Best Things To Do In New York City This Weekend

The World Science Festival celebrates science. This five-day festival features programming for kids and adults, from tours of women scientists' labs to an interactive sculpture created by NASA to a lecture about the ancient art of brewing (with samples!) to a discussion of the notorious Stanford Prison Experiment and a night of esteemed scientists and writers sharing their embarrassing/heartfelt/funny stories. Wednesday, May 27, through Sunday, May 31, see schedule for details

The Festival of Ideas for the New City features more than 100 events organized around the theme of "The Invisible City," an homage to the 1972 novel by Italo Calvino. There will be a decided emphasis on civic action as well as an exploration of "questions of transparency and surveillance, citizenship and representation, expression and suppression, participation and dissent, and the enduring quest for visibility in the city." Thursday, May 28, through Saturday, May 30, see schedule for details

Drink, drink, and be merry at the NYC Craft Beer Festival, a three-day celebration of craft beer. Among the scheduled events is the kickoff, with 24 beers and (fewer) small bite pairings, but your ticket to the festival gets you unlimited beer tasting from such breweries as Third Rail Beer, Radiant Pig, and Heavy Seas, access to seminars and talks, and a special souvenir glass. Thursday, May 28, through Saturday, May 30, tickets required, see schedule for details

NYC Popfest brings the "best jangling, fuzzy, twee, and indie pop bands" to the city for four days of beats, jams, concerts, encores, and after-parties. Performers from all around the US as well as Spain, the UK, and Germany descend on the city to share their sweet sounds. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: if you don't hear something you like, you're not listening. Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, May 31, tickets required, see schedule for details

The Brooklyn Film Festival features more than 105 films, screened over the course of 10 days. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll bow your head in awe at the tremendous array of talent at play in the world. For example, Sweaty Betty tells the story of a 1,000-pound pig being raised in a backyard in DC to (hopefully) become the new mascot of the Redskins football team. Friday, May 29, through Sunday, June 7, tickets required, see schedule for details