Past Kids & Family Programs
2012
Luminous Modernism Children’s Workshop
with the Salvadori Center
Saturday, January 14, 2012, 1-4 pm
$10 ($7 ASF Members), recommended ages 5-12
Pre-registration is required
As the Scandinavian Art Exhibition of 1912 made a splash in America, architects in the Nordic countries were developing their own distinct style of architecture that combined elements of the past and present. Join educators from the Salvadori Center for a closer look at connections between the art on view in Luminous Modernism and some of the buildings designed and styles developed around the same time.
Mario Salvadori (1907-1997), a world-renowned structural engineer and Columbia University professor of engineering and architecture, founded the Salvadori Center in 1987. He believed that the built environment contains the essential knowledge that a person needs to be a life-long learner and an informed, active member of society. Salvadori students experiment with forces, build model bridges, map neighborhoods, and design future cities. Using the urban landscape of buildings, tunnels, and bridges, the Salvadori Center introduces children and adults alike to the wonder, beauty, and logic of architecture and engineering.
Dragon Style
January 14, 2012
How do you combine a Swiss Chalet with a Viking ship? You do it Dragon Style! This style of Norwegian architecture popular between 1880 and 1900 combined motifs from Viking and medieval art with vernacular elements from the more recent past. Families will explore elements of the past to incorporate into their own modern building models.
See also Luminous Modernism: Scandinavian Art Comes to America, 1912 in EXHIBITION section.
Saturday Morning Storytelling with the Hans Christian Andersen Storytellers
Saturdays @ 11 am
Free, ages 5+
Some of New York’s most famous storytellers bring to life exciting tales of mythical creatures and fantastic adventures from Scandinavia and the far North.
Stories from Sweden & Beyond with Rita Auerbach
January 14
Love Stories from Scandinavia with Regina Ress
February 11
H.C. Andersen Storytellers Artistic Director: Diane Wolkstein. Saturday Morning Storytelling at Scandinavia House is made possible by support from DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. and DeWitt Stern Imperatore.
Scandinavian Sing-Along
Saturdays @ 1 pm, January 21, 2012
$7 ($5 ASF Members), ages 1-7
Scandinavia holds a treasure-trove of children's songs and games. Danish musicians Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann will introduce children to English versions of a selection of these songs, play musical games, and also perform some songs in modern, jazzy arrangements. Come prepared to move, dance, imagine, and sing your heart out!
Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann are Danish musicians living in New York. Iversen's background is in jazz, while Normann's is in classical and Danish folk music. They share a special love for the Danish children's songs they grew up with, and have performed together on several occasions in both New York and Washington, D.C.
View video, below left.
http://angryantmedia.com/singalong.html
Fastelavn
Saturday, February 18, 1 pm
$7 ($5 ASF Members), ages 1-7
Don’t wait until October for trick-or-treating! Sometimes called “Nordic Halloween,” Fastelavn originated in Denmark where children dress up and go door-to-door, singing for candy. Join Danish musicians Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann from Scandinavian Sing-Along for Scandinavia House’s celebration of this holiday, which includes dress up, traditional games, goodies, and songs.
2011
Fastelavn
Saturday, February 26, 1 pm
$7 ($5 ASF Members), ages 5+
Originating in Denmark, this holiday is sometimes called a “Nordic Halloween” with kids dressing up in costumes and gathering treats for the Fastelavn feast. Children are invited to join Danish musicians Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann from the Scandinavian Sing-Along series and dress up while playing traditional games and learning songs.
Saturday Morning Storytelling with the Hans Christian Andersen Storytellers
Saturdays @ 11 am
Free, ages 5+
Some of New York’s most famous storytellers bring to life exciting tales of mythical creatures and fantastic adventures from Scandinavia and the far North.
