Attractions

Museums and Sites

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, Central Park West and 79th Street. Through May 29, "The Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter," the annual walk-in display of hundreds of butterflies in a natural environment. Through March 12, "Voices From South of the Clouds," a display of photographs of life in the Yunnan Province of China, taken by its villagers. Through Jan. 8. "Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries" examines modern paleontology and new theories about dinosaurs and the world in which they lived. Also on view: "Vital Variety: A Visual Celebration of Invertebrate Biodiversity," an exhibition of 24 large-format color photographs by the entomologist Piotr Naskrecki, in the gallery next to the Imax theater. The Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites displays the 34-ton Ahnighito meteorite, part of the Cape York meteorite, the world's largest. In the Imax theater, "Galápagos" documents a scientific expedition to the Galápagos Islands, and "The Living Sea" is a 40-minute feature about life above and below the surface. Timed tickets to "The Butterfly Conservatory," which include museum admission, are $21; $16 for students and 60+; and $12 for those 12 and younger. Imax tickets are $19; students and 60+, $14; children under 12, $11. Suggested museum admission: $14; students and 60+, $10.50; children, $8. Combination tickets are available, including museum and Rose Center admission and the Hayden Planetarium space show: $22; students and 60+, $16.50; 12 and younger, $13; under 2, free. The Rose Center is open on Friday nights until 8:45, for "Starry Nights: Fridays Under the Sphere," with cash bar, jazz and tapas on the first Friday of every month. Museum hours: daily, 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. (8:45 p.m. Fridays). Information: amnh.org; (212) 769-5100 or (212) 769-5200.

MERCHANT'S HOUSE MUSEUM, 29 East Fourth Street, East Village. Friday nights through October, from 6 to 10, "Death at Home: Ghostly Tales and Tours by Candlelight," a tour of the house as it was decorated for 19th-century home funerals, followed by tales of the ghosts that are said to inhabit the museum. Fee: $20; members, $13; reservations required. Through Nov. 7, "Coffins and Crepe: Death in a 19th-Century Home," an exhibition of the social customs of death and mourning. Self-guided tours are available on weekdays, guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays. Hours: Thursdays through Mondays, noon to 5 p.m. Admission: $8; students and 65+, $5; members and children under 12, free. Reservations and information: (212) 777-1089.MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE, 36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria, Queens. Through Nov. 13, "Some Like It Wilder: The Complete Billy Wilder." Screenings of Wilder films this weekend: "The Emperor Waltz" (1948), tomorrow at 2 p.m.; "One, Two, Three" (1961), tomorrow and Sunday at 4 p.m.; "Five Graves to Cairo" (1943), Sunday at 2 p.m. Through Nov. 6, "Repertory Nights," featuring restored 35-millimeter prints of classic films. Screenings this weekend: "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), directed by Stanley Kubrick, tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30, and Sunday night at 6:30. Through Oct. 28, "Fist and Sword: Martial Arts Film Classics." Through Jan. 16, "Gumby and the Art of Stop-Motion Animation," an exhibition on the animated clay figure. Museum hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and by appointment. Film and video showings are free with admission unless otherwise noted. Museum admission: $10; 65+ and students, $7.50; ages 5 to 18, $5; free for members and children 4 and younger and for everyone on Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday-night screenings are extra. Information: www.movingimage.us or (718) 784-0077.

MUSEUM OF TELEVISION AND RADIO, 25 West 52nd Street, Manhattan. Through Nov. 6, "Good Night, and Good Luck: Murrow From McCarthy to Monroe," programs that inspired the recent film about Edward R. Murrow, the television journalist. Screenings this weekend, at 1 p.m.: "See It Now: Murrow vs. McCarthyism." Through Oct. 30, "Musicals on Television." Screenings Tuesdays through Sundays: at 1 p.m., "Producers Showcase: 'Our Town' " (1955), a musical version of the Thornton Wilder play; at 2:30 p.m., "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1957), a rediscovered television musical not seen since its initial broadcast. Museum hours: Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 6 p.m.; Thursdays, to 8 p.m. Admission: $10; students and 62+, $8; children under 14, $5. Information: (212) 621-6800.

NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 2 West 77th Street, Manhattan. Through March 5, "Slavery in New York," a multimedia exhibition with paintings, documents, video re-enactments and audio narratives. Tomorrow at 11 a.m., a tour in Lower Manhattan of sites where slaves and free blacks lived and worked. Fee: $12; students and members, $6. Hours: Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: $10; students and 62+, $5; under 12, free. Information: (212) 873-3400.

Events

New York City

GRAMERCY PARK ANTIQUES SHOW, 69th Regiment Armory, Lexington Avenue at 26th Street. Today and tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily admission: $12. Information: (212) 255-0020; www.stellashows.com.

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL VINTAGE POSTER FAIR, Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 West 18th Street, Chelsea. Today, 5 to 9 p.m.; tomorrow, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: $12 a day or $20 for tomorrow and Sunday. Sponsored by Wine Spectator. Information: (800) 856-8069.

2005 FASHION DISTRICT ARTS FESTIVAL, 35th to 41st Streets, between Fifth and Ninth Avenues. With theatrical performances, exhibitions, demonstrations and lectures. Through Sunday. Many events are free. Schedule and other information: (212) 764-9600; www.fashioncenter.com/arts.

'WHITNEY LIVE,' Whitney Museum of American Art, 945 Madison Avenue, at 75th Street. Tonight at 7, "New Works by So Percussion," a multimedia performance: "Five (and a Half) Gardens" by Dan Trueman, performed by the ensembles So Percussion and Trollstilt on terra-cotta pots, water buckets and wheelbarrow, with paintings by Judy Trueman; and "8 Incidentals," with film by Jenise Treuting and music by Jason Treuting, performed by So Percussion and Grey McMurray, a guitarist. Admission is pay-what-you-wish. Information: (212) 570-3676.

'TRANSITIO NYC,' Chinatown. Video images of the street life in the Chinese towns of Nanning and Shanghai, displayed on the facade of a building on the corner of Canal and Centre Streets. Tonight through Oct. 31 from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Sponsored by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

MANHATTAN COUNTRY SCHOOL FARM FESTIVAL, Manhattan Country School, 7 East 96th Street. With games, rides, food and live animals from the upstate farm run by the school. Tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Information: (212) 348-0952.

WASHINGTON SQUARE FESTIVAL, Waverly Place, from Broadway to Fifth Avenue, Greenwich Village. Tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the Greenwich Village Community Republican Club.

STREET FAIR, Washington Place, from Macdougal to Grove Streets, Greenwich Village. Tomorrow, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by St. Joseph's Church.

AMERICA'S LEAST OBEDIENT DOG CONTEST, Madison Square Park dog run, Fifth Avenue, 24th to 25th Streets. Tomorrow, beginning at 9 a.m., with registration for the first 100 dogs; the winner will compete against the top dogs from San Diego and Chicago at 11 a.m. Sponsored by Hasbro. Free. Information: (212) 538-4071; www.furrealfriends.com.

ANNUAL NEW YORK CARES DAY, at public schools around the city. Annual volunteer spruce-up, with painting, planting and other activities. Tomorrow, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Information: www.newyorkcares.org.

THE GREAT THIRD AVENUE FAIR, from 23rd to 34th Streets, Manhattan. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen's Church.

ANNUAL UPPER BROADWAY HARVEST FESTIVAL, from 96th to 110th Streets. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by One Stop Senior Services and the Bloomingdale Area Coalition.

DIRECTORS' VIEW FILM FESTIVAL, City College of the City University of New York, Shepard Hall, Convent Avenue and 138th Street, Hamilton Heights. Free screenings of more than 30 independent and student films. Tomorrow, noon to 8 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Information: (914) 533-0270.

