If you’re traveling to New York City with children, you’ll undoubtedly be looking for things to pique your kids’ interest beyond the excitement and visual stimulation of walking the streets. Luckily, the City has an abundance of fun family-friendly activities that will delight young members of your family no matter their age, not to mention those who remain kids at heart.
We’ve compiled a list of 11 themed family activities, plus some alternatives within each subject, to make the most of any day out in NYC. They cover most every interest imaginable, including sports, music, movies and art. Just remember to check schedules, age restrictions or recommendations, and any stroller requirements before you go.
Museum of the Moving Image. Photo: Marley White
1. Immerse young movie buffs in a world of film.
Check out the Museum of the Moving Image to up kids’ knowledge of movie history, culture and its impact. Thanks to hands-on exhibits designed to captivate movie enthusiasts of all ages, everyone will enjoy learning about Jim Henson’s transformative work in TV and film and experimenting in the media game lab to explore pixel art and stop-motion animation. Families can also participate in Friday night sleepovers, which include private tours, private screenings and meals.
Other Options: For a backup plan, older children may enjoy catching a documentary or independent film at Film at Lincoln Center or Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Courtesy, National Museum of Mathematics
2. Turn math into a fun subject for everyone.
Arithmetic isn’t tedious at the National Museum of Mathematics because each meticulously curated exhibit showcases a side of the subject that most people likely haven’t seen before, in the best way possible. Try riding on square wheels, creating a symmetrical pattern using your face or another interactive experience that demonstrates how math shows up in the world. Adults and children from ages 2 and up will find group projects that involve concepts such as depth perception, dimensions, proportion and magnetism, but through gameplay and experimentation. Note that while the permanent location is undergoing an expansion, the museum is operating in a temporary space at 225 Fifth Avenue.
Other Options: Explore scale and proportion at the Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum, a model replica of the five boroughs, built by hundreds of architectural minds for the 1964 World’s Fair. It is almost as if you’re viewing the City from an airplane. There are geometry workshops at St. John the Divine, where math and the history of Christianity collide.
Halls of Gems and Minerals. Courtesy, AMNH
3. Take science enthusiasts for a taste of geology.
The American Museum of Natural History’s Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals is a great place for geologists in the making—or really anyone with a passing interest in rocks. This wing covers the world’s diverse mineral species via displays of more than 5,000 specimens. Curious minds can learn how rocks are classified and how humankind uses them for personal adornment, tools and technology.
Other Options: The New York Hall of Science is another great place that should excite your STEM fanatic; its mission is to nurture passionate learners. It does this through 450 exhibits, including bubble experiments, learning about how cities get powered and a seasonal rocket-themed mini-golf course, that explain science in digestible terms for all ages.
There’s also the Intrepid Museum, which focuses on STEM from an engineering perspective. Explore old helicopters, the inner workings of a ship and NASA’s original space shuttle orbiter, all aboard a WWII-era aircraft carrier.
Courtesy, Sloomoo Institute
4. Enjoy some classic, sensory play time.
Sometimes educational play doesn’t have to feel educational, and that’s where the Sloomoo Institute comes in. Enter the “Sloomooverse” to explore all the possibilities when it comes to slime. Create the slime, play with its texture, walk on slime, shoot the slime, smell the slime and get wrapped up in ASMR too. It’s a wondrous, playful experience with STEM as the backdrop as you earn a certified slimer badge.
Other Options: iFly is a skydiving simulation that allows you to get the experience without the plane (or the thousands-of-kilometer drop), while the Museum of Ice Cream is an immersive exhibit where you can take lots of cool pics and maybe engage in a taste test or two.
New York Liberty. Photo: BSE Global
5. Take your sports fanatic to see an NYC home game.
Take your sports enthusiast to a New York Liberty game at Barclays Center, where you can cheer on the 2024 WNBA champs as they work toward another victory (the regular season runs May to September). A bonus to this top-notch outing is the chance to see Ellie, the Liberty’s mascot, bust a few moves during halftime—great for dance enthusiasts.
