MAGIC TREEHOUSE IN NYC
GIVEAWAY & BOOK/MUSEUM PAIRINGS
***GIVEAWAY***
Have a Magic Tree House fan? We are giving away two tickets to meet Mary Pope Osborne, the prolific creator of this wild popular time-traveling series, plus Natalie Pope Boyce, author of the Magic Tree House Research Guides, this Sunday afternoon at Symphony Space in honor of the release of the deluxe edition of Christmas in Camelot. Actor Fred Hechinger will perform an excerpt from Jack and Annie's adventures.
Enter on instagram and/or send us an email letting us know your kids ages, your neighborhood and favorite book(s) in the series.
Bonus entries available on instagram for tagging friends.
Contest ends Thursday, Nov 7 at 2 pm.
Find Dinosaurs Before Dark on the fourth floor and Central Park West lobby of the American Museum of Natural History, plus learn about the entire tyrannosaur superfamily through stunning life-sized models, fossils and casts, and engaging interactive displays in special exhibit T. rex: The Ultimate Predator.
Also see creatures from Dark Day in the Deep Sea in the iconic Hall of Ocean Life , watch clever Dolphins at Daybreak in the awe-inspiring and entertaining Oceans: Our Blue Planet 3D film. And experience Midnight on the Moon in the Rose Center for Earth and Space (though to be in the actual museum at dawn or midnight you'll need to sign up for a sleepover).
See armor typical of the middle-age European warriors in The Knight At Dawn plus an array of armor and weaponry from other time periods and continents. Dive deep into one particular knight in special exhibition The Last Knight: The Art, Armor, and Ambition of Maximilian I. Explore objects from thirty public and private collections in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States including the ambitious emperor's own sumptuous armors as well as related manuscripts, paintings, sculpture, glass, tapestry, and toys.
Go to the Egyptian wing for some Mummies in the Morning and find so many more tome periods and places. Pick up fun Family Guides at information desks.
Blizzard of the Blue Moon features a unicorn - in 1930s New York City. No magic tree house needed to visit this book's setting. Find the famous Unicorn Tapestries at the Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum's castle-like branch dedicated to the art, architecture, and gardens of medieval Europe (be warned, one panel depicts the poor creature's bloody death). Explore secret passages and admire golden treasure among stone archways.
Visiting requires a bit of a walk through Inwood's Fort Tryon Park, and the serene courtyards, gardens and balconies overlooking the Hudson River are part of the museum's charm, so not recommended in an actual blizzard.
The fashionable hula girl and surfer ensembles in The World of Anna Sui the Museum of Arts and Design could hang ten in High Tide in Hawaii. The one-hundred extravagant looks representing twelve quirky archetypes that are staples of the Sui aesthetic (cowgirls, pirate rock stars, Pre-Raphaelite maidens, etc) could also dress other characters in Jack and Annie's adventures, though we are still waiting for them to travel to the 1990s - to Seattle perhaps? Nightime with Nirvana?
Share what head-to-toe stories you find in the crazy clothes and be inspired by the colorful mood boards. Be sure to pick up a fabulous kids guide and pencil and check out the artist studios (and fabulous Central Park view) from the sixth floor.
More info on the World of Anna Sui
Meet soldiers from Revolutionary War on Wednesday (including, on occasion, General Washington himself) during Living History weekends (and Veteran's Day) at the New-York Historical Society. Different Magic Tree House characters make appearances each weekend, including Abe Lincoln At Last and soldiers from Civil War On Sunday. You can always crash Washington's inauguration, learn about money with Alexander Hamilton and find lots of other great history books in the DiMenna Children’s History Museum in the basement.
The seasonal Holiday Express: All Aboard to Richard Scarry’s Busytown is also lots of fun for all ages, though I don't think there are any books in the series about trains? How can this be? Perhaps ask Mary Hope Osbourne this Sunday...