If you feel like you need a change on the weekends and want to spice up your Saturday with a bit of class, look no further than the Brooklyn Museum. 

Every first Saturday of the month, Target sponsors a special night that brings out thousands of Brooklynites and outer borough New Yorkers as well. The events are free of charge.  The museum offers special programs throughout the night, including live music, dance parties, dance lessons, art projects, special tours and curator talks, and open galleries until 11PM. There is also a full bar offered to all guests 21 years or older.

The 1920s theme this past Saturday left visitors to have a "roaring" good time. The theme lent itself to tons of great events of the night, including dance lessons of the Charleston and Lindy Hop, a live jazz band mixing roots, calypso, ska, and more. The crowds showed up in their 1920s best, all participating in a costume contest.

The crowds ranged from some young children to college students, young professionals, and the elderly, reliving their glory days. Everyone who knew about the theme came dressed as either flappers or gangsters, dancers and glamour goddesses. Walking around the museum felt like a time warp.

This theme coincided seamlessly with the Youth and Beauty exhibit, which has been praised by the New York Times and other acclaimed publications. The exhibit runs until January 29, 2012, so make sure to go out and see it.

The arresting portrait of a man with deep blue eyes in a suit and matching tie, that's Paul Cadmus, the poster boy for a recent exhibit named Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties. His portrait has been adorning the MTA's wall for some time now, and has forced many curious viewers to come to the museum to view it.

In addition to Youth and Beauty, the museum has recently been under fire for their latest exhibit entitled Hide|Seek. If you have watched the news recently, you might have seen a segment about protesters boycotting the museum for its "racy" content. The exhibit is an exploration of gender and sexuality issues from the 1900s to the present.

There is a strong voice for homosexual artists that has not been previously shown in the museum world. The entire exhibit is extremely eye-opening and arresting, especially because of the strong emphasis on the AIDS awareness culture of the 1980s and onward.

At the end of the exhibit, there is the video that has caused much controversy for the institution. The short video, named "A Fire in My Belly" by late artist David Wojnarowicz is a montage of many different clips, one including a porcelain Jesus Christ on a crucifix, with live ants crawling around it. Whether it is right or wrong will vary from person to person, but you definitely should make the trip to decide for yourself.

The museum, however, has no plans to take it down. Director of the Brooklyn Museum Arnold Lehman said: "This is New York City. This is a city that has thrived on the incredible contributions from the gay and lesbian community."

The Brooklyn Museum is a very progressive, modern museum that constantly shows new exhibits that feature breathtaking material. Generally the first Saturday nights have a central theme correlating to the latest exhibit.

While the theme for the next first Saturday has not been announced yet, it will take place on January 7, 2012, so keep your calendar open.  If you are a St. Francis College student living in the area, there is no reason not to come out and attend. At least 50,000 other Brooklynites will be in attendance as well.