By Meghan Gearino

And a Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you all! If you’re packin’ up the car and road tripping somewhere upstate and/or sunshine-filled, perhaps you need a little entertainment for the little ones while you’re on the move. And for those of you who are staying borough-side, there is so much to do from Governors Island’s grand opening to Fleet Week fun at The Intrepid. (Just be sure to slather on the SPF no matter where the three-dayer takes you!)

FRIDAY-MONDAY 

The popular exhibitThe Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter flutters away from the American Museum of Natural History this weekend. View over 500 stunning creatures in tropic-like heat, along with other exotic foliage.

The famed Fleet Week continues at The Intrepid with a jam-packed schedule of ship tours, movies on the Flight Deck, fireworks, tug-of-war and musical performances. 

Wizards aged six and up should head to The Little Shubert Theatre for a preview of Potted Potter—a two-man, 70-minute show covering all seven Harry Potter books! P.S. They’re also appearing at The Intrepid on Friday at 2pm for a special Fleet Week performance. 

SATURDAY-MONDAY

Merry-go-round this Memorial Day. Two historic carousels reopen just in time for the holiday weekend. Make your way to Queens’ Forest Park and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to take a spin on either (or both!) of these classic rides. 

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

GOVERNORS ISLAND OPENS:It’s that time of year again (thank goodness)! And if you’re keeping it local this Memorial Day, there’s plenty to do just a short ferry ride over. Saturday features the Botanical Arts & Stop Motion Explosion promising art projects with both natural materials and clay at The Free Arts Island Outpost. While you’re there, be sure and stop by the Governors Island Alliance Family Festival in Nolan Park for face painting, arts & crafts, free bike helmet fittings and performances by Astrograss and The Maybelles. Last but not least, stop by the two-day 5 Boro PicNYC where kids receive free admission for great eats (like shaved ice), drinks and music for the entire family.

By Alan Krawitz

West Sider Lisa Gugenheim has been an integral part of the American Museum of Natural History since joining the organization more than a decade ago as executive director of government and community relations.

“It’s very rewarding for me to contribute to finding ways to connect the public with the museum’s authentic scientific research and collections,” said Gugenheim.

Perhaps as testament to her skill as both an administrator and communicator, Gugenheim, 47, has been promoted twice since joining the museum in 1996. Most recently, in 2009, she was named senior vice president of institutional advancement, strategic planning and education.

Among Gugenheim’s various responsibilities are educational outreach to schools and development of public programming, such as the upcoming Margaret Mead Film Festival and space shows. She also spearheads fundraising activities.

Prior to her tenure at the museum, Gugenheim was chief of staff to former City Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge, and director of the New York office of Greater Media, Inc.

Asked about highlights of her career with the museum, Gugenheim said founding Urban Advantage with museum colleagues and others from city institutions ranks on top of her list.

Urban Advantage, said Gugenheim, is a 6-year-old middle-school science initiative that has helped “thousands of 7th and 8th graders in the city to greater achievement in and enjoyment of science.”

“I find it extremely exciting to work in an institution that is so relevant, even approximately 140 years after its founding,” she said. Questions of conservation and biodiversity have never been more critical than they are now, she added.

The Rose Center, she said, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, created a premier center for learning and public education about astrophysics, earth and planetary science.

“Millions of people have visited the Rose Center since it opened in 2000,” she said.

However, while the museum has racked up millions of visitors over the years, Gugenheim laments that visitors are only seeing a tiny part of the museum’s vast historical reserves. “Many people don’t know that what is displayed in the museum’s galleries are only a fraction of the approximately 32 million objects it holds in its collections,” she said.

“I have been working with Lisa and her staff at the American Museum of Natural History for years,” said Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal. “From special projects like our partnership on my annual West Side Senior Day to providing educational programming and resources to our neighborhood schools, Lisa is thoughtful and dedicated to her work.”

Gugenheim said that the greatest challenge faced today by arts institutions, is of course, fundraising.

Nevertheless, Gugenheim considers herself lucky.

“I feel very fortunate to be in a job that I love,” she said, “where I don’t need to change anything because by its very nature it changes every day.”

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15

Operatic Masterpiece—The Amore Opera presents Pucini’s Tosca, sung in Italian with English supertitles. Connelly Theatre, 220 E. 4th St., 866-811-4111; times vary, $30.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16

Hip Hop Theater Festival—The 10th annual HHTF celebrates hip-hop culture with theater, dance, public art and more. Various locations, 718-497-4282; www.hhtf.org.

