This Sunday, June 25 from 10am – 12:30pm, the National Museum of Natural History is partnering with the U.S. Forest Service and USDA for a morning celebrating pollinators and learning about our connections to pollinators and plants with interactive activities and a concert with MISTER G! It’s all free and open to the public, and no registration is required.
Schedule of events: 10-10:55am: Hands-on activities and learning stations 11-11:50am: Concert with MISTER G 11:55am – 12:30pm: Hands-on activities and learning stations, plus a book signing with MISTER G* *Books will be available for purchase at the event.
The program will be held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the National Museum of Natural History. Use the Constitution Avenue entrance, and Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Want to begin your pollinator explorations ahead of the event? Check out the museum’s learning resource page about pollinators and plants!
This post is sponsored by the National Museum of Natural History, however, I only promote programs, places, and events that I genuinely believe in and think will appeal to KFDC readers.
Join the Torpedo Factory Art Center this Saturday, October 22 from 12-4pm, for the 27th Annual Art Safari! An Alexandria tradition for more than a quarter-century, Art Safari returns for a day of hands-on activities for kids and families, as dozens of resident artists lead budding art enthusiasts through exciting and creative projects on all three floors of the Art Center.
Guests can look forward to all of these art adventures:
* Learn about printmaking with Printmakers Inc. by creating Linoleum printing of animals with artist Claire Meyer and watercolor monotypes with artist Avis Flemming.
* Discover the Potter’s Wheel with a demonstration by Scope Gallery.
* Become a work-of-art by having your face painted or getting a special temporary tattoo by Post Grad Resident artist Kiel Posner. Great for kids of all ages.
* Collaborate with artists Tara Barr and Rosemary Feit Covey on coloring pages specially designed by the artists.
* Paint like a real artist, at an easel with brushes, with artist Judy Heiser.
* Create dynamic collages using bits of fabric and fiber with Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery artists.
* Play and experiment with a piece of wet clay to mold and shape into any form you can imagine led by artist Tracie Griffith Tso.
* Take part in a gallery scavenger hunt led by The Art League Gallery exploring their current exhibition. Each completed scavenger hunt can be shown at the Gallery desk to receive a special prize.
* Learn about Alexandria’s historical waterfront with the Alexandria Archaeology Museum.
* Contribute to a large canvas cloth collage project with artist Mina Oka Hanig.
* Enjoy additional STEAM-focused adventures with our partners at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the College of William & Mary.
Art Safari is perfect for kids ages 5+. Younger children may need some extra help, but will still have a lot of fun. Dress for mess — kids can get messy creating with artists at the Torpedo Factory!
Free and open to the public, the event is a fun and creative day for kids to dive into art!
Art Safari
Where: Torpedo Factory Art Center | Alexandria, VA
When: Saturday, October 22, 12-4pm
Admission: FREE! (Register here)
This post is sponsored by Torpedo Factory Art Center, however, I only promote events, programs, and places that I genuinely believe in and think will appeal to KFDC readers.
The National Gallery of Art reopened its doors last spring, and it’s been wonderful to return to one of our favorite museums again. Even better, it’s open daily, making it a go-to any day of the week. But this coming weekend, September 24-26, will be an especially great time to visit, as the museum hosts a Community Celebration honoring late pioneering artist Alma Thomas!
The in-person, on-site event will feature a variety of activities and experiences that explore Thomas’s life and her wide range of creative endeavors, all of them self-guided for Covid safety. Plus, there are extra goodies and discounts to enjoy while you’re there! The weekend offerings and festivities include:
· Free art kits with a coloring book of National Gallery works by local artists, coloring materials, and a cutout doll designed by Brittany Jackson, illustrator of the acclaimed children’s book Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment.
· A special flower displayinspired by Alma Thomas’s Pansies in Washington (1969)
· A display showcasing works by local community members, celebrating Alma Thomas’s art and legacy
· 50% discount on Alma Thomas-inspired gelato at the Espresso & Gelato Bar
· 15% discount on shops purchases with the code ALMA15 (onsite and online)
· A pop-up performance from Howard University Bands at 4pm on Sunday
Thomas’ painting, Tiptoe Through the Tulips, inspired by sights, sounds, & smells of DC
The event is part of a larger citywide celebration featuring a symposium with virtual sessions September 22-23. Geared toward adults, it will bring together noted scholars, artists, and curators to discuss Alma Thomas’s life and legacy, including an introduction by Michelle Obama.
The National Gallery of Art’s Community Celebration will take place in the East Building from 1-5pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Admission is free.
Alma Thomas Community Celebration
Where: National Gallery of Art | National Mall, DC
When: Friday – Sunday, September 24-26, 1-5pm
Admission: Free
This post is sponsored by the National Gallery of Art, however, I only promote events, programs, and places that I genuinely believe in and think will appeal to KFDC readers.