February 12:
Svalbard Stories — told by Ellen Shapiro
March 12:
The Vinlander Saga — told by Diane Wolkstein,
Accompanied by Jeff Greene on Nyckleharpa
April 9:
H.C. Andersen Fairy Tales and Harp Music by Alyssa Reit
May 14:
Stories from Finland — Told by Jack McKuen
Stories from Norway — Told by Rolf Stang
H.C. Andersen Storytellers Artistic Director: Diane Wolkstein. Saturday Morning Storytelling at Scandinavia House is made possible by support from DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. and DeWitt Stern Imperatore.
Nordic Models + Common Ground Children’s Workshops
2 Saturdays: February 12 & March 5, 1 pm
Each $10 ($7 ASF Members), ages 4-10
Pre-registration is required
Attention budding designers and architects! Love to build? In this hands-on workshop educators from the Salvadori Center will lead you through a building project based on the exciting work on view in the Nordic Models + Common Ground: Art and Design Unfolded exhibition.
Mario Salvadori (1907-1977), a world-renowned structural engineer and Columbia University professor of engineering and architecture, founded the Salvadori Center in 1987. He believed that the built environment contains the essential knowledge that a person needs to be a life-long learner and an informed, active member of society. Salvadori students experiment with forces, build model bridges, map neighborhoods, and design future cities. Using the urban landscape of buildings, tunnels, and bridges, the Salvadori Center introduces children and adults alike to the wonder, beauty, and logic of architecture and engineering.
Buildings that Wiggle Like a Fish
With Salvadori Educators Karen Orloff & Susan Chea
February 12
Architects and engineers find inspiration everywhere! From wiggly snakes to scaly fish, you can see how buildings reflect nature. Families will begin by looking at images of the 2010 Shanghai Expo Pavilion “Kirnu” by JKMM Architects and other buildings with scales and buildings that move and shimmer like fish in water. Working with a variety of building materials, kids will create their own scaly, wiggly, wonderful buildings.
Open Spaces
With Salvadori Educators Susan Chea & TBA
March 5
Inspired by Atelier Oslo’s The Lantern, kids and parents will create their own design for a public space that utilizes structural elements. Families will begin by looking at the differences between designing public and private spaces and then move on to identifying shapes and patterns seen in The Lantern and other projects. Families will work with folded paper and other building materials to create models of their public spaces.
See also Nordic Models + Common Ground: Art and Design Unfolded on CURRENT EXHIBITIONS page.
Scandinavian Sing-Along
Saturdays @ 1 pm, October 15, November 19 & December 10, 2011
$7 ($5 ASF Members), ages 1-7
Scandinavia holds a treasure-trove of children's songs and games. Danish musicians Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann will introduce children to English versions of a selection of these songs, play musical games, and also perform some songs in modern, jazzy arrangements. Come prepared to move, dance, imagine, and sing your heart out!
Anne Mette Iversen and Vibe Normann are Danish musicians living in New York. Iversen's background is in jazz, while Normann's is in classical and Danish folk music. They share a special love for the Danish children's songs they grew up with, and have performed together on several occasions in both New York and Washington, D.C.
View video, below left.
North by New York: New Nordic Art Children’s Workshops
May 14 & June 18, 1-4 pm
Each $10 ($7 ASF Members), ages 4-10
Pre-registration is required
Attention budding designers and architects! Love to build? In these hands-on workshops educators from the Salvadori Center will lead kids through a building project based on the exciting work on view in the North by New York: New Nordic Art exhibition.
Mario Salvadori (1907-1997), a world-renowned structural engineer and Columbia University professor of engineering and architecture, founded the Salvadori Center in 1987. He believed that the built environment contains the essential knowledge that a person needs to be a life-long learner and an informed, active member of society. Salvadori students experiment with forces, build model bridges, map neighborhoods, and design future cities. Using the urban landscape of buildings, tunnels, and bridges, the Salvadori Center introduces children and adults alike to the wonder, beauty, and logic of architecture and engineering.
