Tag Archives: The Textile Museum

December 17, 2010 · 7:34 am

Welcome Winter this Weekend

Who's ready for a snowball fight?

So, it’s not yet officially winter (and the photo is actually from last year), but I just couldn’t pass up the alliteration opportunity. Besides, the weather we’ve put up with lately isn’t exactly the picture of autumn. But many of this weekend’s events embrace the winter spirit – holiday exhibits, Christmas performances, and seasonal celebrations. Here’s where you can find them, plus a few more non-winter pursuits. Happy Weekend!

Trains, Planes, & Holiday Cheer – The College Park Aviation Museum’s annual holiday exhibit opens tomorrow, December 18, showcasing mini locomotives, villages, tunnels, and depots that spark the imagination and bring history to life. And the museum’s collection of historic aircraft and other flight-related displays will fascinate even more. Admission is $4/adults, $3/seniors, $2/ages 2-18, free/children under 2. The Aviation Museum is located at 1985 Corporal Frank Scott Drive in College Park. For other train and light exhibits in the area, check out this post.

National Christmas Tree – Bundle up and head to the Ellipse to see The National Christmas Tree close up and check out other holiday treats. Visit Santa’s Workshop, watch model trains zip around the tree, and see the Nativity scene and Yule Log. Choir performances take place on weekends from 4 – 8:30pm. The Pathway of Peace around the tree is lit daily until 11pm, but Santa’s workshop has limited hours.

Holiday Classics on the Big Screen – The AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring is running The Muppet Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Story starting today through Thursday, December 23. Visit the website for showtimes and tickets.

Seasonal Shows on the Stage – All of the classics are at our local theatres. See this post for details on where you and the kids can see your favorites.

Childrens Tea Party & Storytelling – The Textile Museum is hosting its monthly Arts for Families program on Saturday. Guests can enjoy tea and tasty treats as they listen to readings from Tales Told in Tents: Stories from Central Asia by Sally Pomme Clayton. Parents are encouraged to bring a camera to snap photos of their kids trying on Turkmen clothing as they learn about life in the lands of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. The progam is free and recommended for kids ages 4 to 12. There are two seatings, at 2pm and 3pm. The Textile Museum is located at 2320 S Street NW.

Family Christmas Concert – The Kennedy Center isn’t a bad place to spend a Saturday afternoon. The Choral Arts Society of Washington presents a Family Christmas Concert: The Night Before Christmas, a theatrical concert for audiences of all ages. For more information, see this post. (Note: the Goldstar deal has expired, but regular-priced tickets are still available through the Kennedy Center.)

Mount Vernon by Candlelight – Sunday evening is your last chance for an evening Christmas tour at George Washington’s estate (the Saturday evening tour is sold out). Join “Mrs. Washington” for candlelit tours, fireside caroling, and hot cider and ginger cookies. Characters from the 18th-century will lead tours through the old house, and music and holiday shopping will take place in the more modern buildings. Admission is $10/adults, $14/kids 11 and under. Hours are 5pm – 8:30pm.

Elmo’s Healthy Heroes – Tickets are still available for the Sesame Street Live! show at the Patriot Center this weekend. For details on times and tickets, check out this post from a few days ago.

Christmas Stories at the American Art Museum – On Saturday, celebrate “the most wonderful time of year” with dramatic readings from a selection of holiday favorites, including Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Clement C. Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicolas, and Francis P. Church’s Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus. The free activity is related to the exhibit “Telling Stories: Normal Rockwell from the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg,” so be sure to take a tour of it while you’re there. The free program starts at 2pm. The American Art Museum is located at 8th and F Streets NW.

Winter Solstice Festival – The Winter Solstice is nearly upon us. Celebrate the days getting longer at Cabin John Regional Park on Sunday, December 19, from 2:30 – 4:30. Guests can make their own luminaries, walk celestial spirals, learn to spin fire, and discover ancient customs and superstitions surrounding this magical time of the solar year. Festivities will include hot cider and traditional treats around a blazing bonfire under the Great Sycamore and end with families preparing a sky lantern to bring back the light. All ages are invited, and cost is $5.

National Geographic Exhibits – Take shelter from the cold and check out a couple of great exhibits. Geckos: Tails to Toepads and Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life are fascinating for all ages. Read a review of both here. Admission to Geckos is $7/adults, $4/children under 12, and the Wild Music exhibit is free. The National Geographic Museum is located at 1145 17th Street NW.

Smithsonian Exhibits – Not that you need a reminder about all of the wonderful free museums on the Mall and in few other parts of the city, but if you want a daily schedule to help plan for storytime at Air & Space, tarantula feedings at Natural History, or animal encounters at the Zoo, then check out this calendar listing children’s activities this weekend.

Family Time at the Museums

So many special events at the museums this weekend, so little time. I love the family days that offer programs and activities geared especially toward kids, but it always seems like they happen simultaneously, and it’s hard to choose just one to attend. Then again, it could be an opportunity to make it a museum weekend and do the whole special event circuit. If your kids like airplanes, art, crafts, music, or all of the above, you’ll find at least one (possibly four) event to enjoy at the museums this weekend. Here’s what going on at our local galleries.

