February is Black History Month, and the Brooklyn Children's Museum is holding a special festival designed to keep kids learning during mid-winter recess.
Inside the Brooklyn Children's Museum art space, kids are hard at work decorating mirrors: a symbol of reflection. The beads and feathers supplied are inspired by the work of a local artist.
"I drew a bunch of hearts because I feel like Black History Month can also have something to do with love and how you can love yourself as a Black person," said 15-year-old Dreame Monplaisir.
"There's a sense of affirmations and really seeing yourself and seeing what yourself might be," said Atiba T. Edwards, president of the museum. "These days and age, we see ourself all the time, mainly through our camera lens and more often than not there's a filter of some sort."
Edwards says the week-long festival pays homage to the role of art in activism.
"This is one of the few spaces where a child has agency, and that level of agency and decision-making is really important for their own future. Because it encourages them to think about the path that they will take," he said.
Families enjoyed dance performances, art workshops, and displays of culture from the African diaspora.
"There are interesting facts about people that you never knew about," said 8-year-old Storme Major.
"It made the children think as well as myself, you know, what are some of your dreams? What do you have dreams for your community?" said Tammara Tillman, who came with three of her grandchildren.
"I feel that it is important to have fun and learn because when I was young, I did have fun and learn, but it wasn't the popular thing to do," said Mo, who came to the museum with his nephew.
For the second year in a row, the museum partnered with STooPS Art & Community, a Bed-Stuy based organization that is curating the festival program.
"Our mission is to use arts as a catalyst by offering free or low-cost arts activities in unconventional spaces. So primarily stoops, sidewalks and parks," said Kendra Bostock, Founder and Director of StooPS.
She explains the theme was inspired by a Lena Horne song.
"This year's theme is 'I Dream of Black Brooklyn,' and we're encouraging folks to think about their dreams for this borough and their dreams for Black Brooklyn in general, because we feel like if Black folks are thriving, we're all going to be thriving," she said.
Museum leaders say the institution is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, making it the first children's museum in the world.