'AMERICAN INDIANS AND MOTHER EARTH': AN AMERICAN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE ON ECOLOGY,' Stuyvesant Cove Park, along the East River, south of 23rd Street, Manhattan. A free symposium featuring artists and environmentalists from the Lumbee, Lakota and Mohawk tribes. Sunday, 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Stuyvesant Cove Park Association and Solar 1 Inc. Information: (212) 673-7507; www.stuyvesantcove.org.

'FULL-TIME ARTISTS: BUSINESS OF ART CONFERENCE,' Barney Building, Department of Art and Art Professions, New York University Steinhardt School of Education, 34 Stuyvesant Street, East Village. Panels dealing with the careers and lives of visual artists. Tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission: $100 (includes lunch and a resource guide). Information: (212) 366-6900, ext. 338; www.nyfa.org.

BIG APPLE WRITING CONFERENCE, Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue, near 38th Street. With readings, writing workshops and panel discussions. Tomorrow and Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the International Women's Writing Guild. Fees: $155 for both days ($125 for members); $90 for tomorrow ($80 for members); $100 for Sunday ($75 for members.) Information: (212) 737-7536; www.iwwg.org.

BROOKLYN WATERFRONT ARTISTS COALITION, PIER ART SHOW, Red Hook Pier, 499 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn. Closing day of the group show, featuring more than 100 works, with a silent auction. Tomorrow, noon to 6 p.m. Free. ANNUAL GOWANUS ARTISTS STUDIO TOUR, Carroll Gardens/Cobble Hill/Park Slope, Brooklyn. With 120 artists exhibiting at 26 locations. Tomorrow and Sunday, 1 to 6 p.m. Free. Maps are available at Urban View Realty, 164 Fifth Avenue, at Degraw Street. Sponsored by Gowanus Artists. Information: (718) 398-2900; www.gowanusartists.com.

ART AND COMMERCE 2005 FESTIVAL OF EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS, Tobacco Warehouse, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, Dock and Water Streets. More than 100 works by 24 photographers. Through Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street. Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m., "On Memory and Music," a demonstration of how the brain processes memories, with Scott A. Small, assistant professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center, and Gilles Vonsattel, pianist. Tickets: $20. Information: (212) 423-3587.

Walking Tours

New York City

BROOKLYN CENTER FOR THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT Tomorrow at 1 p.m., a Civil War walk through Green-Wood Cemetery, passing the graves of generals and soldiers, meeting inside the entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street. Fee: $11; members, $9; students, $8. Information: (718) 788-8500, ext. 208.

'CENTRAL PARK: THE BIG BACK YARD OF THE CITY,' meeting tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the statue of General Sherman, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street. Sponsored by Joyce Gold History Tours of New York. Fee: $12. Information: (212) 242-5762.

STREET SMARTS N.Y. Tomorrow at 2 p.m., "Manhattan Murder Mysteries" features visits to infamous crime scenes; meet in front of the Park Central Hotel on Seventh Avenue, at 56th Street. Fee: $10. Information: (212) 969-8262.

HISTORIC BROADWAY THEATER DISTRICT TOUR Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. Fee: $10. Sponsored by New York Curmudgeon Tours. Information and meeting place: (212) 629-8813.

NEW YORK LIKE A NATIVE Sunday at 2:30 p.m., "Visit Williamsburg" includes a visit to the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn. Fee: $16. Information and meeting place: (718) 393-7537.

'GRANDEUR AND ELEGANCE, CARNEGIE HILL' explores sites associated with the Astor, Vanderbilt, Carnegie and Woolworth families, as well as former mansions that are now museums, schools or apartment houses, and the architectural works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Morris Hunt and Stanford White. Meets tomorrow at 1 p.m. on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 79th Street. Fee: $12. Sponsored by I'll Take Manhattan Tours. Information: (732) 270-5559.

HARLEM HERITAGE TOURS Today and tomorrow at 1 p.m., "Spanish Harlem Walking Tour," meeting on the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 110th Street. Fee: $20. Information: (212) 280-7888.

DAYTRIPPIN' ROCK 'n' ROLL TOURS Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., a Beatles walking tour in Midtown. Sunday at 1:30 p.m., a Bob Dylan walking tour through Greenwich Village. Fee for each: $20. Reservations and meeting places: (877) 346-2133.

