e-Family Time Newsletter, brought to you by Cool Culture—July 2011

Keeping It Cool at QMA Also In This Issue July Events Calendar Looking Ahead to August Events

Did you know? You can pick up free color swatches from a hardware store to use on your own color hunt. Find your family's favorite shades at NYC's museums, zoos and gardens!

Stay Tuned (and "like" Cool Culture) onFacebook!

Congratulations to the Winners of Cool Culture'sCatch the Cool Prize Giveaway!

Congratulations to Child Center of NY - Woodside for having the most families from their program come toCatch the Cool! Samantha Cruz and Itzel Garcia create collages in an art workshop at the Queens Museum of Art. Click here to see a full list of Catch the Cool prizewinners! Hundreds of excited little explorers caught the cool on Saturday, June 18th at the Queens Museum of Art (QMA)during an afternoon of interactive museum tours, bilingual music and storytelling performances, art- making workshops and other awesome activities! Stay Cool This Summer! Get ideas and the tools for your next "I liked everything!" says five-year-old Itzel Garcia cultural adventure by looking at theevents from International Children's School in Queens, who calendar at the bottom of this newsletter attended Catch the Cool with her sister Ruby, cousin and visitingwww.coolculture.org. Samantha Cruz and mom Marlene Pérez. Remember, the Family Pass is good for "My favorite thing that I saw is the lamp of the general admission to 90 partner museums dragonfly. I had never seen a lamp with that many zoos and gardens, for up to 5 individuals, colors" says eight-year-old Samantha, who used any time the cultural institution is open! aCool Culture Hunt Card to discover and explore this gorgeous, colorful glass and bronze object that was Don't forget to bring your ID. Have fun crafted more than 100 years ago. Samantha and her exploring NYC's arts and culture! cousins had fun searching for their favorite shades of purple, blue and red in the lamp's dragonfly design during a color-matching game. Comments, Feedback? Contact Cool Culture Staff The girls also explored The Panorama of the City of Email [email protected]. New York - a baseball diamond-sized model of that features 895,000 tiny buildings. "The For a list of Cool Culture partners, check little buildings look like Monopoly," notes six-year-old out the Cool Culture website. Ruby, who helped her family spot miniature versions of the Empire State Building, Central Park and John F. Kennedy International Airport before pretending to be skyscrapers and bridges with a Cool Culture volunteer.

The family wrapped up their Catch the Cool adventure at an art workshop, where they created bright and beautiful collages inspired by New York City. "I made a delivery truck, stars and a moon, and a tree and the street," Ruby explains. "When I get home, I can hang it on the wall."

Catch the Cool - All summer long! Missed Catch the Cool? Or can't wait to go back toQMA? Take a trip to the museum this summer for some unforgettable family fun!

Head to the museum with your Cool Culture Family Pass and explore the museum's galleries on your own. Download Cool Culture Hunt Cards on our website and see if you can find the objects with your family!

On Sunday afternoons, QMA hosts FREE family art workshops. Learn more on their website.

By Erin Cassin

JULY EVENTS CALENDAR—Beat the heat and stay cool with fun family programs!

For the complete Family Time Summer Events Calendar in English and Spanish, click here.

EVENTS CALENDAR KEY: FP = Free with Cool Culture Family Pass FREE = Free to all, Cool Culture Family Pass not necessary

Saturday, July 9 STORYBOOK READINGS AND WORKSHOP, 1PM Celebrate the Southwest! Listen to Native stories from the Southwest and participate in a hands-on activity. NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN FREE

Friday, July 15 ICE CREAM STORYTIME, 10:30AM Celebrate National Ice Cream Month at July's storytime. Listen to ice cream-themed stories and afterward we'll pretend to make ice cream like New Yorkers did in the 19th century, using objects from our Touch Collection. MOUNT VERNON HOTEL MUSEUM AND GARDEN AGES 2-6 FP

First Fridays!: FILM NIGHT 7-10PM Free film screenings in collaboration with the African Film Festival at Joyce Kilmer Park, Grand Concourse between East 161 St and East 164 St (Rain location: Bronx Museum). BRONX MUSEUM OF ART ALL AGES FREE

