10 ACTION ITEMS for this year’s Spring Break
The goal of any vacation is to expand our horizons beyond the normal routine. There’s plenty of ways to do just that, here in LA. We’ve organized this year’s Spring Break Edition with some motivating verbs!
FLY: Now Boarding at the Museum of Flying
At the recently re-opened Santa Monica’s Museum of Flying, flight and design enthusiasts will enjoy a show that is up only until April 7. Now Boarding showcases the designs of six of the world’s most innovative airports, and if this appeals, futurists will want to also stop by the A+D Museum to see a related show that highlights winning designs for airports of the future. (photo by Studio J Marketing)
LEARN: LA’s modern architectural heritage
Remember last year’s citywide arts initiative Pacific Standard Time? The Getty continues their exploration of LA’s contributions to culture by focusing on modern architecture, and kicks off their funding initiative with a show called Overdrive: LA Constructs the Future 1940-1990 at the Getty Center, opening April 9. Overdrive will look at LA’s dynamic built environment and the city’s rapid evolution into one of the most populous and influential industrial, economic, and creative capitals in the world. Be sure to click around the initiative’s website to see all the shows around the Southland supported by the Getty during “Architecture Month: programming that starts in April and runs only through July, which offers everyone a fabulous chance to delve into our city’s modernist heritage.
HIKE: An article to inspire a trip to a National Park
We loved this article that explains the less strenuous routes around some of the country’s most popular National Parks, including Yosemite and the Grand Canyon – two excellent destinations for a drive over Spring Break.
DANCE: Experience the work of a Modernist Master
CAP UCLA celebrates renowned choreographer Trisha Brown in April with three FREE events (March 30, April 6 and April 7) as well as ticketed shows at Royce Hall. Brown, who was the first woman choreographer to win a MacArthur, places dancers in space in novel ways, and Angelenos can learn why her dances were such groundbreakers: two of her most famous works will be performed FREE at the Hammer, including one that features dancers dangling from the ceiling. Other events during this month’s celebration of the legendary artist include a show that families will like in the Sunset Recreation Amphitheater. Click for details.
GAWK: Traces at the Music Center
The Music Center brings Traces to town for three days at the end of April (4/26-4/28 including a Sunday matinee) and we can’t wait to see the incredible athleticism on display in this non-traditional and thrilling performance. The show combines movement from skateboarding to acrobatics. Stay tuned for a special Behind-the-Scenes with TFS offer in early April.
IMMERSE: Teens/Adults Kubrick at UCLA
Teens and adults will love the chance to sink into the world of Stanley Kubrick at LACMA’s retrospective of the filmmaker’s career, which includes posters, artifacts and even clips from many films. Consider entering a room with a tabletop version of the maze, the typewriter and costumes of the scary twins in The Shining. Or, seeing the apes and that weird baby from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Watching the films at home together offers a chance to study how a body of work develops over time and how consistent themes in the artist’s work repeat and change.
FOCUS: Vermeer’s Woman in Blue leaves town on March 31
Some of our most successful museum visits (with kids, and otherwise) have been to see a single piece of art – we head to the venue with purpose, march towards a specific painting and feel great satisfaction at just focusing on a single artwork. It’s a great trick for luring reluctant museum goers — kids (especially) relax if only one simple thing is expected of them. Johannes Vermeer’s Woman in Blue is visiting the Getty for just a few more days, until March 31. Take the tram, visit this luscious painting, and let the kids roam around the museum’s copious gardens, which are blooming brilliant red right now.
SING! Opera
If you have middle or high schoolers who love to sing, now’s the time to splurge for tickets to an appropriate “starter-opera” – Cinderella, by Rossini, performed by LA Opera- onstage between now and April 13 for a few shows a week. The show will be sung in Italian, but will include English translation subtitles.
SERVE: Thinking about our Soldiers
The new show War/Photography at the Annenberg Space for Photography, which we reviewed last week, made us think about soldiers as they return home from war. Besides showing your older kids this show, you could get them get involved with one of a few interesting organizations around town — UCLA’s Operation Mend is one of only a few facial reconstruction services in the nation and kids can help by supporting the children of soldiers who are undergoing surgeries while they are at UCLA through Teen Buddies. Operation Gratitude is a great organization where you can go as a family and pack boxes which are mailed to the troops.
MARVEL: Butterflies Galore
‘Tis the season to be wowed by the life cycle of the butterfly. The Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Pavilion opens for the season on April 14 so act now and purchase a timed ticket. And swing by Kidspace Museum in Pasadena to pick up a Caterpillar Adoption Kit and watch a larvae transform into a Painted Lady Butterfly (and return to the museum for it’s Grand Butterfly Release event at the end of April).
