Kids Culture 03.26.15

Young Playwrights Showcase

Eight short plays by Bridgehampton and Ross School students who participated in the Young American Writers Project Middle School Playwriting program will be presented on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Stony Brook Southampton’s Avram Theater.

The program, which is sponsored by Stony Brook Southampton’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, pairs students with professional writers and teaching artists for workshops on playwriting, screenwriting, poetry, the personal essay, and fiction. Professional directors stage the culminating performances. Admission is free, but space may be reserved by emailing william.chandler@s tonybrook. edu.

Budding Authors

Susan Verde, the author of “The Museum” and “You and Me,” will be the Hampton Library’s guest at a reception on Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. The reception kicks off the library’s monthlong young authors program.

Parents and high school students looking to plan for college may want to stop elsewhere at the library on Tuesday at 7 for a talk with experts from Long Island Funding for Education, who will discuss how to get accepted by, pay for, and graduate from college.

Earlier that afternoon, at 4, kids 7 to 12 will make tiny matchbox books. Reservations are requested for all library programs.

Don’t Be Late

The Children’s Museum of the East End’s annual Mad Hatter Tea Party and egg hunt will be held Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Youngsters can design and decorate their own hats and bags, then join in a hunt for thousands of eggs hidden around the museum. The party is free for members, $10 for others, and reservations are requested, as space is limited.

The East Hampton Kiwanis Club and Cittanuova on East Hampton’s Newtown Lane will host an Easter egg coloring festa on Sunday at 9:30 a.m., giving kids 3 to 8 the chance to dye eggs and meet the Easter Bunny. A suggested donation of $3 will benefit Kiwanis projects.

Easter will come early at the Ladies Village Improvement Society in East Hampton, too. The group’s annual Easter egg hunt for children under 8 will be on Saturday at 11 a.m., and there’s a special prize in store for anyone who finds a golden egg.

Eggs and Easter are also on the agenda at the East Hampton and Amagansett Libraries this week. An Egg-cellent story and craft time will get children thinking about the holiday, and spring, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Amagansett.

In East Hampton, a springtime story and craft program for ages 4 to 6 is planned Tuesday from 4 to 5 p.m. Those in sixth through eighth grade can use marshmallow Peeps and other candies to make a spring house on Wednesday at the same time.

Dance Into Spring

The spring semester of classes at the Hampton Ballet Theatre School in Bridgehampton will begin on Monday at 213J Butter Lane and at the Bridgehampton Community House.

In addition to the school’s graded-level ballet and contemporary dance classes, the schedule will include classes in hip-hop, contemporary dance, ballet, tap, ballroom, and flamenco. The A&G Dance Company, which is new to the school, will teach hip-hop for 5 to 8-year-olds on Mondays at 5 p.m. and tap for teens at 7:15 p.m. A contemporary dance class for 8 to 12-year-olds will be offered on Fridays at 4 p.m.

On Tuesdays, Ernesto Palma, a professional ballroom dancer, will teach that form of dance at 4 p.m. for younger kids and at 5 for teens. Mr. Palma speaks English and Spanish.

Sara Bedell Spataro will teach ballet on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and flamenco on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. for teens. Information about the full schedule and pricing can be had by emailing [email protected] or calling 237-4810.

Budding Scientists

Teen scientists can conduct a scientific survey of Crooked Pond in the Long Pond Greenbelt on Saturday at 10 a.m. with the South Fork Natural History Museum.

Participants will use soil test kits, oxygen meters, pH testers, seine nets, binoculars, and microscopes to learn about the pond, its environment, and its inhabitants. Space is limited, so advance registration is a must. There is a $2 fee for a nature journal, or students can bring their own.

Leopard Meets Goat

At the Goat on a Boat puppet show on Saturday, the Magpie Puppets will present “Leopard Learns a Lesson,” at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets are $12, $8 for children under 3 and additional siblings, and $10 for grandparents and theater members.