Category: Family Fun

Family fun for the weekend

One bird, two bird

• This Saturday, Feb. 12, and Sunday, Feb. 13, is the Backyard Winter Bird Survey — an excuse to do a little winter bird watching and enjoy both birds and math out in the wilds of your own backyard. Go to the New Hampshire Audubon’s nhbirdrecords.org to download the forms and read the rules for counting birds, which can be done for as long or short a time as you and your fellow bird watchers would like. Along with more than two dozen bird species, the form also asks for the number of red and gray squirrels spotted.

Wildcats basketball

• For those looking for some in-person college basketball, the University of New Hampshire is allowing masked spectators to Wildcats games this season, according to unhwildcats.com. This Saturday, Feb. 12, at noon you can catch the women’s team play the Binghamton University Bearcats at noon at Lundholm Gymnasium at UNH in Durham. On Monday, Feb. 14, catch the men’s team in their game against UMBC at 4 p.m. (the game is a reschedule of the Jan. 2 game and tickets to that game will be honored). Tickets cost $10, $8 for seniors and 12 and under.

Free day

• As with every second Saturday, New Hampshire residents who go to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) on Saturday, Feb. 12, will get in for free. See the website for the museum’s Covid policies. The museum is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current exhibits include “As Precious As Gold: Carpets from the Islamic World,” “WPA in NH: Philip Guston and Musa McKim” and “Tomie DePaola at the Currier.”

Also scheduled for the Currier on Saturday: The state’s mobile vaccination van will be on site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register to get a shot at currier.org/event/vaccine-van.

Science Friday

• Little scientists can head to Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) on Friday, Feb. 11, for another installment of Science Friday. The Friday sessions (which run through the end of April) feature “messy experiments and activities that focus on sensory fun,” according to the website. The events take place at 10 a.m. during the morning session (which runs from 9 a.m. to noon) or at 2 p.m. during the afternoon (from 1 to 4 p.m.). The activities are geared to ages 3 and up with the help of a grownup. To visit the museum, pay for admission ($11 for everyone over 1 year old, $9 for 65+) and reserve a time slot in advance.

Save the date: for JoJo Siwa

The JoJo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour will come to the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St. in Manchester; snhuarena.com) on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. The tour is rescheduled from May 2020 (tickets for that show are valid here) but new tickets are available.

Family fun for the weekend

Smallfoot, take two

• Last weekend’s storm led to the cancellation of parts of Concord’s Winterfest — including a scheduled screening of the animated movie Smallfoot (PG, 2018), about a village of Yetis and featuring the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common and others. That screening is back on for this coming Saturday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m. at the Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; redrivertheatres.org, 224-4600). Tickets for last Saturday’s show can be transferred to this coming Saturday’s show (email [email protected]).

Science Fridays

• Head to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) on Fridays (through the end of April) for their special “Science Friday” programming featuring “messy experiments and activities that focus on sensory fun,” according to the website. “Activities can be used as a jumping off point for learning about scientific concepts like states of matter or immiscible liquids,” the website said. The events take place at 10 a.m. during the morning session (which runs from 9 a.m. to noon) or at 2 p.m. during the afternoon (from 1 to 4 p.m.). The activities are geared to ages 3 and up with the help of a grownup. To visit the museum, pay for admission ($11 for everyone over 1 year old, $9 for 65+) and reserve a time slot in advance.

As of Jan. 31, the museum also still had tickets available for its Dinosaur Valentine’s Party on Sunday, Feb. 13, with sessions including one from 1 to 3 p.m. Admission costs $16.

Some Plays

• A the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre.org), the Palace Youth Theatre group (featuring student actors in second through twelfth grade) will present the tale of Wilbur, “Some Pig,” in Charlotte’s Web, a play based on the book by E.B. White. The show will run Tuesday, Feb. 8, and Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Call for tickets.

• Head to Narnia for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, presented by Epping Community Theater’s Youth Theater on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Epping Playhouse (38 Ladd’s Lane in Epping, eppingtheater.org). Admission costs $10 at the door (cash only).

Magic and stories

• “Storytime and magic” is the theme for the Saturday, Feb. 5, storytime at Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) at 11:30 a.m. The event will feature a reading of Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons and then a magic show from DaSean “Magicman” Greene, according to the website, where you can register for this free event.

Family fun for the weekend

Plane fun

• It’s the final weekend to see “Festival of Planes,” an exhibit of more than 1,500 model planes and toy aircraft at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire. (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org, 669-4820). Museum admission costs $10 per person; $5 for children under 13, seniors and veterans and active military, and is free for children age 5 and under. The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. According to a press release, the exhibit “features aviation-themed toys, models, puzzles, and promotional items from the past 100 years. Themes range from the Wright Brothers to sci-fi favorites as Star Trek, Star Wars, and more.” There is also a “find Santa” challenge with prizes for kids who spot him.

Snowshoe season

• If this week’s Winter Festival in Concord (see the story above) has you looking for more snow-themed fun, check out last week’s story in the Hippo about snowshoeing. On page 16 of the Jan. 20 issue, Meghan Siegler looks at where you can rent snowshoes, including locations such as the New Hampshire Audubon centers in Manchester and Concord, American Stonehenge in Salem, Beaver Brook in Hollis and Pats Peak in Henniker. She also discusses a few of the more snowshoe-friendly trails in the area.

On stage

• Head to the magical land of Oz at the Majestic Theatre’s young performers presentation of The Wizard of Oz at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway in Derry). The show, a young performers edition of the tale, according to majestictheatre.net, will run Friday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students 17 and under. Call 669-7469 or go to majestictheatre.net.

• At the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre.org), the Palace Youth Theatre group (featuring student actors in second through twelfth grade) will present Matilda Jr., the younger-performer version of the musical based on the Roald Dahl book. The show will run Tuesday, Feb. 1, and Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.

Crowns and a pony

• This week’s storytime at the Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) will feature the books The Princess and the Pony and Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of the Girl Who Floated, read by Miss Manchester and Miss Manchester Outstanding Teen, according to the website. The storytime will start at 11:30 a.m. and after the stories the Misses will be available for photos. Also slated to make an appearance is Eddy, the Manchester Police Department’s new comfort pony, the website said. The event is free; go online to register.