You have to be on the ball to score tickets to Glenstone, the modern art museum sprawling gloriously over 300 acres in Potomac, MD. Even pre-Covid, passes were hard to get. They are released on the first of every month for timed-entry admission for the following two months. So, tickets that are released tomorrow, April 1, will be for visits in May and June. This takes some patience and planning, but I promise it’s worth it. [Update: They now offer Guaranteed Admission for students age 12+, active-duty military personnel, and staff from other museums — and one guest can join them.]
Glenstone is more than just a museum; it’s a whole experience. One that transports you to what feels like a destination far, far away from the city. Both indoor galleries (that should start to reopen April 8) and expansive grounds showcase a remarkable collection and traveling exhibits that are interesting, evocative, and beautiful. Design and architectural features are practically works of art themselves, and you will likely find yourself studying lines of the buildings and the pool of aquatic plants in the courtyard as much as the paintings and sculptures.
Exploring all of it on foot in the galleries and along paved paths spanning through open grassy areas, trails winding through woods, and boardwalks that zigzag over thick brush (or straw during cold months) add some recreation to the outing. It’s like an art-filled hike or an active art adventure. There’s also a cafe to make it a lunch date or to enjoy a snack in a very scenic setting.
Pick up a paper map on your way in or scan a QR code for one. You definitely want to know where you’re going as some of the outdoor installations are a bit hidden, and you don’t want to miss them. Inside, the galleries are numbered, so make sure you count them all off, too. There’s at least one that is easy to miss, and we had to search a bit to find it (though that also added some extra fun).
With its 12-and-older age policy for visitors, Glenstone is automatically a spot for the T(w)een Scene. And while this may be a bummer to parents with younger kids, I get why they do it. It’s not just that the art might be considered sophisticated for little ones. (In the “eye of the beholder” vein, I think all art could be enjoyed and appreciated on some level by every age.) Part of the Glenstone experience is the peaceful, “contemplative environment,” as they call it. I could see it being tough to keep kiddos from wanting to bolt through wide open spaces outside and use inside voices in the echoing galleries. I’ve been a few times sans kids, with friends, and on my own — a different season each visit — and I highly recommend it for a grown-up outing, whether a day date, a visit with friends, or solo.
That said, both of my kids are finally old enough to go, and I’m looking forward to bringing them. I had tickets for all us to visit when they had a day off from school recently, but a crazy downpour that day thwarted those plans. Thus, I’ll be online tomorrow trying to score those elusive tickets again.
Glenstone is located at 12100 Glen Road in Potomac, MD. It’s currently open Thursday – Sunday, 10am – 5pm. You must have a ticket to visit. As mentioned, free tickets are released the first day of every month at 10am for the following two months. Photography is not permitted indoors, hence all the outdoor images here.
This spring had to be the most anticipated one ever. I mean, we always look forward to emerging from the cold and darkness of winter, to color returning to the landscape as trees begin to flower, to longer days, to renewal. But this year it’s about so much more.
With this spring comes hope and optimism in a way that we couldn’t have fathomed in previous years. After a year of fear, uncertainty, disruption, and heartbreak that Covid heaved upon us, we are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s still a ways to go, but that glimmer is getting brighter all the time.
This first day of spring did not disappoint. The sun was shining, the weather pleasant, and it was a Saturday, so we could be out and about to enjoy it all. We did that at one of our very favorite places in DC: The National Arboretum. We hadn’t been in awhile, because we thought there was a no dogs rule — we like being able to bring Teddy on our outings, especially if we’re hiking around outdoors — but we just learned that our pup can go to the Arb as long as he’s leashed.
So, that’s where we headed to ring in the new season. If you’ve been reading KFDC awhile, you probably know how much I love the Arboretum — it tops the round-up of best outdoor spots. (You can see more about it here, here, here, and here.) It’s a wonderful place to go any time of year, but this visit was especially auspicious as some of the cherry trees were blooming…on the first day of spring!
There is a self-guided cherry blossom tour to follow through the US National Arboretum app, or you can do what we did and see them as you wander around randomly and just refer to the app for the few that are blooming right now.
Be sure to explore the rest of the Arboretum to see even more bloom beginnings — rhododendrons, dogwoods, daffodils — and the many collections of plants and trees. The Capitol Columns in the Ellipse Meadow are quite striking and have to be one of the most photographed spots in DC.
Get out and celebrate spring and all the hope that comes with it this year. The U.S. National Arboretum is located in Northeast DC, off of Bladensburg Road and New York Avenue, the entrance at 24th & R Streets (from Bladensburg). Hours are 8am – 5pm. Admission is free.
PS: We are happy to report that Teddy loves the Arboretum just as much as we do. And now that we know he can go, he’ll be a regular visitor, too!
