By William S. Bike

ART

The American Academy of Art, 332 S. Michigan Ave., (312) 461-0660, ext. 103, will present student art shows from Thursday, March 4, through Friday, April 23.

Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., hosts First Fridays at the Flat Iron every first Friday of the month from 6 to 10 p.m. Upcoming events are scheduled for March 5 and April 2.

MUSEUMS

The Chicago Children’s Museum, 700 E. Grand Ave., (312) 527-1000, features Kraft Free Family Night on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. Target Free First Sundays are held the first Sunday of every month, with free admission for children 15 and younger. Log on to www.chicagochildrensmuseum.org.

The Clarke House Museum, 1827 S. Indiana Ave., the city’s oldest house, is open for tours Wednesday through Sunday at noon and 2 p.m. Call (312) 744-6569 or log on to www.ClarkeHouseMuseum.org.

DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Pl., (773) 947-0600, www.dusablemuseum.org. Experience the lives and deeds of African American women of the West with William Katz, author of books that focus on African American Indians and Black cowboys. Admission is $10 per person, $5 for members, Thursday, March 11, at 7 p.m.

The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., is presenting The Nature of Diamonds via natural diamonds, jewelry, ancient manuscripts, and multimedia exhibits through Sunday, March 28, 2010. Call (312) 922-9410 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org.

The Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Ave., (773) 324-5520, www.hydeparkart, will offer a concert and puppet show Saturday, March 6, at 7 p.m. Artists Diane Christiansen and Shoshanna Utchenik on Sunday, March 7, at 3 p.m. will present a talk related to the exhibition Notes to Oneself, on display in the center’s Gallery 1 through Sunday, May 2.

The Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr., (773) 684-1414, www.msichicago.org, is showing Art + Science + Architecture, featuring representations of famous structures built from Legos, through Wednesday, March 15. The museum also will show more than 300 math and science projects from Chicago Public Schools students Friday, through Sunday, March 19 through 21.

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N. Cannon Dr., will show National Geographic Crittercam: The World Through Animal Eyes through Sunday, April 11. A crittercam is a tool that scientists attach to animals to gather video and other data.

Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, 610 S. Michigan Ave., (312) 322-1724, is showing an installation by Jan Tichy using light to transform the building’s ground floor. The work will be shown Wednesday, March 10, through Sunday, June 27. The public is invited to a free artist talk with Tichy on Sunday, March 14.

MUSIC

The Classical Symphony Orchestra will perform works by Thomas, Prokofiev, and Nielsen on Sunday, Mar. 14, at 3 p.m. at Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., third floor. Call (312) 341-1521.

The Lincoln Chamber Ensemble will perform on Sunday, March 21, at 4:30 p.m., in Notre Dame de Chicago Church, 1334 W. Flournoy St. The program features the world premiere of Kevin Allen’s Transfiguration, a three-movement work for string orchestra, oboes, and horns, along with Allen’s Concerto for Trumpet and Strings. Ross Beacraft of DePaul University’s music faculty, will be the trumpet soloist. Also on the program are Handel’s Concerto Grosso in D Minor, Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 11 in E Flat Major. Tickets cost $20, $15 for seniors and students, and $10 for children younger than 13 in advance and $5 more per ticket at the door. Call (815) 806-0066, or go to www.lincolnchamberproductions.org.

Sherwood Community Music School, 1312 S. Michigan Ave., (312) 369-3100, hosts the PianoForte salon series concerts every Friday at 12:15 p.m. The concerts also are broadcast live on WFMT-Radio 98.7 and www.wfmt.com.

The Protégé Philharmonic will perform works by Rimsky-Korsakov and Berlioz as well as the Ravel orchestral arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition on Sunday, Mar. 7, at 3 p.m. at Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., third floor. Call (312) 341-1521.

THEATRE

Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave. on Navy Pier, marks the 150th anniversary of Anton Chekhov’s birth with the Maly Drama Theatre’s production of the playwright’s Uncle Vanya, which will be presented in Russian with projected English titles. This tale of love, desire, and illusion runs for five performances from Wednesday through Sunday, March 17 through 21. For tickets, call (312) 595-5600 or log on to www.chicagoshakes.com.