FAMILY

GIANT STEPS The American Museum of Natural History presents “Cosmic Collisions,” an IMAX film that teaches viewers about the outer-space collisions that have a transformative effect on the universe. The film, which is narrated by Robert Redford, features computer simulations developed by astrophysicists at the museum and scientists from NASA. Today, every half hour between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., ongoing, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-763-5100, $15 general, $11 students and seniors, $8.50 children, free for members.

ART

ANTIQUE ENTHUSIASTS “An Eye Toward Perfection: The Shaker Museum and Library,” a loan exhibit that highlights Shaker furniture design during the last quarter of the 19th century, is the centerpiece of the 54th Winter Antiques Show at the Park Avenue Armory. The antiques show features American, English, European, and Asian fine and decorative arts. All net proceeds from the show benefit the nonprofit East Side House Settlement. Today, tomorrow, and Friday–Saturday, noon–8 p.m., Sunday and Thursday, noon–6 p.m., Park Avenue Armory, 67th Street at Park Avenue, 718-292-7392, $20 (includes show catalog). For complete information or to purchase tickets to Young Collectors’ Night on Thursday, go to winterantiquesshow.com.

DANCE

CONTROLLED CHAOS A New York-based dance troupe, Armitage Gone! Dance, performs “Connoisseurs of Chaos,” an evening-length work choreographed by the group’s artistic director, Karole Armitage. The work is set to composer Morton Feldman’s “Patterns in a Chromatic Field,” and forms part three of “The Dream Trilogy,” which Ms. Armitage began creating in 2004.

Tonight and tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Thursday, 7 p.m., Friday–Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, 212-242-0800, $25–$44.

MUSIC

PHILADELPHIA STORY The Philadelphia Orchestra performs as part of the “Great American Orchestras I” series at Carnegie Hall. The program includes Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet” and his Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13, “Winter Daydreams.” Leonard Bernstein’s “Jeremiah (Symphony No.1)” is also performed. Mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham is a featured guest; music director Christoph Eschenbach conducts. Tonight, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage, 881 Seventh Ave. at 57th Street, 212-247-7800, $31–$103.

READINGS

PITCH PERFECT Adam Langer’s latest work of fiction, “Ellington Boulevard: A Novel in A-Flat” (Spiegel & Grau), follows clarinetist Ike Morphy, whose impending eviction threatens him, his dog, and a pair of pigeons roosting on the air conditioner. Morphy must fight for his home with a new landlord, who wants to sell. Mr. Langer reads excerpts from this ode to New York City. Tonight, 7 p.m., the Strand, 828 Broadway at 12th Street, 212-473-1452, free.

MOTHERS AND SONS In “Swimming in a Sea of Death” (Simon & Schuster), writer David Rieff’s memoir and tribute to his mother, Susan Sontag, readers are given a window into the last nine months of the critic and essayist’s life. Sontag died in December 2004 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Mr. Rieff takes a frank approach, producing an intense portrait of a mother-son relationship during a difficult period. The author reads from his book and discusses what it means to face death in today’s America. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 1972 Broadway at 65th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

TALKS

‘GRACE’ UNDER FIRE An associate professor at the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University, Jeremy Dauber, looks at some of the most important programs in American television and American Jewish history. While television is a medium that has long provided a home for Jewish actors and writers, the portrayal of Jewish characters remains complicated. Even more so where Jewish women and comedy are concerned, Mr. Dauber argues. Clips from a range of sitcoms provide context, including “Will & Grace,” “The Nanny,” “Friends,” and “Seinfeld.” Those and other programs play central roles in shaping not only the small screen, but also how Jews are depicted in America. Tonight, 7:30 p.m., 92nd Street Y, Warburg Lounge, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $26.

THEATER

TEMPERS WILL FLARE The Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College presents “The Tempest,” Shakespeare’s classic drama. The play, widely believed to be the last Shakespeare wrote entirely on his own, blends romance, tragedy, comedy, and the supernatural. Davis McCallum directs this multicultural staging. Sunday, 2 p.m., Brooklyn College, Whitman Theater, 2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place, Brooklyn, 718-951-4500, $20–$30.

ART

SEEKING REFUGE “Iraq: Scars and Exile,” an exhibit of photographs by Lori Grinker, is on view at the Nailya Alexander Gallery. The show comprises 15 large-scale color photographs of Iraqi refugees living in Amman, Jordan, having fled the ongoing war. With sponsorship from the Open Society Institute, Ms. Grinker was able to document some of their stories. The images, some of which depict no people at all, conveying the lives even of the absent subjects. In one untitled photograph taken in 2007, a television playing what appears to be an old film featuring the American actress Natalie Wood blares from a small, vacant living room. In another, “Untitled, Clothes Drying in Window” (2007), above, a bundle of garments hang out to dry in the Darat al Rashid area, where some Iraqi refugees now live. Through Saturday, February 16, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Nailya Alexander Gallery, no. 503, 24 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-315-2211, free.

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