ANIMALS

FUN WITH MUD The Brooklyn Children’s Museum offers the chance to get down and dirty with worms. During a day of free admission, children ages 4 and over can dig in soil and compost to find their favorite worm and then examine it under a microscope (Thursday, 2:30-4 p.m.). Over the weekend, a “Blooming Babies” program lets little ones explore creepy-crawlies with a magnifying glass and hear a story about a grouchy ladybug. The activity, which is intended for children between 18 month and 2 years old, also lets participants make their own buggy creation to take home (Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-noon). All activities: Brooklyn Children’s Museum, 145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Mark’s Avenue, 718-735-4400, $4 general, free for members.

ART

DOWNTOWN DRAWING Children can take part in a variety of drawing and painting workshops after they view Wall Street Rising’s “Art Downtown” exhibit. Saturday, 12:30-5 p.m., free. Exhibit: Grand Banking Hall, 48 Wall St. at William Street, 212-509-0300. Workshops: Wall Downtown Information Center, 25 Broad St. at Exchange Place.

BEARDEN BONANZA In conjunction with the new exhibit “The Art of Romare Bearden,” the Whitney Museum presents two programs of family activities designed to help children understand Bearden’s work. The first, to be held at the Studio Museum in Harlem, features art projects for families to work on together. The second, at the Whitney, includes a tour of the museum’s Bearden collection. Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, Studio Museum in Harlem, 144 W. 125th St., between Lenox and Seventh avenues, 212-570-7745, $8 each family, $6 members. Also: 2-3:30 p.m., Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Ave. at 75th Street.

BOOKS

OH BABY Writer Barbara Hathaway reads from her children’s book “Missy Violet and Me” (Houghton Mifflin), which tells the story of a young girl in the rural South who becomes a midwife’s apprentice. Saturday, 2 p.m., Hue-Man Bookstore, 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard at 125th Street, 212-665-7400, free.

PARTISAN PAGES The “Kids VOTE!” program invites children ages 5 and older to read and compare five recently published children’s books and then to vote for their favorites. After a winner is announced, the favorite book will be read in the museum’s literacy room throughout the week. Tomorrow, 11 a.m., noon, 2, 3, and 4 p.m., Children’s Museum of Manhattan, 212 W. 83rd St., between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, 212-721-1223, $7 general, $4 seniors, free for children under 1, all activities free with admission.

FESTIVAL

SCHOOL DAY A fall festival with carnival games, a haunted house, hay rides, and other seasonal activities benefits art and music programs at P.S. 3. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., P.S. 3, 490 Hudson St., between Christopher and Grove streets, 212-691-1193, $4 general, $1 children.

FILM

TEEN SCREENS The Museum of Modern Art presents a film screening series for high school students. After the screenings, students discuss related topics with peers and film curators. This week, the 2000 animated short “Low Down Underground” precedes a screening of “Shrek” to kick off a subseries on family. Series: Fridays through November 19, 5-8 p.m., the Arts Consortium Building, 1 E. 53rd St., between Madison and Fifth avenues, 212-708-9829, free, high school students only.

MUSIC

CATCH THE BLUES A new program at Flushing Town Hall invites children and their parents to learn about music together. This week’s session, “Bluespeak,” includes a performance by Ayodele Maakheru & Friends, who then help children write their own blues songs. The fall season of the series focuses on jazz, with a winter concentration on world music and spring on classical. The program is intended for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, with a special early childhood workshop offered (11 a.m.-noon). Saturdays through November 20, 10 a.m.-noon, Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd., between Linden Place and Leavitt Street, Flushing, Queens, 718-463-7700, $8 general, $4 children, $6 and $1 members.

MOVIES AND MUSIC The Little Orchestra Society, now in its 25th season, curates interactive concerts for children. Its series for children ages 3 to 5, “Lolli-Pops Concerts,” introduces young children to classical music by having animal characters represent sections of the orchestra and explain the instruments. Up next is a celebration of brass instruments starring Tubby the Tuba (Saturday, 10:30 a.m. and noon, Sunday, 1 and 2:30 p.m., Hunter College Kaye Playhouse, East 68th Street between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-971-9500, $40).

THEATER

ALL WET Large puppets tell the story of New York City’s water supply, from mountain-top to city tap, in the musical “City that Drinks the Mountain Sky.” Tickets also include admission to the new exhibit “Our Great Garden: Nurturing Planet Earth.” The performance is intended for children ages 5 and above. Sunday, 3 p.m., The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-423-3200, $12.

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