Other Fun Stuff

Join us online for Speak Up, a creative writing program supporting the artistic and professional growth of teens. In this FREE virtual creative writing workshop mini-series, teens will partner with experienced teaching artists to empower the creative writing process, from drafting to performance to publishing, to boost literacy and empower youth in Miami through community-based writing activities. The program is open to all teens (ages 13-19) and is as free of charge as it is free of homework. No previous experience necessary!

We hope you will join us for our fifth annual “A Night in D9” on Saturday February 28th, from 2PM to 6PM at Coral Reef Senior High School, located at 10101 SW 152nd Street, Miami, FL 33157. The free event will feature a resource fair, food, performances from our schools, games, and an award ceremony where we will be celebrating District 9's Teachers of the Year, Rookie Teachers of the Year, and Silver Knight Nominees. Join Us! You can RSVP for FREE by visiting our site.

Join MOAD for a special yoga class in the Knight Skylight Gallery at the Freedom Tower. Romina (Romi) began practicing yoga back in 2017, the physical aspect of yoga served as a launch pad and she quickly fell in love with the practice and aimed to explore many different types of yoga. A practice that was a hobby quickly turned into a passion. Her love of yoga pushed Romina to pursue her 200-hr yoga teacher training in Orlando, FL and she now teaches in many different areas in Miami. Romina enjoys teaching vinyasa flow and gentle flows with creative transitions, focusing on strengths, stability and alignment. Whether you are a beginner or advance practitioner, using movement and breathwork, rest assure you'll leave feeling transformed in all aspects of the mind, body, and spirit. Admission to the Freedom Tower exhibitions and galleries following the class is included with your RSVP. Visitors to the Freedom Tower may park for free in the MDC garage at 500 NE Second Avenue, between NE Fifth and NE Sixth Streets. Please bring your own yoga mat. Yoga mats will not be available onsite. The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at MDC may document the event, including its attendees. By entering the area, and/or participating in the event, you consent to the recording and its use in any form. MOAD's programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture, and with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The programs at the Freedom Tower, operated by the Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC), are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and the Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with collections, exhibition, and marketing support from ArtesMiami, Art Bridges Foundation, the Shepard Broad Foundation, the Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA), Henry Luce Foundation, Jay I. Kislak Foundation, Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation, and US Century Bank.

Join Miami Dade College’s Koubek Center, Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, Museum of Art and Design, and Live Arts Miami for an immersive evening celebrating Open House Miami and highlighting architecture, art, music, film, dance, literature, and community. This FREE Caribbean Contrasts event during Open House Miami exemplifies this legacy, offering an opportunity for the community to explore and engage with the unique programs offered by each of MDC’s cultural institutions. This free event includes: Miami Film Festival Shorts: Ongoing. A captivating showcase of unique, independent short films presented on a continuous loop, allowing guests to drop in and experience compelling cinematic stories at any time. Miami Book Fair Reading Garden: Relax in a cozy chair under the stars, browse our shelf of stories, and discover your next favorite book to take home! MOAD Tour of the Koubek Mansion: Join the Museum of Art and Design for a conversation about history, art, and architectural transformation and the power of public space. Architectural historian Victor Deupi offers rare insight into the Koubek Mansion and its currently role as the Koubek Center. Deupi will be joined by Amy Galpin, Executive Director of the Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College. Koubek Center: Don’t miss the hard-hitting, romance-stricken, and rebellious rhythms of Mariachis courtesy of the Koubek Center. Live Arts Miami: Follow an immersive journey with resident artist Rosie Herrera as she develops her new work "Tropical Depression" featuring moments that explore memory, identity, and homeland.

The University of Miami Libraries offers introductory mindfulness sessions designed to support inner resilience. These 45-minute online sessions introduce the fundamentals of mindfulness meditation and movement with periods of guided practice and opportunities for reflection and questions. The sessions are led by Kelly Miller, a Certified Mindfulness Teacher (MMTCP), Director of Mindfulness and Well-Being Programs, and Associate Dean for Learning and Research Services in the University of Miami Libraries and Professor Scott Rogers, Director of the University of Miami School of Law’s Mindfulness in Law Program. Guest teachers are also occasionally invited. Please note that in Spring 2026, Gisele Rocha, a Certified Yoga Teacher (RYT® 500) and Assistant Director in the Libraries’ Creative department will offer yoga sessions separately. Spring 2026 Schedule and Themes Wednesdays, 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. 1/21 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Beginning Anew 1/28 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Awareness of Breath 2/4 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Awareness of Body 2/11 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Awareness of Feelings 2/18 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Awareness of Thought 2/25 - Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Self-Compassion 3/4 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Compassion for Others 3/11 – No Session - Spring Break 3/18 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Difficult Emotions 3/25 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Difficult Emotions 4/1 – Kelly Miller – Special Session with Carol Kaminsky: Mindfulness and Dance 4/8 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Awareness of Speech 4/15 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Cultivating Gratitude 4/22 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Caring for the Earth 4/29 – Kelly Miller – Mindfulness Meditation - Cultivating Daily Practice

