AROUND TOWN

Museums and Sites

3681 AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., an International Polar Weekend devoted to understanding the Earth's climate change, with discussions, shows and films featuring scientists, performers and others from North America, Greenland and Norway. Saturday at 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., ''SonicVision,'' an animated alternative-music show, will be presented in the Rose Center for Earth and Space; tickets, $15; $12 for members. Wednesday at 7 p.m., a discussion with Neil deGrasse Tyson, author of ''The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet''; $15; $13.50 for members, students and 60+. Through Aug. 16, ''Climate Change: The Threat to Life and a New Energy Future,'' an interactive display. Through May 25, ''The Butterfly Conservatory, Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter.'' Through March 1, ice-skating on the outdoor Polar Rink: Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; $10; $9 for students and 60+; $8 for children 3 to 12; $8, $7 and $6 for members. In the Imax theater through May 23, playing alternately every hour on the half-hour from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ''Wild Ocean,'' about underwater survival of migrating species, and ''Dinosaurs Alive!,'' a search for dinosaur remains. Timed tickets to ''Climate Change'' and ''The Butterfly Conservatory,'' as well as tickets to Imax films, include museum admission: $24; $18 for students and 60+; $14 for 2 to 12. Suggested general admission: $15; $11 for students and 60+; $8.50 for children. Supersaver tickets, including museum and Rose Center admission, the Hayden Planetarium space show (''Cosmic Collisions'') and all special exhibitions: $32; $24.50 for students and 60+; $20 for 2 to 12. Hours: daily, 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Central Park West and 79th Street , (212) 769-5100 , amnh.org .

3711 HISTORIC RICHMOND TOWN, Staten Island Historical Society. Every Wednesday through April 29 at 7:30 p.m., English country dancing; $5. Saturday at 1:30 p.m., a workshop in making Valentine's Day cards; $8. Saturday at 7:30 and 9 p.m., performances by the groups Songs of the Sea and Taverns, part of the Tavern Concerts series; $15; $12 for members; reservations required. Reservations for classes and performances can be made at Ext. 281. Open Wednesdays through Sundays, 1 to 5 p.m. Additional tours on weekdays at 2:30 p.m., and on weekends at 2 and 3:30 p.m. 441 Clarke Avenue, Richmond Town, Staten Island , (718) 351-1611 , historicrichmondtown.org ; $5; $4 for 65+; $3.50 for students and children 5 to 17; free for members and children under 5.

3766 MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK Through Feb. 22, ''Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940,'' an exhibition focusing on New York's cultural rivalry with Paris, as seen in photographs, drawings and artifacts from international expositions in Paris (in 1925) and New York (1939-40). Related events: Sunday at noon, a tour of the exhibition with Donald Albrecht, its curator; Sunday at 2 p.m., a discussion with Mr. Albrecht, with clips from the 1925 French film ''L'Inhumaine,'' which featured the work of French architects, artists and couturiers. Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., a lecture on the designer Gilbert Rohde by Phyllis Ross, author of ''Gilbert Rohde: Modern Design for Modern Living.'' Through April 22, ''Growing and Greening New York,'' an exploration of the ways to achieve environmental sustainability in keeping with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's initiatives known as PlaNYC 2030. Related event: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., a lecture on green design by Richard A. Cook of Cook & Fox Architects. Admission to each of the Tuesday and Wednesday lectures is $9; $5 for students, 62+ and members. Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street , (212) 534-1672 , mcny.org ; Suggested admission: $9; $5 for students and 62+; free for children under 12 and for everyone on Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon; $20 for families.

3810 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Wednesday through May 9, ''40 Years of Firsts: Dance Theater of Harlem,'' an exhibition of photographs, costumes and other items. Related event: Thursday at 5:30 p.m., ''Inspired by a Dream: The Dance Theater of Harlem Story,'' a panel discussion with Virginia Johnson, a dance alumna of the troupe, and Robert Garland, the group's resident choreographer; Anna Kisselgoff, a writer and the former chief dance critic of The New York Times, is the moderator. Through March 21, ''Mystic Chords of Memory: Abraham Lincoln and the Performing Arts,'' a series of programs illustrating Lincoln's interest in the arts and the impact he has had on artists past and present. Related event: Thursday at 3 p.m., ''Bicentennial Day: Readings by and About Lincoln,'' with Arthur Mitchell, the founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem, and others, as well as a performance of ''The Battle Hymn of the Republic'' with members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus. Wednesday at 8 p.m., a discussion with the jazz guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli and his son John, and Bob Santelli, executive director of the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles; $10, $5 for students; (212) 870-1793. Mondays and Thursdays, noon to 8 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 111 Amsterdam Avenue, at 65th Street, Lincoln Center , (212) 870-1630 , nypl.org ; free.

3797 NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY Opening Thursday and running through July 12, ''Abraham Lincoln in His Own Words: An Intimate View of Our Greatest President,'' an exhibition of Lincoln speeches, letters and other documents. Through March 29, ''Grant and Lee in War and Peace,'' an exhibition of documents, photographs, artwork, military equipment and other items. Related events: Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., ''Robert E. Lee in American Memory,'' a discussion with David W. Blight, a history professor, the director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yale and the author of ''Race and Reunion''; and Emory M. Thomas, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Georgia and the author of ''Robert E. Lee: A Biography'' and ''Robert E. Lee: An Album''; $15; $10 for students, educators and 65+; $8 for members. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street , (212) 873-3400 , nyhistory.org ; $10; $7 for educators and 65+; $6 for students; free from 6 to 8 p.m. on Fridays; free at all times for members and children under 12.

