The Children's Museum of Manhattan's "Broadway Theatre Thursdays" program will present members of the performance art ensemble, Blue Man Group on Aug. 10.

From their xylophonic instrumentals to their audience singalong of "Go Ask Alice," Blue Man Group has made music as much a part of its act as toilet paper, spinning canvases and spurting goo. These "curious, gentle beings from inner space" -- who munch Cap'n Crunch, toss marshmallows at each other, create colorful works of spit up art -- drum and play specially designed instruments were created by Matt Goldman, Phil Stanton and Chris Wink. The group began performing on the streets of Manhattan and then graduated to PS 122 and Dixon Place. After an unforgettable stint at 1991's Lincoln Center Serious Fun Festival and an Obie-winning run at La MaMa, Blue Man Group is still going strong -- and still sending tons of paper cascading over audiences' heads. The show currently runs in Chicago, Boston and New York.

Kids patronizing the Children's Museum of Manhattan, which is located on the Upper West Side, this summer will be treated to live performances from some of New York's biggest musicals. Broadway Theatre Thursdays is open to kids of all ages, including younger siblings who may just want to watch.

Children's Museum executive and spokesperson Constance Charity said the museum program has been well received. "We also have our word play exhibit," Charity told Playbill On-Line earlier this summer, "which is the first of its kind in the city for kids, from infants to 4 years of age." Charity said the program employs "word language nourishment, word acquisition and baby babble" in an exploration of kids and their language techniques. "These are activities you can do at home and embellish on," Charity said, "and we hope to show parents how it's okay to talk directly to kids, and to make eye contact with them."

The series is funded with support from Target Stores. Following each appearance, the shows' performers take questions from the audience and participate in workshops for the children. Following is a current schedule of "Theatre Thursdays."

Aug. 10: Blue Man Group
Aug. 17: The Music Man
Aug. 24: TheatreWorks USA
Aug. 31: TBA

Each event will take place at 2 PM and 2:30 PM at the museum, which is located at 212 W. 83 St. Call (212) 721-1234 for more information. The CMOM website is located at www.cmom.org.

-- By Murdoch McBride
and David Lefkowitz