IT’S ALMOST TIME for two super fun Kidoinfo-sponsored weekly summer play days: Kidoinfo Play in the Park on Tuesday afternoons and Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park on Thursday mornings, both in Burnside Park in Providence.
THROUGH ART AND PLAY, our family programming, overseen by the Downtown Parks Conservancy Providence, ensures a love of books, reading, and writing. By transforming the park into an imagined world, children and families indulge in fanciful fun!
Best of all - these fun, educational, and crazy activities are free for your family!
These events are sprinkle or shine, but may be canceled or postponed due to extreme weather or heavy rain. Stay up to date on any special announcements by following DPPC on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter @KennedyPlazaPVD.
Our events are always free and open to everyone. Groups and day camps are encouraged to join us, please reach out with any questions you may have about bringing a small group. Free face painting by Ratt Scallion Face Painting!
In addition, you can play at Brandon’s Beach at Burnside Park, Downtown’s one-of-a-kind playground, which is open all day every day!
Here is information about getting to Burnside Park, which is located next to the bus depos in Kennedy Plaza.
Kidoinfo Play in the Park
Tuesday’s from 3-6 pm, from July 9, 2024 – September 24, 2024
Each week in Burnside Park, Kidoinfo Play in the Park brings a different family friendly activity to the Imagination Center. During Play in the Park, the Imagination Center is open for visitors to use the Open Air Reading Room, Creative Playspace, and the Big Blue Blocks of the Imagination Playground. Kidoinfo Play in the Park’s final day is September 24, 2019.
Photo: Downtown Parks Conservancy Providence
Schedule of activities for the 2019 Kidoinfo Play in the Park
July 9 / Stop Motion Animation with Rachel C. Blumberg
Help make a short stop motion animation film with local artist Rachel Blumberg.
July 16 / STEAM activities & Sidy Maiga Open Drum Circle (4:30 – 6:00 pm)
Spend the afternoon engaging in various STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) activities in Burnside Park! Our Burnside MakerSpace will be open for experimentation and the Art Cart is fully stocked for creative exploration. At 4:30, sit in on an open drum circle hosted by Malian drummer Sidy Maiga. Bring your own drum or use one provided by Sidy!
July 23 / Nutrition Education with Farm Fresh RI
Food Literacy + Local Sample - students explore RI agriculture through activities and tastings that feature seasonal produce from the New England area!
July 30 / Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village Zoomobile, 3:30 – 5:30 pm
The Community Zoomobile will be stopping by Burnside Park with animal biofacts you can touch and feel plus three different animal species to observe!
August 6 / STEAM activities
Spend the afternoon engaging in various STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) activities in Burnside Park! Our Burnside MakerSpace will be open for experimentation and the Art Cart is fully stocked for creative exploration.
August 13 / Biomes Marine Biology Center Traveling Tide Pool, 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Come visit Biomes in Burnside Park, where creatures found in tide pools will be swimming at the Imagination Center. Interact with animals like sea urchins, spider crabs, oysters, and whelks while learning about our underwater neighbors.
August 20 / STEAM activities & Sidy Maiga Open Drum Circle (4:30 – 6:00 pm)
Spend the afternoon engaging in various STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) activities in Burnside Park! Our Burnside MakerSpace will be open for experimentation and the Art Cart is fully stocked for creative exploration. At 4:30, sit in on an open drum circle hosted by Malian drummer Sidy Maiga. Bring your own drum or use one provided by Sidy!
August 27 / Save The Bay - Narragansett Bay Experience (3:30-5:30 pm)
Learn about the anatomy and adaptations of Bay creatures through observation of live animals. Save The Bay educators will bring several species to Burnside Park for an afternoon of oceanic fun!
September 10 / Audubon Society of Rhode Island Raptor Encounter (3:30-4:30 pm)
See Rhode Island birds of prey up close during this presentation in the park. Be sure to check out the Audubon’s Peregrine-Cam too for more urban wildlife updates!
September 17 / STEAM activities & Sidy Maiga Open Drum Circle (4:30 – 6:00 pm )
Spend the afternoon engaging in various STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) activities in Burnside Park! Our Burnside MakerSpace will be open for experimentation and the Art Cart is fully stocked for creative exploration. At 4:30, sit in on an open drum circle hosted by Malian drummer Sidy Maiga. Bring your own drum or use one provided by Sidy!
September 24 / My Living Monument with Becci Davis
My Living Monument is a multi-sensory, interactive installation that uses a designated site of memory to spark conversations about monuments, commemoration practices, and the politics of public space. This iteration tells the story of six Rhode Island women who were contemporaries of General Burnside, as well as their contributions to the state, nation, and world.
Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park
Thursday’s from 10:30 am -12:30 pm, from July 11, 2024 – August 22, 2024
Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park is two children’s programs in one: Storytime hosts local authors, illustrators, storytellers, and performers to inspire a love of reading.
Art in the Park brings the story of an iconic children’s book to life through hands-on art projects. This year’s Art in the Park theme is “HER-STORIES: The books of Virginia Lee Burton”
Storytime runs approximately 10:30 – 11:30 am and Art in the Park starts immediately after and runs through 12:30. The Imagination Center remains open until 2pm.
Photo: Downtown Parks Conservancy Providence
Schedule of activities for the 2019 Kidoinfo Storytime + Art in the Park
July 11 / Big Nazo
Providence favorite intergalactic creature troupe, Big Nazo, wanders through Downtown Providence and invades Burnside Park. Sing and dance to their fun and funky songs, and even try on some of Big Nazo’s costumes for a creature dance party.
July 18 / Ricky Rainbow Beard
Ricky Katowicz is back in Burnside Park with his Ricky Rainbow Beard Show. He’ll be singing and celebrating color, sound, play, and everyone.
July 25 / Valerie Tutson
2019 Pell Award recipient Valerie Tutson tells stories from around the world with an emphasis on African traditions.
August 1 / Keith Munslow - Musician/Storyteller
Hilarious musician, cartoonist, and storyteller, Keith joins us in the park and will have kids and adults singing, dancing, and laughing.
August 8 / Len Cabral
Internationally acclaimed Rhode Island storyteller Len Cabral retells African, Cape Verdean, and Caribbean folk tales as well as his own original stories and tales from around the world.
August 15 / Alison Paul + Jen Corace
Author, illustrator and Art in the Park co-founder Alison Paul reads some of her favorite stories with illustrator Jen Corace.
August 22 / Big Nazo
Big Nazo travels from their space transformation studio in Kennedy Plaza to Burnside Park with a few of their friendliest aliens to end our season.
Imagination Center and Open Air Reading Room – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays in July and August during lunch hours
Enjoy browsing through books featured in past Storytimes and from our “Leave a Book – Take a Book” program, which allows passionate readers to take books home with them! Beanbags and benches provide a perfect perch for children and their families to sink into a great story. The Imagination Center also features free play activities, board games, costumes and more!
Donate books!
Donations for our “Leave a Book – Take a Book” bin are sought for this series. Your donations make it possible for any child who needs or wants a book to take one home with them and keep the excitement about stories and books going. For information about how you can get involved and support this free, high-quality & accessible family programming, email jen@kennedyplaza.org.