OUTDOORS CLUB Tomorrow at 9 a.m., "Bird Watching for Beginners" in Central Park, meeting at the Loeb Boathouse, reachable from the 72nd Street entrance. Also sponsored by the Urban Trail conference; information: (718) 352-0381. Sunday at 2 p.m., "Historic Gravesend" visits Revolutionary War-era buildings in this Brooklyn neighborhood, meeting in front of the HCBC Bank, Kings Highway and McDonald Avenue; information: (718) 252-2161. Fee for each: $3.

HARLEM, YOUR WAY! Sunday at 10:15 a.m., "Experience the Beauty of Harlem Gospel" includes a visit to a local church and a tour of Harlem, meeting at 129 West 130th Street. Fee: $25. An optional meal follows. Reservations: (212) 690-1687.

BIG ONION WALKING TOURS Tomorrow at 1 p.m., "Gramercy Park and Union Square" includes stops at the homes of Stanford White and Theodore Roosevelt; meet at the George Washington statue on the 14th Street side of Union Square. Fee: $15; 63+, $12; students, $10. Information: (212) 439-1090.

CENTURY WALKING TOURS Tomorrow at 11 a.m., "Newspaper Row" covers the historical newspaper district in Lower Manhattan, meeting on the southeast corner of Broadway and Fulton Street. Fee: $15. Information: (917) 607-9019.

'EDGAR ALLAN POE AND HIS GHOSTLY FRIENDS,' meeting tomorrow and Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. outside the Second Avenue Deli, southeast corner of 10th Street and Second Avenue, East Village. Sponsored by Dr. Phil: New York Talks and Walks. Fee: $15; children, $7.50. Information: (888) 377-4455.

METRO TOUR SERVICE visits Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, today through Sunday at 2 p.m., and Downtown Brooklyn, with a stop for gospel music, on Sunday at 10 a.m. All meeting in front of the Marriott, Adams and Tillary Streets, Downtown Brooklyn. Fee for each: $25. Information: (718) 789-0430.

'SIDEWALK SURPRISES IN LINCOLN SQUARE' Meets every Saturday at 11 a.m. through Nov. 12 at the Maine Monument, at Merchants' Gate, across from the Columbus Circle fountain, 59th Street and Central Park West. Free. Sponsored by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. Information: (212) 581-3774.

CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY Free weekend tours of Central Park. Two on Sunday: at noon, "Seneca Village" focuses on one of the earliest communities of black American property owners, meeting at the southeast corner of Central Park West and 85th Street; at 2 p.m., "Amble Through the Ramble," meeting at Belvedere Castle, midpark at 79th Street. Information: (212) 360-2726.

NYC DISCOVERY TOURS Tomorrow and Sunday at 2 p.m., "Prospect Park in Autumn" looks at the history and design of this Brooklyn park. Fee: $13. Reservations and meeting places: (212) 465-3331.

Recreation

New York City

'MEMORY WALK 2005,' a one-to-three-mile route, beginning Sunday at 11 a.m. in Riverside Park, Riverside Drive and West 83rd Street. Registration begins at 9 a.m.; an opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Participants will be able to post photographs, messages or other items on a "memory wall" constructed for the event. Sponsored by the New York chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Information: (212) 983-6906, ext. 242; www.alznyc.org.

NEW YORK ROAD RUNNERS The Kurt Steiner Cross Country 5K, beginning Sunday at 11:30 a.m. near the Tortoise and Hare statue, Broadway and 248th Street; a 1.5-mile run for those 14 and younger follows at 12:30 p.m. Race-day registration fee: $7; 14 and under, $5. Information: (212) 860-4455; www.nyrrc.org.

BIKE THE BIG APPLE Sunday at 10 a.m., "The Sensational Park and Soul Bike Tour," a 12-mile ride through Central Park and Harlem, stopping for a gospel service and lunch; food not included. Fee: $59. All equipment provided. Reservations and meeting place: (877) 865-0078; bikethebigapple.com.