The Golden Mean
May 14, 2011
What has math got to do with beauty? Kids and families will start with a scavenger hunt in the Scandinavia House galleries looking at some of the portraits included in North by New York. Led by the Salvadori educators, kids will examine the shapes artists used to create these portraits. Back in the studio, kids will try their hand at creating abstract designs based on The Golden Mean and see where this math shows up in everything from shells to faces to buildings!
Building Faces
June 18, 2011
Have you ever thought of a building as having a face? A building’s door, windows, and other features come together to create the façade, or face. Looking at portraits on view in North by New York, kids will talk about how personality and identity is expressed by these artists. They will take what they discovered and apply it to the design of whimsical building façades using pop-up and collage techniques.
A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside:
A Storybook Installation
Saturday, 12 – 5 pm, $5 per child (Free for ASF members), admission includes access to both spaces
Open to ASF Family Associate and above members, Tuesday – Friday, 12 – 5 pm; ages toddler+
Leave New York City to discover the magical lives of some of Sweden’s most popular classic and contemporary children’s storybook characters! The sixth installation of The American Scandinavian Foundation’s popular Annual Celebration of Children’s Literature at Scandinavia House spotlights Sweden.
A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside is an interactive playscape that takes children on a magical journey from New York City across the ocean to Sweden where they can explore, hear stories, and read while surrounded by vibrant and imaginative murals evocative of the bucolic Swedish landscape. Kids will encounter a fantasy city skyline, inspired by simple, bright building blocks. A mini-balcony suggests a penthouse roof where they can build their own block buildings. Following a whimsically-stylized road, they will leave behind the big city, meeting along the way some of the country’s most beloved storybook characters, like Stefan Casta's Mister Raf, Gunilla Bergstrom’s Alfons, and Maria Jonsson’s Astrid the Fly. Children can read and listen to stories in the giant blueberry basket “sofa” and other woodland-inspired cushions that litter the forest, go camping in a tent with Findus the Cat or play in Elsa Beskow’s capricious hat house. The storybook installation is designed by renowned set designer and artist Sarah Edkins.
Both classic and contemporary literatures are embraced in this installation as much of today’s literature evokes popular themes of the past. Many of the contemporary authors and illustrators continue in tradition of the classic “Elsa Beskow style,” where they imagine fanciful play lands that blend together the natural and human world.
Support for A Child’s Adventure in the Swedish Countryside: A Storybook Installation is provided by Christina Lang Assael, The Assael Foundation; The Hon. Charles and Monika A. Heimbold, The Heimbold Foundation; the Honorary Consulate General of Sweden, New York; SWEA, New Jersey Chapter; Dr. Rose-Marie G. Oster; Edwin & Kathy Ordonez; John L. and Solveig Andersen; Michael E. Gochman & Bettina Schriver Gochman; and Sara Roy Summers.
Young Voices from Norway:
A Family Show with Stand-Up Artist Tommy Steine & Skedsmo Voices Children’s Choir
Saturday, October 8, 1 pm
Free, ages toddler+
Norwegian stand-up comedian and personality Tommy Steine joins Skedsmo Voices Children’s Choir in an afternoon of singing and antics that will be fun for the whole family, with audience participation encouraged!
Skedsmo Voices is the umbrella-name for a large music environment for children and young people based in Skedsmo, a municipality in Akershus county in Norway. The choir’s goal is to encourage creative and artistic development in a positive environment. Talent is developed through exercises, tours, and performances, while taking the opportunity to learn about local church and culture, to the benefit and common good of the group.
The choir has a strong presence in its community and often represents it at missions and various gatherings. Skedsmo Voices also regularly collaborates with a variety of artists such as the Lillestrøm Jazz Club and local orchestra, and often sings for businesses and organizations. Their repertoire is varied – ranging from musicals, gospel, and pop songs, to folk tunes and classical arrangements. Many of the songs are accompanied by choreographed dances or dramatic presentations.
