Cheap$kate: The best FREE events in NYC this week

Signs at MetLife concession stands advertised the high-priced food and drink items for sale at this year’s Super Bowl. Photo Credit: Applecorps Ltd.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen ? The Beatles!’

Beatlemania hits the Big Apple this week in honor of the anniversary of the iconic band’s first visit to New York 50 years ago. Beginning this Thursday and running through May 10, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center will showcase rare artifacts and more, along with FREE programs and screenings featuring the Fab Four. (Opens Thursday, Mon.-Sat., noon-6 p.m., until 8 p.m. Mon. and Thurs., FREE, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, 917-275-6975, nypl.org)

Lecture

SciCafe: ‘Reconnaissance

of other solar systems’

Further proving that the universe does not revolve around us, an advanced telescopic imaging system is now capable of spotting planets orbiting other stars and analyzing their atmospheres. Stop by the American Museum of Natural History on Wednesday for this latest installment of the SciCafe, in which curator and chair of the astrophysics department Ben R. Oppenheimer will fill you in on the first reconnaissance of another solar system. (Wednesday, doors at 6:30 p.m., FREE with cash bar, 21+, seating is first come, first served, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, enter at 77th St., 212-769-5100, amnh.org)

Author event

Jim Cramer

No doubt you’ve heard of get-rich-quick schemes, but in his new book, Jim Cramer is advocating for you to get rich carefully. Tomorrow evening at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square, the Wall Street veteran and host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” will dish his advice on high-yield, low-risk investing and will sign copies of his new tome, “Get Rich Carefully.” (Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m., FREE, B&N Union Square, 33 E. 17th St., 212-253-0810, bn.com)

Discussion

‘Problem Solvers’

Rather than continuing to gripe about the city’s transit system, head over to the New York Transit Museum to hear the latest installment in its ongoing “Problem Solvers” discussion series. This Wednesday evening, transit blogger Ben Kabak of Second Ave. Sagas will talk all things of interest to straphangers, from turnstile design to overcrowded train stations, with NYC Transit’s manager of ridership and revenue analysis, Bill Amarosa. (Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., FREE, New York Transit Museum, 130 Livingston St., Brooklyn, 718-694-1600, mta.info/mta/museum)