ARCHITECTURE

SKY-HIGH SYMPOSIUM MoMA’s “Tall Building” exhibit includes large-scale models, drawings, and photographs of 25 skyscrapers from around the world. A symposium this weekend features a keynote conversation between Paul Goldberger, New School provost Arjun Appadurai, and the founding director of the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan, Carol Willis (tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., $10 general, $8 members, $5 students). The next day, a series of lectures by architects and engineers explores three fundamental aspects of very tall buildings: the technology of computer modeling, visions of contemporary skylines, and the idea of a building as a city-within-a-city (Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., $15 general, $10 members, $5 seniors and students). Symposium: New School University, Tishman Auditorium, 66 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400. Exhibit: Through Monday, September 27, Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m.-7:45 p.m., Museum of Modern Art, 33 Street at Queens Boulevard, 212-708-9400, $8 general, $5 seniors and students, free for children under 16, pay-what-you-wish on Fridays after 4 p.m.

MANHATTAN MUSINGS Ground zero architects discuss their plans for the World Trade Center site in the capstone event of the three-day American Institute of Architects national conference, “Learning from Lower Manhattan.” The designer of the master plan, Daniel Libeskind, joins the architect of the new World Trade Center transportation hub, Santiago Calatrava, and the co-designer of the ground zero memorial, Michael Arad. Saturday, 1 p.m., Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers St. at West Side Highway, 212-358-6126, $35 general, $20 seniors and students.

ART

NEW NEW MUSEUM The New Museum of Contemporary Art opens its temporary space at the Chelsea Art Museum while construction begins at its new downtown home. Festivities include an “urban hike” led by artists Heath Bunting and Kayle Brandon (2-3 p.m.), outdoor performance art by Robin Rhode (5-6 p.m.), and Alex Villar’s piece “Upward Mobility” projected onto the museum’s facade as the sun sets (7:30-9:30 p.m.). Saturday, noon-6 p.m. open house, New Museum of Contemporary Art/Chelsea, Chelsea Art Museum, 556 W. 22nd St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-219-1222, free.

BOOKS

MAXWELL MOMENT Edward Hirsch and Ben Cheever, two contributors to “A William Maxwell Portrait” (W.W. Norton), read from their essays about author and New Yorker editor William Maxwell.

Tonight, 6 p.m., Corner Bookstore, 1313 Madison Ave. at 93rd Street, 212-831-3554, free.

DEATH ROW ON TRIAL Lawyer and novelist Scott Turow discusses his nonfiction book “The Ultimate Punishment” (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). The book follows Mr. Turow’s evolution of beliefs on the death penalty based on his experiences as a prosecutor, death row-inmate advocate, and member of the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment. Monday, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

WHISKEY READER The author of “Ballad of the Whiskey Robber” (Little, Brown), Julian Rubinstein, reads from his debut novel in a bar. The comic story’s hero is a Transylvanian hockey player on a whirlwind bank-robbing spree through Eastern Europe. Monday, 7 p.m., the Half King, 505 W.23rd St. at Tenth Avenue,212-462-4300, free.

DANCE

FAMILY MATTERS Each performance in the show “It’s All Relative” includes collaborations between family members – mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives. Saturday, 2 p.m., Dance Theatre Workshop, 219 W. 19th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-924-0077, $20 general, $10 children.

JAPANESE DANCE Sachiyo Ito and Company celebrates its 32nd New York season – and the 150th anniversary of relations between Japan and America – with an evening of Japanese classical and contemporary dance. A highlight is a rare performance of the kabuki dance drama “Onatsu Kyoran (Onatsu, the Insane)” with a guest artist from Japan, Shogo Fujima. Saturday, 8 p.m., Pace University, Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, 3 Spruce St. at Nassau Street, 212-346-1715, $20 general, $16 seniors and students.

FAMILY

BEER AND CHEER Oktoberfest jumps the gun at a celebration of German-American Friendship Week with oompah bands, dancing, and German food (Friday, 1-9 p.m., South Street Seaport, South and Fulton streets, 646-536-5748, free). The next day, a contingent 50 German show dogs leads the German-American Steuben Parade (Saturday, noon, Fifth Avenue between 63rd and 86th streets, 212-717-2805, free).

FIESTA IN THE BARRIO El Museo de Barrio’s Family Day includes art workshops, bilingual tours, dancing, and live performances. Saturday, noon-4 p.m., El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-831-7272, free.

FRYING-PAN FUN A Chelsea boat, the Lightship Frying Pan, is host to a family show featuring martial arts, comedy, dance, and music. The rustic interior of the ship provides the stage of the story of Melilot, Chica Chubb, and Ponto, three clowns who become embroiled in a world of warriors, bumbling pirates, sirens, and the evil El Capitan Martin. As action unfolds, the audience explores the docked boat, led by the minstrel Pickwick. David Rodriguez directs the 2 Cities Productions creation. Through Sunday, September 26, Saturdays and Sundays, 3 p.m., Pier 63, Hudson River and 23rd Street, 212-868-4444, $20 general, $15 in advance, free for one child under 10 with each adult.