Other Options: Ice-skating, roller disco or pickleball—all seasonally dependent—at Central Park’s Wollman Rink is always a good idea. In spring and summer, you could also head to Staten Island for a family-friendly baseball game, with a waterfront view, courtesy of the FerryHawks (and the ferry ride over is a thrill in itself any time of year).
Museum of the Dog. Photo: David Woo
6. Give young animal lovers an educational experience.
The American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog is a special treat for those who fancy canines. Here, visitors can learn about the human-dog bond through a collection of exhibits and installations inspired by interactions with man’s best friend. Browse dog-related art and enjoy immersive virtual experiences with dogs, including how to train one, all while learning about dogs’ historical role in society.
Other Options: The Bronx Zoo is one of the largest urban zoos in the States, with an aim toward creating natural environments for many of the animals, while the New York Aquarium provides animal and water conservation education. The latter is just down the boardwalk from Coney Island (not necessarily a spot for animal lovers, but great for thrill rides, games and carnival-style food).
Courtesy, Museum of Food and Drink
7. Design an immersive foodie experience for your curious epicurean.
The Museum of Food and Drink fulfills their motto that “food is culture.” The exhibits feature historical highlights curated by culinary anthropologists, focusing on everything from the evolution of the American Chinese restaurant to soul food to food festivals. It also gets downright scientific with explorations of how food titillates the senses, starting with the brain.
Other Options: Time Out Market is downstairs in the same building, so you can put your food knowledge to the test at some of the 20 or so establishments there. Alternatively, Smorgasburg is a fun weekend food festival that takes place in Williamsburg, Lower Manhattan and Prospect Park, bringing together vendors from all over.
The Museum of Broadway. Photo: Darren Cox
8. Add a touch of drama for the theater kid.
Put some razzle-dazzle in your New York City theater crawl with a visit to The Museum of Broadway, where exhibits trace various aspects of Broadway culture, ephemera and impact through the years. Discover how plays are made, how shows have broken boundaries and how Broadway became a standard-bearer for the theater world at large.
Other Options: The Drama Book Shop is an independent bookstore with roots that go back a century; it has served as the birthplace for several theater works. The New Victory Theater is a venue especially geared toward children, featuring an array of performances and workshops.
Courtesy, Cozy Art Land
9. Take young Picasso or Kahlo for fun times with visual art.
There is no stuffiness allowed at Cozy Art Land, where creativity is fun, messy and stress-free. Book a class where you will create memories by bonding over the playful art projects you get to make, starting at age 4 and up. The amount of time on a project varies per class, but art connoisseurs can make slime murals, use glow-in-the-dark paint and get into graffiti.
Other Options: Play with color theory and bright concepts at the immersive Color Factory, and explore the Heyman Family programs at MoMA, which offers private tours and children’s programs.
Hip Hop at Ailey Extension. Photo: Whitney Browne
10. Get little twinkle toes moving and shaking.
Sign your spirited child up for classes at Alvin Ailey Extension, where they will learn about Ailey’s legacy and how to move from some of the best dancers in the world. Classes are available for children ages 2 to 17 in a variety of styles such as ballet, creative movement, hip-hop and contemporary. Drop-ins are available on a weekly basis, but it’s best to register children in advance.
Other Options: Cumbe Dance specializes in a variety of African diasporic dance, while Cucala Dance Company serves up salsa vibes.
Brooklyn Bowl. Photo: Ken Spielman
11. Let the music lovers jam on.
The Jalopy Theatre and School of Music offers classes for little kids of varying musical interests, whether it’s voice lessons or learning how to play an instrument. If your little one isn’t interested in or ready to be hands on with instruments, check out one of the many family singalongs on the schedule at different times of day.
Other Options: The Rock and Roll Playhouse at Brooklyn Bowl is a way for kids to be introduced to music by bands that their parents, or parents’ parents, love (Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead), while the Greenwich House Music School has a variety of musical programming and classes for children.