Tommy Steine is one of Norway’s most popular and experienced performers today, having worked more than 15 years as a comedian, actor, singer, presenter, and lecturer. He has more than 2,000 live performances, written and performed in seven feature-length shows, and made more than 100 radio programs. Steine has twice been nominated for Norway’s Gullruten award and in 2000 was named Comedian of the Year.
Sampo, a Boy from Lapland/Sampo Lappalainen
Puppet Theatre Sytkyt
Saturday, October 29, 11 am in Finnish; 1 pm in English
$10 ($7 ASF Members), ages 3-9
Adventure is waiting as puppeteer Juha Laukkanen transports audiences to Finnish Lapland where a mean-spirited troll lives inside a mountain.
Puppet Theatre Sytkyt is a touring professional theater run by puppeteer Juha Laukkanen and theatre technician Arto Ollikainen. Sytkyt was founded 20 years ago and currently performances are organized both in Finland and abroad. Every year the theater holds nearly 250 performances at venues such as day-care centers, children's parties, and hospitals.
In 1994 Laukkanen became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and, in that capacity, has travelled to Europe, Africa, and Asia. He won the Finnish State Prize for Children’s Art from the Finnish Arts Council. Finnish embassies and major corporations frequently invite Laukkanen abroad and he has travelled widely in a number of countries, among them Thailand, Singapore, Egypt, and China.
Luminous Modernism Children’s Workshops
with the Salvadori Center
November 5, 2011, 1-4 pm
$10 ($7 ASF Members), recommended ages 5-12
Pre-registration is required
As the Scandinavian Art Exhibition of 1912 made a splash in America, architects in the Nordic countries were developing their own distinct style of architecture that combined elements of the past and present. Join educators from the Salvadori Center for a closer look at connections between the art on view in Luminous Modernism and some of the buildings designed and styles developed around the same time.
Mario Salvadori (1907-1997), a world-renowned structural engineer and Columbia University professor of engineering and architecture, founded the Salvadori Center in 1987. He believed that the built environment contains the essential knowledge that a person needs to be a life-long learner and an informed, active member of society. Salvadori students experiment with forces, build model bridges, map neighborhoods, and design future cities. Using the urban landscape of buildings, tunnels, and bridges, the Salvadori Center introduces children and adults alike to the wonder, beauty, and logic of architecture and engineering.
Kiruna Church
November 5, 2011
Voted the most beautiful public building in Sweden (2001), Kiruna Church is a wonderful collection of triangles and squares. Built between 1909 and 1912, this church is a stand out example of geometry in architecture. Families will work with a collection of shapes and in three-dimensions to build and design their own geometric masterpieces.
See also Luminous Modernism: Scandinavian Art Comes to America, 1912 in EXHIBITION section.
Saturday Morning Storytelling with the Hans Christian Andersen Storytellers
Saturdays @ 11 am, November 5
& December 10, 2011
Free, ages 5+
Some of New York’s most famous storytellers bring to life exciting tales of mythical creatures and fantastic adventures from Scandinavia and the far North.
Stories from Norway & Beyond with Songs & Banjo Music by Bill Gordh
November 5, 2011
Scandinavian Holiday Stories told by Julie Pasqual
December 10, 2011
H.C. Andersen Storytellers Artistic Director: Diane Wolkstein. Saturday Morning Storytelling at Scandinavia House is made possible by support from DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. and DeWitt Stern Imperatore.
Swedish Christmas Children’s Workshop
Saturday, December 3, 1-3 pm
$10 ($7 ASF Members), ages 5-10
Space is limited; pre-registration is required
Scandinavia House invites young children to experience how Swedes prepare for Christmas in this customary julpysseldag (Christmas craft day). Kids will learn the secrets of making traditional holiday crafts like woven hearts, yarn tomtar, and paper angels.
This program is made possible by generous support from the MacCormick family and from SVEA/New York in honor of Monica MacCormick.