FAMILY

CREEPY CRITTERS While the Brooklyn Children’s Museum isn’t set to reopen until later in the spring, there are plenty of museum-sponsored, family-centric activities going on throughout the borough. Staff from the museum host a Wildlife Detective event at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Children and their adult companions can marvel at the evidence of spring found in objects such as nests, molts, and eggs. They meet scaly animals from the museum’s collection and investigate the lives of the creatures by what they leave behind. Sunday, 2 p.m., Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway, 718-735-4400, free.

DANCE

ART IN THE AIR The Guggenheim Museum presents “Images from Wind Shadow,” a multimedia dance performance conceived as “moving installation art” by artist Cai Guo-Qiang and the artistic director and founder of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Lin Hwaimin. The American premiere and Guggenheim site-specific show is a study of motion that explores Mr. Cai’s use of color and light. In combination with choreographed lighting and video projections of Mr. Cai’s explosion events, dancers create a variety of allusions to shadows and reflections. The performance is a one-day-only event.

Thursday, 2 and 8 p.m., Guggenheim Museum, Peter B. Lewis Theater, 1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th Street, 212-423-3587, $50–$80.

FILM

CLIMATIC CINEMA Scandinavia House presents a screening of the 2006 Swedish documentary “The Planet,” directed by Linus Torell, Michael Stenberg, and Johan Soderberg. The film continues the climate change conversation that Vice President Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” began — cinematically, at least — in 2006. In the process of making the documentary, the directors visited more than 25 countries in order to provide a worldwide commentary on global environmental problems. “The Planet” takes a provocative and sometimes even humorous approach to a serious international issue. Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave., between 37th and 38th streets, 212-879-9779, $8.

MUSIC

THE CELLO LEADS The Juilliard Chamber Orchestra performs Ottorino Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances,” Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verklarte Nacht,” and Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C Major featuring solo cellist Michal Korman. Mr. Korman has performed with the Tivoli Festival Orchestra of Denmark and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Peru. Tomorrow, 8 p.m., the Juilliard School, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 155 W. 65th St., between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, 212-769-7406, free.

HER BEATS The International Women In Jazz and Midtown Arts Common present their second annual jazz festival, honoring jazz legends Celia Cruz, Ella Fitzgerald, and Peggy Lee. The weekend-long event displays their history in photographs and music, and features contemporary jazz artists Sarah McLawler, Marian McPartland, and Carline Ray in a panel discussion. The festival also includes live jazz jams and concerts featuring dynamic bands led by female jazz musicians. Friday through Sunday, Saint Peter’s Church, 619 Lexington Ave. at 53rd Street, 718-468-7376, donations accepted Friday, $20 for Saturday day events, $25 each for Saturday and Sunday evening concerts, $50 for all performances.

PHOTOGRAPHY

REBUILDING OVER BREAKFAST

TriBeCa’s Cosmopolitan Café hosts “Downtown Rising,” an exhibit by photographer Joe Woolhead. Mr. Woolhead’s work captures the reconstruction of the World Trade Center and surrounding buildings, and has been featured in Town & Country and Esquire magazines, among other publications. “Downtown Rising” is intended as a tribute to those who worked at the World Trade Center site. Through tomorrow, 7:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Cosmopolitan Café, 95 W. Broadway, between Chambers and Reade streets, 212-766-3787, free.

READINGS

AUTISM ALERT Barnes & Noble hosts “Let’s Be Friends: An Autism Awareness Storytime Event” to commemorate tomorrow as World Autism Awareness Day. The event raises awareness of the disease, and features a reading of “Since We’re Friends: An Autism Picture Book” written by author Celeste Shally and illustrator David Harrington. Actress Kim Raver from the television shows “Lipstick Jungle” and “24” participates in the special story time reading. Tomorrow, 4 p.m., Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble, 1972 Broadway, between 66th and 67th streets, 212-595-6859, free.

PAINTINGS

A DIFFERENT PLACE “Another World,” the name of Curtis Ripley’s new exhibit of paintings, refers to the artist’s practice of combining the traditional painting of landscapes and horizons with a motley crew of influences, such as Mexican architecture, shadows, maps, and charts. Selections from the exhibit include “Works on Paper on Studio Wall, Los Angeles” (2008), above. Through Saturday, April 12, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, 529 W. 20th St., suite 6W, between Tenth Avenue and the West Side Highway, 212-366-5368, free.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.