Art in the Park—Friends of Straus Park will host their annual Art in the Park. Artists will exhibit their work and there will be food and books for sale. Music and dance groups will entertain on West End Avenue. Strauss Park, 106th and 107th streets at Broadway; 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Free.

Classical Sounds—The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony kicks off its new season with a program that evokes nature. Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, the Pastorale, is paired with Copland’s sublime Appalachian Spring and Cimarosa’s hauntingly beautiful Oboe Concerto, performed by Pedro Diaz, solo English horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. All Saints Church, 230 E. 60th St., 212-868-4444; 8 p.m., $10-20.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17

Broadway Great in Recital—Roosevelt André Credit, bass-baritone with pianist Thomas Schmidt, will perform a recital of spirituals, Broadway classics, opera and contemporary songs on Roosevelt Island. Credit has performed on and off Broadway, playing several roles in the Tony Award-winning and national touring companies of Harold Prince’s Show Boat. His extensive repertoire includes opera, oratorio, jazz, spirituals, pop and musicals. Church of the Good Shepard, 543 Main Street, Roosevelt Island, www.goodshepherdchapel.net; 2:30 p.m., Free (donation to food program suggested).

La Bete—David Hyde Pierce, Joanna Lumley and Mark Rylance bring this revival of David Hirson’s 1991 comedy (set in the 17th century and written in iambic pentameter) back to Broadway. Comedic golden boy Matthew Warchus (God of Carnage) directs. Music Box Theater, 239 W. 45th St., 212-239-6200; 3 p.m., $76-$126.

Sankai Juku—Ushio Amagatsu directs the troupe in his most recent work, Tobari—As if in an Inexhaustible Flux. The Joyce, 175 8th Ave., 212-242-0800; 2 p.m., $10.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19

Seventeenth Annual Family Party—Over 2,500 children and parents are expected to participate in an evening of adventure throughout the American Museum of Natural History. The Family Party, one of the museum’s best-loved annual traditions, is a very special opportunity for children and adults of all ages to experience the wonders and magic of the museum. Taking full advantage of the magnificent halls, guests are treated to an evening full of fun. They interact with live animals, dig for dinosaur fossils, conduct fascinating experiments, experience simulated space travel, meet with scientists and much more. American Museum of Natural History, 79th Street and Central Park West, 212-313-7161; 5-7:30 p.m., $85-$175.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20

Poems from the Women’s Movement—Barnard College welcomes a group of outstanding women writers and thinkers for an evening celebrating the work of poets whose writing helped shape, and was shaped by, the women’s movement. Participants include Jorie Graham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author; physician and poet Elizabeth Lorde-Rollins; Anne Waldman, author of more than 40 books of poetry including On the Wing and Manatee/Humanity; and Eileen Myles, whom BUST magazine called “the rock star of modern poetry.” Barnard Hall, West P117th Street and Broadway, Sulzberger Parlor, 3rd floor, 212-854-2116,www.barnard.edu; 7 p.m., Free.

The TIPA Project (Toward International Peace Through Arts) will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Russian writer/playwright Anton Chekhov’s birthday with a reading of some of his most celebrated short stories from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 15, at Saint Peter’s Church, on Lexington Avenue at 54th Street.

The free event will feature readings from artists such as Marian Seldes, Tony Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and Tony Award winners Tammy Grimes and Fritz Weaver. Others taking part in the event include Betsy Von Furstenberg, Bess Rous, Ronald Rand and Conrad Rothbaum.

“What makes Chekhov unique is his simple yet complex view of life and his love and compassion for people,” said Stanley Tannen, executive director of TIPA. “He was a great humanist who was as funny as he was sad.”

TIPA is celebrating its 40th anniversary of promoting the humanities as an instrument for peace.

Two explorers’ historic life-or-death battle to be the first person to the South Pole will be revisited during a night of dramatic readings and commentary Sept. 22 at the American Museum of Natural History.

The special celebration will pay tribute to Norwegian Explorer Roald Amundsen and British Royal Navy Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s 1,800-mile odyssey, overcoming obstacles such as starvation, frostbite and merciless weather to be the first to plant their flag at the bottom of the world. The 1911 race captivated the imagination of the world.

“It’s a spectacular story and piece of human history that’s more well-known in Europe now than it is here,” Roberto Borrero said. “We wanted to help change that.”

As part of the night of festivities, two actors from Wabash College Theater dressed in period costumes will read from the explorers’ journals. After that, a panel featuring Liv Arnesen, a modern-day polar adventurer, and Felicity Aston, an Antarctic scientist, will discuss how the race shaped Artic exploration and science. Ann Bancroft, who along with Arnesen became the first women to ski across Antarctica, will moderate the panel.

