Chinese history and culture surrounds you in Chinatown. Here are some highlights we think kids will enjoy.

• Early in the morning, before the shops open, Columbus Park is where the neighborhood stirs and comes to life, with people doing Tai Chi, relaxing with their caged birds or playing table games.
  
  
• Kids will get a kick out of Doyers Street, which runs between Pell Street and Chatham Square and features an unusual 90-degree turn. The shopkeepers built it crooked, according to legend, so that the straight-flying ghosts couldn't move through it. Kids may recognize the street from films and TV programs, including Spiderman, the movie. 
  
  
• Just east of Chatham Square, get some wisdom rubbed off on your kids at Confucius Plaza, where a statue of the great philosopher stands.
  
  
• At the Mahayana Buddhist Temple, on Canal Street across from the Manhattan Bridge, see the giant golden Buddha, believed to be the largest in New York, seated on a lotus.
  
  
• The Museum of Chinese in the Americas features one of the most important national archives of Chinese history in America. Check schedule for special exhibits and events at MoCA's website and in our Visit section.

Museum of Chinese in the Americas

70 Mulberry St., 2nd Floor,

The Asian American Arts Centre offers a variety of art classes for children between four-and-a-half to 14 years old. Also, by appointment and for a modest fee (currently $2), custom tours of 15-20 can be arranged. In general, students will learn how to look at art, be introduced to the Asian American community and its history and to the work of the Arts Centre. Other programs include "Stories of Chinatown," which brings Chinatown seniors together with high school youth to share their lives and stories and create artwork together.

Asian American Arts Centre

26 Bowery, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013.
For information: (212) 233-2154
edu@artspiral.org