History Lessons in NYC, New York

Dinosaurs! Science! Adventure! Break out your pith helmet as we embark upon a brazen expedition through the halls of New York City's world-famous American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Join your maverick tour guide as we deftly navigate this massive 27-building, 1.6 million square foot landmark cultural institution. Learn the science...

In this introduction to the principles of Feng Shui,you will learn how to apply basic corrections and adjustments. Included are: a general history; discussion of schools and methods of practice; and use of color, form, and materials.  No prior experience is required.

Our experience is a journey from the 1500s to the present day. We’ll start with explorers trying to find a route to Asia but then encountered a new land. I’ll share Harlem’s role in the American Revolution and the meeting of Alexander Hamilton and General George Washington. Our group will discuss the Trans Atlantic Slave trade in North, Central...

In conjunction with our current exhibit, "Revolutionary Revolutions: Clocks & Industry in Early America," learn about the history of clock-making in early America from John Metcalfe, master horologist and antique clock restorer.  Tour the exhibit and then design your own clock face, inspired by the beautiful motifs of the clocks on display....

Meet the badass Brooklynites who brought us the ballot. Behind the stately facades of Brooklyn Heights’ most gracious brownstones lies the history of firebrand feminism! The wise “women of Brooklyn” were doctors, lawyers, educators and orators who made some of the foremost contributions to the Suffrage movement. Join us for a walk through their...

In this talk, we'll explore the history of chocolate from its roots as an ancient Meso-American beverage to its current world-championship status. You’ll learn how a yellow, football-shaped tropical fruit transforms into high-end dark chocolate and what “Mexican Hot Chocolate” actually has in common with what Montezuma drank. We'll taste...

Examine art inspired by fairy tales, folklore and Biblical stories in this workshop focusing on English Language Arts (ELA). Hear from Nina Jaffe, children’s book author, storyteller and bilingual special educator and explore the exhibition, Rachel Feinstein: Maiden, Mother, Crone through the lens of literacy and storytelling. Price includes light...

New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) is an unparalleled public-private initiative dating back to the 19th century. Today, it provides City support to 34 institutions across the five boroughs that help cement New York’s status as the cultural capital of the world. This robust public investment in diverse private non-profit organizations...

Across the millennia-long history of Ancient Egypt, one pharaoh stands out from the rest. Where Egypt's other rulers maintained the status quo, Akhenaten challenged it. Abandoning the many gods of Egypt for one little-known deity, he changed his kingdom's religion, capital city, and even style of artwork, commissioning humanizing portraits like...

Rice around the world is thought of as Asian. But rice is just as African as it is Asian. Oryza glaberrima was cultivated from wild rice that needed humans when the Sahara was drying. That knowledge fueled the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade where Africans were brought west. Rice dominated the United States and particularly South Carolina for two hundred...

Join art historian Ted Barrow as we take a plunge into the world of pigment and color and focus on the importance of Red and the fascinating history behind the color. This Olio explores the impact of the color red and their sources upon western European painting from the 15th and 16th centuries offering both an original take on canonical works of...

In this talk, we'll first discuss the origins of coffee and coffee houses as a shared communal space. On our world tour, we will sample different coffeehouse experiences throughout history. After that we'll dive into the United States's love affair with coffee shops,particularly in the last century: coffeehouses as a counterculture performance...

This lecture series is a semi-secret preview of Sarah Lohman’s upcoming food history book, Endangered Eating: Exploring America’s Vanishing Food! Over the coming months, she’ll lead eight classes, each focused on a single chapter of her book. It’s your chance to get the scoop on Sarah’s work, help her with questions and feedback,...

This lecture series is a semi-secret preview of Sarah Lohman’s upcoming food history book, Endangered Eating: Exploring America’s Vanishing Food! Over the coming months, she’ll lead eight classes, each focused on a single chapter of her book. It’s your chance to get the scoop on Sarah’s work, help her with questions and feedback,...

For two hundred years they waited beneath lower Manhattan, entirely forgotten. Even after their recent rediscovery – which occurred by accident during the construction of a new office building –their importance was denied, debated, and almost destroyed. Who are ‘they’? The thousands of African-Americans who lived in New York City during the...