“One of the things we’re excited about is that the panel is composed entirely of women. During the heroic age of exploring, it was mainly a field for men and we wanted to show how that’s changed,” Borrero said.

The free event begins at 6:30 p.m. As part of the festivities, the Museum will open up its Race to the End of the Earth exhibit featuring artifacts from the race between 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. for people attending the event.

Tickets are first come, first serve. The event is being co-hosted by Wings World Quest and the Norwegian Consulate.

For more information, visit www.amnh.org.

Visitors to the colossal American Museum of Natural History will soon find it easier to navigate the past.

The museum launched the Explorer, an app that guides visitors around the 500,000-square-foot structure by generating directions to specific artifacts and exhibits, cafes, shops, restrooms and exits. It also features pre-programmed tours and treasure hunts. Visitors can also create their own customized tours. Pre-set tours include a highlights tour, a dinosaur tour and an Earth and Space tour.

“Explorer connects visitors to the Museum and its content in new ways that, we hope, will encourage a deeper connection to science and nature,” said Ellen Futter, the museum’s president

The Explorer is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Visitors—in person and online—can download the app at www.amnh.org/apps.

Museum-goers without these technologies can borrow one of the museum’s 350 devices available for free. The app also integrates technology with social media, allowing users to share their findings via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Forty kids from several upper West Side schools know how to eat right—and write about it too.

Ten students from each participating school—I.S. 44, the Computer School, the Anderson School and West Prep Academy—were selected to be honored for their essays on healthy eating and living. The students were all in 6th, 7th and 8th grade.

The group will be awarded for their insightful take on one of education’s big topics—health in the cafeteria—on the morning of May 21 in an event hosted by the American Museum of Natural History. As part of the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District’s 2010 culinary fundraising series, New Taste of the Upper West Side, proceeds will go to Wellness in the Schools, a non-profit organization founded in 2005 to improve school lunches.

The award-winning students in front of the Museum of Natural History.

“They’ve been very successful,” said public programs director Ellen Silberman, who said the first SciCafe event unexpectedly drew 300 visitors.

The museum’s new monthly science series has attracted a younger crowd with catchy topics and a cash bar.

“It’s a younger crowd,” she said. “They enjoy having drinks available. It allows them to meet people in their field who may share their interests.”

The upcoming March 3 event features Cornell Fuel Cell Institute director Héctor Abruña, who will discuss new technologies for energy generation and storage, including the development of high performance batteries and fuel cell technology.

Given concerns with fuel emissions and dependency on foreign oil, interest in the potential application of these technologies in the transportation sector is especially keen.

“A car, when it’s all said and done, might be 25 percent efficient,” Abruña said. “That means that you are throwing 75 percent of your fuel into heat. A fuel cell, because it is not a heat engine, is much more efficient. In principle, it can be over 90 percent efficient.”

In August 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the award of $377 million—the bulk of it funded through the Recovery Act—to 46 “Energy Frontier Research Centers” at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations and private firms nationwide. Along with developing fuel cell technologies, there is also a strong push for the development of more efficient batteries.

“In batteries, people are looking for higher capacity materials so you can drive an electric car more than, let’s say, 30 or 40 miles, and that they have fast charge rates so you can charge them in an hour as opposed to eight hours,” Abruña said.

It is also a case of matching the technology to a particular need. For instance, in northern latitudes, fuel cells can be used in buildings to generate both heat and electricity.

“You use the heat generated by the fuel cell to heat the building itself,” Abruña said. “There are lots of schemes being put forth depending on the application. It wouldn’t make much sense to do that in Arizona, where it is already pretty toasty.”

Scientists estimate that it will take 15 years to develop fuel cell technology in cars, and it is expected that by that time, battery powered cars will also have evolved.

The subject matter may not be quite as tantalizing as the SciCafe’s Valentine’s Day offering, “Why Humans Have Sex,” with evolutionary psychologist David M. Buss. Nonetheless, the talk is sure to attract another large crowd of museumgoers eager to encounter new facts—and new faces.

“It’s in the Hall of Planet Earth,” Silberman said. “It’s a really cool space with lots of rocks around. There’s no better place to have a cocktail party.”

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March 3, American Museum of Natural History, enter at Rose Center on West 81st Street (betw. Central Park West and Columbus Avenue), 212-769-5100; 7 p.m., free with cash bar (must be 21+ with ID).