See a dozen of the world’s most talented four-legged performers, in an uproariously funny, comedy dog spectacular that is leaving audiences everywhere howling for more! The all-star lineup includes a Guinness World Record holder, and an America’s Got Talent fan favorite, and a host of amazing rescue dogs that will dance, prance, flip, and skip their way right into your heart. Deemed “A must see” by The Washington Post, Mutts Gone Nuts – Unleashed! is sure to win Best in Show!

Join MOAD for a special yoga class in the Knight Skylight Gallery at the Freedom Tower. Romina (Romi) began practicing yoga back in 2017, the physical aspect of yoga served as a launch pad and she quickly fell in love with the practice and aimed to explore many different types of yoga. A practice that was a hobby quickly turned into a passion. Her love of yoga pushed Romina to pursue her 200-hr yoga teacher training in Orlando, FL and she now teaches in many different areas in Miami. Romina enjoys teaching vinyasa flow and gentle flows with creative transitions, focusing on strengths, stability and alignment. Whether you are a beginner or advance practitioner, using movement and breath work, rest assure you'll leave feeling transformed in all aspects of the mind, body, and spirit. Admission to the Freedom Tower exhibitions and galleries following the class is included with your RSVP. Visitors to the Freedom Tower may park for free in the MDC garage at 500 NE Second Avenue, between NE Fifth and NE Sixth Streets. Please bring your own yoga mat. Yoga mats will not be available onsite. The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at MDC may document the event, including its attendees. By entering the area, and/or participating in the event, you consent to the recording and its use in any form. MOAD's programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture, and with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Miami Herald is a media sponsor of MOAD's programming. The programs at the Freedom Tower, operated by the Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC), are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and the Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with collections, exhibition, and marketing support from ArtesMiami, Art Bridges Foundation, the Shepard Broad Foundation, the Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA), Henry Luce Foundation, Jay I. Kislak Foundation, Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Foundation, and US Century Bank. The Miami Herald is a media sponsor of MOAD's Freedom Tower programming. Image courtesy of Romina Carpio.

Join us to hear Brit Bennett discuss her book, “The Vanishing Half,” the 2025-2026 One Book, One U selection for the University of Miami. Longlisted for both the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction, Bennett’s novel about family and relationships explores the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern Black community and running away at age 16, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her Black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces an emotional family story that explores the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, “The Vanishing Half” considers the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. Following the discussion there will be a Q&A with the audience, and the author will be available to sign copies of the book at the conclusion of the event.

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/WmrCoqvNMqD8nZ4fA The Poetry SLAM is a culmination of 10 weeks of hard work by our Miami SCORES poet-athletes. It will showcase original poems performed by both boys' and girls' groups, along with four individual performances from poet-athletes representing each partner school. Adding to the excitement, special guests from the Miami community will join us as judges, ready to inspire, uplift, and celebrate every voice on stage! We’re proud to celebrate creativity alongside our amazing partner schools: Charles R Drew K-8 Center, Earlington Heights Elementary, Jesse J. McCrary Jr. Elementary, Liberty City Elementary, Orchard Villa, and Kelsey L. Pharr Elementary, as well as the entire Miami community. With support from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and the Board of County Commissioners. Miami SCORES is part of America SCORES, North America’s largest free soccer and literacy program, providing over 1 million program hours annually to Title I public school students across 13 affiliates and is an official legacy program of the 1994 FIFA Men's World Cup. For more information about Miami SCORES, you can visit www.miamiscores.org

PRESENTED BY Azizi A. Seixas, Ph.D. - Interim Chair of the Department of Informatics and Health Data Science, Founding Director of The Media and Innovation Lab at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Join us in person or online as Azizi A. Seixas, Ph.D. shares a bold vision for building a "glocal" future through data, discovery, and human-centered progress Seixas is also the associate director of the Center for Translational Sleep and Circadian Sciences, and director of Population Health Informatics within the Institute for Data Science and Computing.