BITS & BYTES: School vacation at MASS MoCA; School vacation at The Carle; School vacation at Norman Rockwell Museum; School vacation at The Clark; Downtown Pittsfield ‘Spring Week’

April school vacation Kidspace Workshops at MASS MoCANorth Adams— From April 21st through the 25th, MASS MoCA presents Kidspace Workshops. On Tuesday, April 22nd at 11 a.m.

, there is a “Embroidered Memories” workshop with Rebecca Cuscaden Marvin and Erick Ramos-Jacobo. Learn embroidery techniques as we breathe new life into photographic memories. Inspired by Randi Malkin Steinberger’s new installation, “The Archive of Lost Memories,” participants will use the artist’s techniques to transform images as we discuss photography, embroidery, archiving, and memory.



Participants will meet in Kidspace and then walk to the exhibition space together for the workshop. Please bring photographs you don’t mind altering, additional photographs will also be on hand for use.On Wednesday, April 23rd at 11 a.

m., there is an “Ode to a Tiny Flower” workshop with Colin Harrington and Beth Davis. Learn botanical drawing techniques to create detailed illustrations of delicate spring blooms.

During April, deciduous trees in the Berkshires develop delicate misty clouds of yellow, green, pink, and red as tiny flower buds burst open. Using a microscope to look closely at tree buds, participants will create drawings and poetic lines as an ode to these tiny flowers.On Thursday, April 24th at 11 a.

m., there is a “Lenticular Drawings” workshop with Annalise Lozier. Learn how to create artistic illusions that seem like magic using simple drawing supplies.

Inspired by James Turrell, who uses the science of light to create illusions that distort our sense of space, time, and depth, you will learn how to make your own lenticular drawing that changes as you move in front of it.On Friday, April 25th at 11 a.m.

, there is a “Collage Compositions” workshop with Donald Jackson. Learn how to create a unique montage of images and text inspired by Ohan Breiding’s exhibition Belly of a Glacier. Participants will be introduced to basic color theory and compositional rules, as well as three methodologies of the art of collage: deconstruction, reinterpretation, and reconstruction.

Through the creation of collages, participants will examine how images and words can be taken out of their original context, reinterpreted to hold new meaning, and then reconstructed into a new, original work of art.The workshops runs from April 21st through the 25th. Monday’s workshop is full.

The ArtBar will also be open for drop-in art-making throughout the day. MASS MoCA is located at 1040 MASS MoCA Way in North Adams. More information can be found online.

***April school vacation ‘Special Story-times with Book Signings’ at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book ArtAmherst— On April 25th and 26th, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art presents “Special Story-times with Book Signings.”Madelyn Goodnight, Illustration for “Janie Writes a Play,” by Heidi E.Y.

Stemple (Charlesbridge). © 2025 Madelyn Goodnight.On Friday, April 25th from 2 p.

m. to 2:30 p.m.

, join author Heidi E.Y. Stemple as she reads her book “Janie Writes a Play,” illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight.

Stemple is the author of more than thirty-five books for children, some of which she co-authored with her mother, Jane Yolen, including “Not All Princesses Dress in Pink.” In “Janie Writes a Play,” Janie Yolen loves to read, write, dance, and sing. So when her teacher announces Janie’s elementary class will perform a play, Janie is thrilled.

There’s just one problem ...

the play is boring. With the support of her teacher and classmates, Janie rewrites the play, resulting in a hit class musical.On Saturday, April 26th from 11 a.

m. to 11:30 a.m.

, join award-winning artist Raúl Colón as he shares his new book “The Peanut Man”. Raúl Colón is an award-winning illustrator of over 30 children’s books, including Jill Biden’s “Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops.” Written by Carmen Agra Deedy, “The Peanut Man” tells the story of a Cuban refugee and her joy in an unexpected encounter that connects her beloved home in Havana with her new home in Atlanta.

With luminous illustrations by Colón, this story of immigration, of being displaced and finding a connection to home, reminds us how much alike we humans are, regardless of culture, color, or creed.On Saturday, April 26th from 2 p.m.

to 2:30 p.m., join internationally-renown Ilan Stavans, author of “The Mexican Dreidl” and other magical children’s books, reads from “The Secret Recipe” (Kar-Ben, illustrated by Taia Morley,) his new book about a boy whose Abuela teaches him how to bake bourekas con queso blanco, introducing every ingredient of the family recipe in Ladino, the language of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal.

“The Secret Recipe” includes the actual recipe of bourekas from Stavans’ “Sabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook.”The story-times are on April 25th and 26th at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, located at 125 West Bay Road in Amherst. More information can be found online.

***April school vacation activities celebrating women who changed the world at Norman Rockwell MuseumStockbridge— From April 21st through the 25th, Norman Rockwell Museum presents April school vacation activities celebrating women who changed the world, like the women in Anita Kunz’s “Original Sisters” portraits, on view through May 26th, who have all shaped history in significant ways.The Museum will host special gallery tours and activities that celebrate these groundbreaking women, from ancient times to today. Visitors will be encouraged to reflect on the power of art and activism, and to create their own works inspired by those who have made a difference.

Activities include scavenger hunts, create your own drawings and mixed-media self-portraits, and story-times featuring inspiring tales of courageous women.Courtesy Norman Rockwell Museum.The activities take place April 21st through the 25th at the Norman Rockwell Museum, located at 9 Glendale Road in Stockbridge.

All activities are free with admission, and kids and teens are admitted free. The museum is closed on Wednesdays. More information can be found online.

***April school vacation activities celebrating the exhibition “Pastoral on Paper” at the Clark Art InstituteWilliamstown— From April 22nd through April 24th, the Clark Art Institute offers children and families fun activities celebrating the collection and the special exhibition “Pastoral on Paper.”“Pastoral on Paper,” on view through June 15th, explores how artists depicted rural life by considering their representation of cows, cottages, mules, maidens, shepherds, ruins, and overgrown landscapes, analyzing pastoral imagery to examine how artists construct their own visions of an idealized landscape.Courtesy The Clark.

On all three days, children can try landscape drawing at several stations around the museum, each with a different drawing medium; or go en plein air (outdoors) with a free drawing pad and mini colored pencils. At 2 p.m.

on all three days, Williamstown Rural Lands will lead nature-related hikes and activities to connect the land, the museum, and the exhibition’s themes. On Thursday, April 24th from 11 a.m.

to 2 p.m., visitors can drop-in to sculpt miniature cows to take home or add to the museum’s collaborative cow-scape.

The free activities take place April 22nd through April 24th at the Clark Art Institute, located at 225 South Street in Williamstown. More information can be found online. ***Downtown Pittsfield presents third annual ‘Spring Week’Pittsfield— From April 19th through the 27th, Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.

presents their third annual “Spring Week,” offering free and low-cost programming to individuals and families with children of all ages.Courtesy Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.Events include the city’s 79th annual “Eggstravaganza Egg Scramble,” a “Where’s Winston?”scavenger hunt; “Puppets & PJs” at the Berkshire Athenaeum, a tea party paint & sip at Wander, a beach party with sandcastle building, outdoor lawn games, and the Berkshire Museum’s Mobile Museum Unit at Onota Lake; a community LEGO® garden at Bottomless Bricks, and more.

More information, including a full listing of events, can be found online..