragons (D&amp;D) games for kids.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;We have created a safe online space for tweens and teens to learn and play D&amp;D. Our D&amp;D Summer Camp session are a one-week experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;Monday &ndash; Friday.&nbsp;&nbsp;Each day will be 3 hours of gaming (with 2 breaks build in).&nbsp;&nbsp;15 total gaming hours for $180.&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have played with us before, you are entitled to 10% off.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Need your kids, nieces or nephews, grand kids or neighbor&rsquo;s kids to be occupied for a bit so you can get work done &amp; take care of your to-do list? Maybe your tween or teen is still a bit isolated and craves connection with their peers? Whether your teen/tween has played D&amp;D before or is brand-new to the experience, this safe space brings players together to have fun and solve problems as a team in ways few other online opportunities do. All our games focus on experiential learning.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Our players leave knowing all the basic game play as well as experiencing: teamwork, bravery, compassion, generosity, negotiation, improvisation, gamer etiquette, strategy, critical thinking, problem solving, cartography and probability - all through online D&amp;D adventuring! We are an inclusive organization and welcome gamers who are LGBTQIA+ and those on any spectrum.&nbsp; All girls&rsquo; groups available.&nbsp; I am a parent, a certified elementary school and middle school math teacher and last summer in the midst of the mess started&nbsp;Adventuring Portal, an&nbsp;online Dungeons &amp; Dragons&nbsp;business&nbsp;for kids. There are so many benefits to playing D&amp;D and I hope you will consider us as a great way for your child to safely socialize, grow as people and have a great time.

Dance Workshop - Long Island

Nestled in the heart of Lynbrook Village, Dance Workshop is a community-focused studio committed to dance education in a loving and safe environment. Dance Workshop offers Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and Acro for ages 2+. They also offer a Pre-Professional Company track for dancers interested in taking their technique to the next level. Trial classes may be scheduled with the studio at the start of the season. Dance with the Dance Workshop! MaryAnn Grasso founded Dance Workshop in 1979. Her daughter Nanci later joined her at the helm and in 2016 established Dance Workshop on the Upper East Side of NYC. MaryAnn and Nanci have devoted their lives to dance education, community and the development of children; raising dancers and sound human beings alike. Dance Workshop has seen thousands of dancers pass through the doors. They believe dance has the power to elevate and change lives!

The Language Workshop For Children

After offering both group and private lessons for many years and analyzing the results over&nbsp;time, The&nbsp;Language Workshop for&nbsp;Children, founded&nbsp;in1973, has decided&nbsp;to emphasize private remote lessons at shorter intervals.&nbsp;Our skilled educators&nbsp;will&nbsp;focus their attention exclusively on the&nbsp;unique needs, learning style, and interests of your child.&nbsp;This allows a&nbsp;bond&nbsp;to develop&nbsp;between teacher and student, which&nbsp;has been&nbsp;shown to&nbsp;drastically improve retention.&nbsp; OUR METHOD&nbsp; Developed by the pioneers of language education for children, our programs bring decades of&nbsp;experience to your living room with individualized, active language classes. Each lesson is based on proven methods and materials perfected to capture your&nbsp;child&rsquo;s attention during the ages when he/she absorbs information the fastest. &nbsp;&nbsp; While other online language classes rely on videos for passive learning, we deliver interactive, and engaging lessons with native-fluent teachers. In addition, all our teachers are certified in the Thibaut&nbsp;Technique which has been featured&nbsp;in the New York&nbsp;Times, the&nbsp;Wall Street Journal, and many other well-respected&nbsp;publications.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our short one-on-one lessons give kids the chance to focus, hear pronunciation clearly, and practice speaking in their target language.  THE PROCESS&nbsp; First, students have a short meeting with our Director&nbsp;Francois&nbsp;Thibaut, in&nbsp;English, with&nbsp;their parent(s)&nbsp;present.&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut&nbsp;will determine&nbsp;the best course of study, including&nbsp;class length and&nbsp;frequency, the&nbsp;right&nbsp;teacher, lesson&nbsp;format and materials (or action games for younger students.) Then the learning&nbsp;begins!&nbsp;Mr. Thibaut will continually check in on your child&rsquo;s learning to assure they are getting the most&nbsp;of&nbsp;their&nbsp;classes.&nbsp; OTHER OFFERINGS&nbsp; We can also help your child prepare for: the French subject tests for SAT, AP &amp; CLEP, the European DELF/DALF, the Canadian TEF and other standardized testing, college entry exams, studying or traveling abroad,&nbsp;cultural changes when moving abroad,&nbsp;and much more!&nbsp; &nbsp;