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Visiting Exhibits

Native Voices: New England Tribal Families

Visiting Exhibit Gallery
June 30 – September 2, 2018

Brooklyn Children’s Museum’s newest exhibit, Native Voices: New England Tribal Families, features the seasonal traditions of five Native American tribes from New England. Meet the Narragansett, Mashpee Wampanoag, Aquinnah Wampanoag, and Penobscot and Passamaquoddy communities through photographs, videos, and activities that invite you to participate in daily life and special events. Join us for this important and unique opportunity to learn about the history and modern life of indigenous communities through first-person narratives, oral history storytelling, large photo murals, hands-on activities, and evocative collection objects. Visitors will also be invited to explore a wigwam that will be built on the Museum’s roof and learn about traditional building methods.

Please note: Native Voices closed 30 minutes prior to Museum closure.

Past Exhibits

BLOCK PARTY

Interactive Exhibit

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BLOCK PARTY

December 16, 2017 - June 10, 2018
BLOCK PARTY brought together the elements of the iconic Brooklyn block party all under one roof, including a series of dimensional stoops set against a backdrop of artistic facades of residential buildings, and different ”street” and green spaces to play games, meet friends, relax, and have fun. Large-scale photographs by Brooklyn-based artist Anderson Zaca, who has long documented block parties in Brooklyn, were featured to invoke the joy, action, and diversity of block parties celebrated annually across neighborhoods in New York City. Families were invited to add to the photographs, and record their own images and experiences in the city among those of their neighbors.
MakerYard

Interactive Exhibit

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MakerYard

June 17 - November 26, 2017
Inspired by adventure playgrounds, MakerYard invited children to test their motor skills and imaginations as they construct, build, and invent structures and other creations using everyday materials such as cardboard, tape, fabric, string and recyclables. Parents and caregivers were invited to sit back and let children explore independently, or work collaboratively to create together.
Children of Syria

Special Exhibition

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Children of Syria

June 22 - September 24, 2017
Explore a selection of photographed portraits from The Memory Project that bridges the distance between Syrian refugee children and American high school art students. The portraits displayed in BCM's 2nd floor Studio were detailed replicas of original artwork painted by students, while the original portraits are sent to each child in Syria.

For more information, visit https://memoryproject.org/
John Steptoe

Special Exhibition

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John Steptoe

May 16 - June 18, 2017
Original artwork by the children’s author and illustrator John Steptoe (1950 - 1989) were on view in BCM’s 2nd floor Studio. Steptoe grew up in the neighborhood of Bed Stuy, and based many of his books on the people, places, and stories of Brooklyn. Among his well known books are Stevie, Daddy is a Monster Sometimes, and the acclaimed Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, which has been adapted as a play. Together we celebrated his lasting legacy as a Brooklyn artist.

Wilderness Camp

Interactive Exhibit

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Wilderness Camp

January 21 - May 28, 2017
Featuring art installations by Tattfoo Tan
Brooklyn Children’s Museum's Wilderness Camp was an indoor experience that brough the great outdoors to family audiences through role-play and the exploration of nature. This interactive installation, created in partnership with contemporary artist Tattfoo Tan, gave families the opportunity to explore how we interact with and rely on nature for our basic needs and resources. Kids and their caregivers learned about different ways of creating shelters, plants that provide food and building materials, and techniques that transform natural materials into functional, everyday objects. Wilderness Camp offered visitors the opportunity to take on the roles of outdoor explorers and gain a heightened appreciation of our precious natural resources that we can all work toward preserving.
Free Portrait Project

Crown Heights Series

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Free Portrait Project

September 25 - October 23, 2016
The Free Portrait Project: Crown Heights created a portrait of a place through its people. Artist Rusty Zimmerman's oil-painted portraits of 200 Crown Heights residents acts as a physical record of the neighborhood amid shifting demographics. In partnership with the Brooklyn Historical Society and the Weeksville Heritage Center, Zimmerman recorded oral histories during each session, which will also be available for listening during his exhibition.

Rusty Zimmerman is a portrait painter raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and the Bay Area of California. Zimmerman lives and works in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
Our City

Interactive Exhibit

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Our City

March 10 - September 4, 2016
Our City was an interactive exhibit featuring the work of contemporary artists exploring the components that make up our neighborhoods and city. Children took on the roles of urban planners, artists, architects, and visionaries as they talk about the places they call home. Our City included artwork by Aisha Cousins, Brooklyn Hi-Art! Machine (Oasa DuVerney and Mildred Beltre), Elizabeth Hamby, James Rojas, Priscilla Stadler, and Rusty Zimmerman.

Our City sought to challenge visitors to consider what it means to be a neighbor and what makes a neighborhood. Who do you greet when you step outside or walk down your street? What are the characteristics of a happy and healthy neighborhood? What do the people in your neighborhood look like? What do the buildings look like? What’s your favorite thing to do in this place? This exhibition created an opportunity for children from different parts of the city to be in conversation with each other and their caregivers about these questions. Additionally, it champions curiosity and lifelong learning by way of inquiry-based teaching, which allows creates opportunities for children to lead the conversation.
Heart and Seoul

Growing Up in Korea Series

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Heart and Seoul

October 3, 2015 - January 3, 2016
Heart and Seoul: Growing Up in Korea brought modern-day South Korea to New York City, and encouraged children to explore differences and similarities between their lives and those in South Korea.