10 Things to Do With Kids in New York City

By Mackenzie Allison on 05/02/2015, updated on 03/27/2020

Kids and Parents Having Educational Fun at the Children's Museum of Manhattan (Courtesy Children's Museum of Manhattan)

Traveling with the children in tow? Check out these attractions for family fun for kids of all ages.

NYC for Families

The whole clan can enjoy playtime, whether it’s ice-skating, bowling, volleyball or basketball; get lost in a mind-blowing 3-D film experience; learn what really goes on inside a robot; take a ride on an historic carousel or roller-coaster; or stare at the remains of a 100-million year old T. rex. There is a reason why you are bound to run into strollers and tykes screaming with laughter at all our city parks; this city is an awesome place to raise a family and a helluva town for you and your kids to come visit!

10 Things to Do With Kids in New York City By Mackenzie Allison on 05/02/2015, updated on 03/27/2020

New York City

Children’s Museum of Manhattan

This Upper West Side institution—with interactive activities and exhibits galore—caters to newborns all the way to 10-year-old tykes. The sprawling space contains corridors of games to teach logic and symmetry, and the ongoing exhibit "EatSleepPlay" includes large vibrant interactive displays of a human heart, intestines and brain.

(Courtesy Coney Island)

New York City

Coney Island

Coney Island has been the seaside escape since the early 20th century, many flocking to southwest Brooklyn to stroll the famed boardwalk, grab an authentic Nathan’s Famous hotdog and ride the Cyclone roller-coaster, which dates back to 1927. Today, enjoy all that, plus the rides and games at Luna Park.

American Museum of Natural History (Courtesy American Museum of Natural History)

New York City

American Museum of Natural History

Founded in 1869, this Upper West Side favorite is home to exhibits of the natural and anthropological variety and also boasts a world-class planetarium. Don't miss the gigantic whale in the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, and dinosaur lovers will love the museum's dinosaur and vertebrate fossil collection, the largest in the world.

Western lowland gorillas are among the prize attractions at the Bronx Zoo. (Julie Larsen Maher, Courtesy Bronx Zoo)

New York City

Bronx Zoo

Only a 30-minute subway ride from Manhattan, the zoo, with more than 600 species, is the world’s largest metropolitan zoo. Watch zookeepers feed sea lions and penguins; take a camel ride and view exotic wildlife; or sit back and explore the zoo via the Wild Asia Monorail, where you can see red pandas, elephants and rhinos along the way.

Child petting sheep (©iStock)

New York City

Prospect Park Zoo

This delightful zoo in Brooklyn includes a Barn and Garden (roosters, sheep and more), Animal LIfestyles (where you can witness nature’s furriest felines) and the Sea Lion court, where the sea lions happily jump and “wave” to the audience. Wind along the path on the Discovery Trail, where you can spot red pandas scaling the trees!

(©gary718/Shutterstock)

New York City

Statue of Liberty

This city has been the gateway for immigrants from around the world yearning for a better life in the U.S. Many of these visitors reached the city via New York Harbor, with their first glimpse of the city being the Statue of Liberty. The brand-new Statue of Liberty Museum opened in Spring 2019.

Harmony of the Spheres, one of the exhibits at the National Museum of Mathematics, (Courtesy National Museum of Mathematics)

New York City

National Museum of Mathematics

This museum gives a major shout out to all things numeric. Enjoy Coaster Rollers, where visitors roll over unusually shaped acorns and have a smooth ride because of their constant diameter; Polypaint, where you can discover colorful patterns that emerge from symmetry; and Seeing Math, where you can see how math pops up in everyday life.

Chelsea Piers (Courtesy Chelsea Piers)

New York City

Chelsea Piers

This multisport, 30-acre waterfront facility features two indoor ice-skating rinks, an indoor swimming pool, a golf driving range, gymnasium, weight-training room, track, batting cages and the largest rock climbing wall in the Northeast. A field house for kids of all ages offers drop-in activites including gymastics and soccer.

New York City

Brooklyn Bridge Park

For some fun across the East River, this picturesque park comes with breathtaking views, plus plenty of playgrounds. Splash around in the nautically-themed Main Street Playground with a Water Lab and a water-jet field; make like Tarzan at Swing Valley; visit the huge sandbox at Sandbox Village; and ride on Jane’s Carousel, built in 1922.

A hands-on exhibit at the New York Hall of Science. (David Handschuh)

New York City

New York Hall of Science

Located near the 12-story-tall stainless steel Unisphere in Corona, Queens, this center is bursting at the seams with 450 exhibits and more, all with the aim to help kids learn about science in hands-on ways. The 3-D theater shows award-winning films and animated features; the library offers tabletop activities, a tech nook and much more.

Where would you like to travel next?

United States

Canada

Europe

Asia

Australia

Africa

South America

10 Things to Do With Kids in New York City

NYC for Families

Children’s Museum of Manhattan

Coney Island

American Museum of Natural History

Bronx Zoo

Prospect Park Zoo

Statue of Liberty

National Museum of Mathematics

Chelsea Piers

Brooklyn Bridge Park

New York Hall of Science

Map of 10 Things to Do With Kids in New York City

Related Articles

Where would you like to travel next?

United States

Canada

Europe

Asia

Australia

Africa

South America

NYC for Families

Map of 10 Things to Do With Kids in New York City

Signup for our newsletter and receive Travel Ideas directly to your inbox

Related Articles

Signup for our newsletter and receive Travel Ideas directly to your inbox