Please join us in celebrating Black History Month with an afternoon of tours, art-making, and our Black History Month Children’s Film Program at Family Day!

This month we’re foregrounding the past, present, and future contributions of Black Americans. We’ll be screening two short films and two feature-length films that foreground Black protagonists and legacies, and join us before or after for our drop-in art making workshops for a dive into Afro Futurism.

We encourage visitors to arrive 5-10 minutes before for the start of the screening. RSVP is not necessary, but entry to screenings will close 10 minutes after the movie has begun.

Program Schedule

• Drop-in Art Workshops (1:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
  Get your creative juices flowing with our drop-in art workshops led by one of our teaching artists. This month we’re looking back while looking ahead with activities inspired by Afrofuturism.

• Bilingual Museum Gallery Tours (1:00 PM – 4:00 PM)
  Our knowledgeable museum educator will lead an informative and engaging 30-min tour of the museum’s exhibitions every hour: 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM.

Screening Schedule

Short Films:

• Screening: Garrett’s Gift (12:15 PM – 12:35 PM) Rating: PG
  Release Date: 2008
  • The inspiring true story of African American inventor Garrett Morgan. As a young boy, Garrett didn’t know what he was good at. He always seems to be getting into trouble. Upon moving to the big city, Garrett witnesses a series of collisions. His creative thinking and imagination lead him to invent the traffic signal. Narrated by actress and rapper Queen Latifah, Garrett’s Gift teaches us that we are all given a gift, but what’s most important is that we give that gift back to the world.

• Screening: Dancing in the Light: The Janet Collin’s Story (12:35 PM – 12:50 PM)
  Release Date: 2017
  • Janet loved to dance, and she especially loved BALLET! When the world renowned Ballet Russe came to town holding auditions in 1934, Janet could hardly wait for her moment to shine. But, things weren’t always fair for black girls in America. Dancing in the Light tells the inspiring story of the first African American prima ballerina, Janet Collins. Narrated by actor and comedian Chris Rock, this story teaches us that we can be anything we set our minds to, even after being told that we are not the current model for success.

Intermission 1 (12:50 PM-1:00 PM)

Feature-Length screenings:

• Screening: Soul (1:00 PM – 2:40 PM) Rating: PG
  Release Date: 2020
  Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical
  • A family movie for all ages. Soul tells the story of Joe Gardner (Jaime Foxx), a middle school band teacher who has been waiting to play jazz with the best players out there and finally gets his chance. Unfortunately, Joe finds himself at the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up at The Great Before, where new souls are sent to get a new personality. This sends Joe and his new friend Soul 22 on a journey where both end up realizing that life has a lot more to offer than they thought, and maybe he actually was at the right place all along.

Intermission 2 (2:40 PM -3:00 PM)

• Screening: Hidden Figures (3:00 PM – 5:00 PM) Rating: PG
  Release Date: 2016
  Genre: Drama, Biographical, Historical, Family
  • A must-see movie for your space obsessed kids. Based on the true story about the smart, strong Black women mathematicians known as “computers” who worked at NASA in the space program’s early years. Starring Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, the movie shows that segregation existed for these women even while at work and how they overcame obstacles and were game-changers in the “Space Race.”