FILM

PRIMARY SCHOOL D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus’s 1993 documentary “The War Room” screens as part of “The Best Man” series of campaign films. Bill Clinton’s 1992 primary run was ostensibly the film’s topic – but James Carville and George Stephanopoulos were its breakout stars (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.). Also coming up: Warren Beatty raps his way through a Senate campaign in 1998’s “Bulworth” (Sunday, 4 p.m.). Series: Saturdays and Sundays through September 26, times vary, American Museum of the Moving Image, 35 Avenue at 36 Street, Astoria, Queens, 718-784-0077, $10 general, $7.50 seniors and students, free for members.

FOOD & DRINK

BREWS AND TUNES The outdoor Brooklyn Beerfest and New Music Fest includes musical guests the Big Sleep, Jungli, Shrine for the Black Madonna, and Suffrajett. Saturday, 1-6 p.m., Brooklyn Brewery yard, 79 N. 11th St., between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-486-7422, $30 includes beer for the day.

HOT TIME IN THE OLD TOWN The Staten Island Chili Cook-Off invites chefs to bring their pots to be judged by a “secret panel.” Contestants should come with a large quantity of chili to share, and are judged in four categories: mild, medium, hot, and “terminator.” Other activities, including a pie-eating contest, provide fun for both the wild-child and mild-mannered. Saturday, 3-6 p.m., Clove Lakes Park, Slosson Avenue, Victory Boulevard, and Clove Road, Staten Island, call 311, free.

HEALTH

EARLY DETECTION The Foundation for Medical Evaluation and Early Detection provides full screenings for prostate cancer. Monday through Friday, October 15, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. screenings, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Department of Urology, 5 E. 98th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-241-0045, free, reservations required.

MUSIC

WHISTLING DIXIE The Park Slope Old-Time & Bluegrass Jamboree includes performances by James Reams & the Barnstormers (Friday, 8-10 p.m.), Rafe Steffanini, an Italian-born bluegrass fiddler (Saturday, 7:40 p.m.), and the Orpheus Supertones (Saturday, 9:40 p.m.). Workshops in old-time banjo playing, songs of the old South, and finger picking guitar styles provide hands on fun. Friday: 8-10 p.m., $10 general, $6 children. Saturday: 12:30-10 p.m., $3. Both days: Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West at 2nd Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-768-2972.

HOLIDAY HUMOR Sean Altman and Rob Tannenbaum host a one-night performance of their musical show, “What I Like About Jew.” The revue blends campy borschtbest humor with cabaret for a celebration of Jewish culture and music. Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. at Astor Place, 212-539-8778, $15 general, $12 in advance. 767 961 845 971

NATURE

SEASIDE STRAIGHTENING The New York State Beach Cleanup gathers volunteers to remove and document thousands of pounds of beach debris all over the state. Saturday, locations vary, 800-449-0790, free. See www.alsnyc.org for full list of beaches and more information.

READINGS

BRITISH BENEFIT A “Big Voices” fundraiser for the Royal Shakespeare Company features actors Patrick Stewart, Sinead Cusack, Stephen Campbell Moore, and others reading the verse of the bard. British poet Felix Dennis, whose 2002 book “A Glass Half Full” (Hutchinson) was a surprise best-seller in England, reads from his own work. Monday, 7:15 cocktails, 8 p.m. reading, Gotham Hall, 1356 Broadway at 36th Street, 800-494-8497, $200.

TALKS

CAPTURING THE CENTER A columnist for The New York Sun, John P. Avlon, gives a talk on the importance of Senator Moynihan’s “centrist legacy” in the context of his victory over Bella Abzug in the 1976 campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination. Mr. Avlon is a former speechwriter for Mayor Giuliani and the author of “Independent Nation” (Harmony). Saturday, 2 p.m., Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave. at 103rd St., 212-534-1672 ext. 3393, free with museum admission, $7 general, $4 senior, students, and children.

AFTERNOON WITH THE HERMITAGE A roundtable discussion and rare-book display mark the weeklong celebration of Hermitage Week (Monday through Monday, September 27). Scholars from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Hermitage discuss rare illustrated volumes from the library. Wednesday, September 22, 2-3:30 p.m. first program, 4-5:30 p.m. second program, New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, 212-930-0940, free, reservations required.

THEATER

L TRAIN TO NEVERLAND The play “Straight on ‘Til Morning” sets the story of Peter Pan in a present-day Neverland: Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Williamsburg resident Trish Harnetiaux’s script transforms J.M. Barrie’s pirates and lost boys into hipsters and artists. Peter himself is an indie-rock recruiter who, like his forebear, refuses to grow up. Jude Domski directs the production. Through Saturday, September 25, Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m., additional performance Monday, 8 p.m., 78th Street Theatre Lab, 236 W. 78th St., between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway, 212-868-4444, $15.

TOURS

FINANCIAL FOOTHOLDS A tour of the Financial District traces the development of Wall Street from its colonial roots to its position as the world center of finance. Stops include the New York Stock Exchange, the former Curb Exchange, the Federal Reserve, and sites associated with Alexander Hamilton and Victoria Woodhull. Friday, 1 p.m., meet in front of Trinity Church, Wall Street and Broadway, 212-439-1090, $12 general, $10 seniors and students.

VARIETY ON 57 Architectural historian Matt Postal leads a Municipal Art Society tour focusing on 57th Street history, from Carnegie Hall to the Time Warner Center. Sunday, 11 a.m., meet on the southwest corner of Lexington Avenue and 57th Street, 212-439-1049, $15 general, $12 members.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com