Saturday, July 16 HANDS ON HISTORY: IT'S TIME TO PLAY! Noon-3PM Drop in anytime for stories, activities and crafts! Families will learn about historic games and learn to play games from the past! KING MANOR MUSEUM ALL AGES FREE

Friday, July 29 BLUE MOOD, PART OF SMURF WEEK IN NYC, 10:30AM Blue books, blue crafts, and a tour focused on all things blue will put families into a blue mood during this Museum tour and storytime. MOUNT VERNON HOTEL MUSEUM & GARDEN ALL AGES FP LOOKING AHEAD TO AUGUST EVENTS—Art in August!

Saturday, August 6 FAMILIES AND FOLK ART, 1-2:30PM Get to know folk art through interactive and discussion-based tours in the galleries followed by hands-on art- making activities inspired by objects in the museum. AMERICAN FOLK ART MUSEUM AGES 4-12 FREE

Sunday, August 7 CROSS THE THRESHOLD, 1-2PM Whether leading into a church or a castle, doors and doorways could tell stories and make you feel welcome (or not!). Come walk through the doors at and find out what is on the other side. THE CLOISTERS MUSEUM AND GARDENS AGES 4-12 FP

OPEN STUDIO: NATURAL MATERIALS, 11AM-1PM Explore the galleries and make art in response to your experiences. No registration is required for this drop-in program. THE NOGUCHI MUSEUM ALL AGES FP

Sunday, August 21 FAMILY-FRIENDLY SCAVENGER HUNT, Noon-5PM Join in a neighborhood scavenger hunt and test your knowledge of the Brooklyn Heights area and its history. Successfully complete the hunt before 5PM and you will be eligible for a raffle to win prizes including Brooklyn hats, neighborhood guides, and postcards. BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY ALL AGES FREE

ONGOING PROGRAMS—Family fun anytime, all the time!

Every Wednesday, July 6-August 31 FAMILY CRUISE NITES: CLASSIC CAR SHOWCASE, 5:30-8:30PM The Staten Island Region Antique Automobile Club of America rolls onto Center Street of Historic Richmond Town to give visitors a closer look at classic cars from the golden age of the American automobile. Weather permitting. HISTORIC RICHMOND TOWN ALL AGES FREE

Every Sunday, July & August SUMMER SONGS AND STORIES, 2 and 3PM Storyteller and musician Tammy Hall brings the age-old art of storytelling to Prospect Park. Gather under the big tree at Lefferts and be engaged and enchanted by stories from around the world. LEFFERTS HISTORIC HOUSE ALL AGES FREE

Ongoing throughout the year, visit www.metmuseum.org for dates and times START WITH ART AT THE MET Sketch, explore, listen to stories, and discover the meaning of art! Meet at Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education, ground floor. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART AGES 3-7 FP

Every Friday, August KIDFLIX FILM FESTIVAL Enjoy a free series of films every Friday night throughout the month in Bedford Stuyvesant's Fulton Park. Experience features, documentaries, animation, shorts and television programming by filmmakers of the African Diaspora. MoCADA ALL AGES FREE

Every Saturday, July 2-August 27 COLORS 'A LA CART', 2-4PM Drop-in Come learn the secrets of the dyers' apprentices and see for yourself which colors came from leaves, roots, and husks, and which came from bugs. Discover if bugs should be smashed or boiled, and how artists stored color in fabric. THE MORGAN LIBRARY & MUSEUM AGES 6+ FP

Every Sunday FREE DROP-IN ART WORKSHOPS, 1:30-4:30pm Come for fun activities that will get you talking about the art on view! These programs are accessible to all families, including those whose children have special needs and those for whom English is a new language. QUEENS MUSEUM OF ART AGES 5-12 FREE

Every Sunday TARGET FREE SUNDAYS, 12-4pm Come for free programs and events ranging from family workshops to theater performances. You can explore how art and visual communication can ignite the imagination, engage the mind and reflect our human experience - past, present and future! THE ALL AGES FREE COOL CULTURE SPONSORS Cool Culture thanks our sponsors for their continued support.

Center for Children's Initiatives