Pioneers of Flight Family Day
Where: National Air & Space Museum
When: Saturday, November 20, 10am – 3pm
Be one of the first visitors to experience the brand new exhibition Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight as the museum hosts a free Family Day. Activities will focus on the 1920s and 1930s, formative decades in aviation when flight technology rapidly advanced; military and civilian aviation grew tremendously; record-setting and air racing captured public interest; African Americans began to breach the social barriers of flight; and modern rocketry was born. Activities for kids include:
– Earn a Junior Aviator’s Certificate by learning about rockets, famous airplanes and their pilots, and air-minded organizations.
– Talk to family members of people featured in the exhibition and other experts.
– Interact with Amelia Earhart at 11am and 1pm – Come to three story times at 11:30am, 12pm, and 1:30pm – Experience Little Red Rocket Hood, a puppet show by the Good Life Theater 12pm and 2pm
– Learn about William Powell in a play by Discovery Theater 11:15am, 12:45pm, and 2:15pm
– Meet Tuskegee Airmen at 11am and 12:45pm
*This schedule is subject to change. A complete schedule of events will be available at the Welcome Center on the day of the event. The Air & Space Museum is located at Independence Avenue at 6th Street SW.

Food in Art Family Day
Where: Smithsonian American Art Museum
When: Saturday, November 20, 11:30am – 3pm
The museum is hosting a free Family Day that feeds right into Thanksgiving’s feasting tradition. Discover how food has been a source of inspiration for artists in our collection. Try a scavenger hunt through the galleries or sketch out the decoration for your own delicious cake. Decorate your own apron and pick up a recipe for frosting inspired by Wayne Thiebaud’s pastel cakes and pies. Don’t forget to stop by the photo still-life station and get those fruits and veggies ready for their close up! The American Art Museum is located at 8th and F Streets NW.

Arts for Families – Weave Your Own Ikat
Where: The Textile Museum
When: Saturday, November 20, 2pm – 4pm
Guests can make their own swatches of ikat fabric using pre-dyed yarns. Learn the basic plain weave structure while forming the wonderful visual effects of ikat with dyed warp and weft. No reservations required fr this free event. The Textile Museum is located at 2320 S Street NW.

Hide/Seek Friends & Family Day
Where: National Portrait Gallery
When: Sunday, November 21, 11:30am – 3pm
This friends and family day includes music and hands-on arts activities inspired by the exhibition Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture. One of the featured activities is a day-long reading of poet Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass taking place in the Great Hall (3rd Floor). Guided tours of the Hide/Seek exhibition also available at special times. All ages are invited to the free event. The National Portrait Gallery is located at Eighth and F Streets, NW.

1 Comment

Filed under All ages, Art, DC, Free, Museums, Winter

Tagged as Arts for Families – Weave Your Own Ikat, Food in Art Family Day, Hide/Seek Friends & Family Day, National Air & Space Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Pioneers of Flight Family Day, Smithsonian American Art Msueum, The Textile Museum

August 19, 2010 · 9:42 am

Mid-Century Modern Game Day at the Textile Museum

Last weekend as we were having lunch at the Montgomery County Fair, something at the table behind us caught Owen’s attention, and I could see his eyes light up with excited curiosity. “What’s that?” he asked.

I turned around to see a young girl holding a colorful cube, purposefully turning the sides in various directions. “That’s called a Rubik’s Cube,” I told him. “I had one when I was a little girl, and I was obsessed.”

“What’s obsessed?” (And this is a whole other conversation, so I’ll just get to the point.)

Our kids probably can’t imagine a time before Thomas, Dora, Bakugan, or American Girl. Many don’t know the simple thrill of poking little colorful plastic pieces through black paper to create a brilliant Lite-Brite design, sinking someone’s battleship, or frantically trying to follow Simon’s light patterns. Sure, there are some toys that have stood the test of time–Barbie probably has a trendier wardrobe than I do, Legos are all the rage with loads of kids these days, and Play-Doh is a staple in many a child’s art set–but most seem more like relics from the long-ago past that now belong in a museum.

And that’s just where you can find them this coming weekend. On Saturday, August 21, the Textile Museum is hosting Mid-Century Modern Game Day. From 2-4pm, kids young and old can check out (i.e., play with) toys and games that were popular back in the 60’s and 70’s. Here’s your chance to school your kid at Twister, show them how you whirl a Hula Hoop for hours, or make a Slinky “walk.” All of this will take place in the garden, followed by a scavenger hunt through the museum’s exhibitions to win a prize.

The event is part of the museum’s monthly Arts for Families series and recommended for kids ages 4-12. Admission to both the museum and event is free, but a non-member donation of $5 is suggested.

The Textile Museum is located at 2320 S Street NW.