Events

4985 MANHATTAN VINTAGE CLOTHING SHOW Friday, 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Metropolitan Pavilion , 125 West 18th Street , (212) 691-7297 , manhattanvintage.com ; $20.

5074 SKATING UNDER THE STARS Friday, 9:30 p.m. to midnight, an ice-skating party with music, games and refreshments. Sponsored by the Prospect Park Alliance. Wollman Rink, Prospect Park , near the Parkside and Ocean Avenues entrance, Brooklyn , (718) 965-6992 , prospectpark.org ; $40, or $125 for groups of four ($30 or $100 for members); the proceeds will benefit park restoration and maintenance projects.

5050 WINTER DANCE PARTY Saturday, 7:30 p.m. to midnight, with the group Soulive , D.J. Chris Annibell and others; also a bingo game at 8 p.m. Sponsored by Friends of Celebrate Brooklyn! and Giant Step. The Bell House , 149 Seventh Street, Gowanus, Brooklyn , (718) 643-6510, briconline.org/celebrate ; $15 and $50.

5036 WINTER JAM NYC Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., snow-related activities, including tubing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and snowman-making, as well as entertainment and food. Sponsored by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and other organizations and businesses. East River Park , Houston Street and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, Lower Manhattan , nyc.gov/parks ; free.

Spoken Word

4992 JOSEPHINE BAKER; SPRINGTIME OF HER LIFE, THE FORGOTTEN YEARS Thursday at 6 p.m., Jean-Claude Baker, son of the singer Josephine Baker, will speak about her life and career in the United States before she left for France in the mid-1920s. Arsenal Gallery, Central Park , 64th Street and Fifth Avenue , nyc.gov/parks ; free but reservations necessary: (212) 408-0296 or artsculturefun@parks.nyc.gov.

5111 EROTIC POETRY AND AFTERNOON TEA Saturday at 3 p.m., readings from ''The Best American Erotic Poems: From 1800 to the Present,'' by the poet David Lehman, who is also the editor of the collection, as well as the poets Moira Egan and Laura Cronk. Duane Park , 157 Duane Street, at West Broadway, TriBeCa , (212) 732-5555 , duaneparkcafe.com ; $25.

4299 92ND STREET Y Monday at 8 p.m., a reading featuring the writers T. C. Boyle and Jayne Anne Phillips; $19; $10 for those 35 and younger. 1395 Lexington Avenue , (212) 415-5500 , 92y.org .

5005 RICHARD REEVES, the journalist and author, will speak on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. as part of an annual authors series. Kingsborough Community College, Leon M. Goldstein Performing Arts Center , 2001 Oriental Boulevard, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn , www.kbcc.cuny.edu ; free, but reservations required: (718) 368-5596.

5081 SECOND SUNDAYS features a reading at 3 p.m. of works inspired by the art of Isamu Noguchi, with the poets Christopher Stackhouse, Paul Foster Johnson and Cathy Park Hong. Also sponsored by the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church. Noguchi Museum , 9-01 33rd Road, at Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens , (718) 204-7088 , noguchi.org . Free with admission: $10; $5 for students and 60+; free for children under 12.

WASHINGTON SQUARE CELEBRATION Friday at 7 p.m., a reading and reception to celebrate the 14th anniversary of Washington Square, the literary magazine published by the creative writing program at New York University. Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House , 58 West 10th Street, Greenwich Village , (212) 998-8850 ; suggested donation, $5. 5012 WHY QUALITY JOURNALISM MATTERS Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., the Spring 2009 Gallatin Lecture by Jill Abramson, a managing editor of The New York Times. New York University, Jerry H. Labowitz Theater for the Performing Arts , 715 Broadway, at Washington Place, Greenwich Village , (212) 998-7380 ; free, but reservations are required: nyu.edu/gallatin/rsvp.

Walking Tours

4213 BIG ONION WALKING TOURS Saturday at 1 p.m., a tour of the political, social and theatrical roots of the East Village, meeting at the cube at Astor Place. (212) 439-1090 , bigonion.com ; $15; $12 for 63+; $10 for students and members of the New-York Historical Society.

CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY Free tours of Central Park. Saturday at noon and Sunday at 11 a.m., ''Cross-Park Promenade,'' meeting at the statue of Samuel F. B. Morse, at Fifth Avenue and East 72nd Street. Saturday at 1 p.m., ''Seneca Village'' covers one of the earliest communities of black property owners, meeting at the southeast corner of Central Park West and 85th Street. centralparknyc.org .

4541 METRO TOUR SERVICE Friday through Sunday at 2 p.m., a tour in Brooklyn, with stops in Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. Every Monday in February at 2 p.m., a black history tour of Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant. All tours meet in front of the New York Marriott, Adams and Tillary Streets, downtown Brooklyn. Reservations are required. (718) 789-0430 ; each, $25.

4220 SHOREWALKERS Saturday at 10 a.m., a five-mile hike along Orchard Beach in the Bronx, possibly with a visit to City Island, meeting at the Orchard Beach restrooms near the beach side of the parking lot; reservations: (914) 478-1172; shorewalkers.org ; (212) 330-7686; $3.

Recreation

4817 NYRR HALF-MARATHON GRAND PRIX, the Bronx. Sunday at 8 a.m., beginning at Goulden Avenue near Bedford Park Boulevard, Bedford Park. Sponsored by the New York Road Runners. New York Road Runners , (212) 860-4455 , nyrr.org . Advance fee: $30; $20 for members; $14 for 18 and younger and 62+. Race-day registration: $35; $25 for members; $15 for 18 and younger and 62+.

Information about events to be considered for inclusion in Spare Times can be sent to weekend@nytimes.com.