It’s time to get messy, be creative, and make some art! Arts and crafts classes provide kids with a great way to unleash their imagination and develop some new skills. We scoped out three arts and crafts spots for kids with new locations or updated offerings. Check these out for a fresh take on a fun experience!

New Location and Classes: The Craft Studio

The new space in all its glory. Craft Studio NYC

Regulars and newcomers rejoice: The Craft Studio now has a spot in Tribeca! Originally intended as a pop-up, the studio is now officially here to stay as a permanent addition to the Craft Studio family. The warm and welcoming environment has made the studio a favorite in its original location, and it's already warming hearts in the new nabe.

The Tribeca spot offers a similar fare to the UES location like Little Hands and Toddler Art, where the littlest artists in your family can get down and dirty with some arts and crafts. In addition to the usual classes, the new spot also offers fun classes like Creative Movement and Art, which combines jumping and active play with art-making, and The Coolest Art Craft Ever, which introduces kids to edgy and fun new crafting techniques and materials. Also be on the lookout for seasonal and holiday events!

The Tribeca location is also open for walk-ins nearly every day and has plenty of options for teens and tweens who need a spot to hang out after school. You can also get private classes, birthday parties, and adult nights at the new location.

Keep an eye on the space: There are plans to renovate the studio this summer and make it more liveable for the long-term.

174 Duane St.
Tribeca
Online: craftstudionyc.com
646-922-8823

New Classes and Events: Midwood Arts & Crafts Studio

The studio decks out for an art party. Midwood Arts and Crafts Studio via Facebook

This hidden gem in Midwood has been around for a few years, but a recent expansion of offerings is all the more reason to check it out. The spacious and perpetually bright second-floor studio offers kids over four-years-old a fun and educational art experience. Led by kind and knowledgeable English- and Russian-speaking teachers, classes range from individual instruction to groups (generally no more than four or five kids per group, depending on their age) and let kids try their hands at everything from pencils and paints to professional-grade modeling clay (great for fine motor skill development). 

The studio has recently started offering fun new events like drop-off holiday and themed parties, where kids (grouped by age) are led through one painting over the course of two hours, with snacks, drinks, and face-painting (think a paint-n-sip but without the alcohol). The studio plans to expand to even more events soon: starting this summer, it will start hosting adult classes and paint-n-sips, and artsy birthday parties for kids. The studio is also currently gathering more students for the summer, so if you've been looking for an art class for your kid, or aren't sure if your little one can sit still for an hour-long art class, from this writer's personal experience, these teachers can engage and focus even the most fidgety child.

The studio is also currently gathering more students for the summer, so if you've been looking for an art class for your kid, or aren't sure if your little one can sit still for an hour-long art class, from this writer's personal experience: these teachers can help even the most fidgety child remain engaged and focused. The owner of the studio (and one half of the teaching pair) is also experienced with and personally invested in the education of special needs children, so this is one to try if your child needs some special attention and tlc.

There are even more things in store for this spot in the near future: a kid's lace-making class will be making its home in the same studio this coming fall with plans in the works for even more types of arts and crafts classes, so keep an eye on this one.

All classes and events are drop-off, so parents can leave their kids in the capable hands of the teachers and go explore the new nearby sports mall opening this month, or any of Kings Highway's other offerings.

1701 Kings Highway
Midwood
Online: midwoodarts.com
718-737-9700

New Location: Twig Terrariums

The breezy interior of the space. Twig Terrariums

Twig teaches an art of a different kind: art created from living things. The little company makes terrariums for order and for special occasions and opens its doors to the public every Saturday to peruse their wares.

Twig was originally located in Gowanus, but it was recently forced to relocate due to ongoing construction in the neighborhood. The new spot is located in Ditmas Park, housed in an airy and bright interior with a charming little backyard — all decorated exactly as you'd expect a terrarium spot to be.

But the main draw of the space? Weekend workshops galore!

Twig's workshops and events are usually geared towards older visitors (like the fun date-night terrarium-making workshop for two), but there are plenty of kids events to get the little ones in on the fun of making art out of plants. The owners provide tons of information and a catching enthusiasm to anyone who enters their domain, making the children's terrarium-making events (for kids ages five and up) fantastic opportunities to create art and learn about how to maintain a functioning ecology in a miniature world you can hold in the palm of your hand.

642 Coney Island Ave.
Ditmas Park
Online: twigterrariums.com

Newly Renovated: Kids at Work

Kids at Work

Kids at Work is a wonderfully fun environment for the younger kids. It features many programs for tots up to five years of age and has a fully drop-in schedule (although reservations are encouraged!) which makes it perfect for an impromptu class (or three). The second-floor location is welcoming and spacious, and classes offer a huge variety of options, including ventures into the great outdoors.

To make it easier to get out and get dirty, Kids at Work has recently renovated their garden. The covered, walled, and child-proofed terrace garden is a safe environment for kids to explore outdoors, complete with a padded floor to keep little feet comfy. The space is used for different programs like water play, gross motor play, and other sensory activities. But the biggest draw? A non-toxic garden professionally maintained by Harlem Horticulture and the many little hands who have helped build it throughout the different programs.

Check out the new garden space with the Mess it Up II program, an indoor/outdoor class for kids ages two through four which now features the renovated garden space. This program takes kids through nature-themed activities and problem-solving practice and gets them out into the terrace to water and care for the plants.

123 W20th St. 2nd Fl.
Chelsea
Online: kidsatworknyc.com
212-488-8800

Did we miss a new spot in your neighborhood? Tell us about it in the comments!

—Yuliya Geikhman

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Paint & Sip Studios Where You Can Create with the Kids

Private Picassos Walk-in Art Studio

Destination Guide: Children’s Museum of the Arts

 

 

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