The Big Apple can be intimidating with the vastness of activities and attractions it presents. It is customary to limit yourself to visiting the Statue of Liberty and the Children's Museum of Manhattan when visiting New York City with your kids. But there are number of other kid-friendly attractions and activities in New York for you to explore.
Museums
Start your day at the American Museum of Natural History (amnh.org) in Central Park West. Founded in 1869, AMNH has an inexhaustible store of permanent and hands-on exhibits depicting human cultures, science and nature. Some highlights include: the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, which depicts a complete hands-on marine environment with a 94-foot-long blue whale reproduction and interactive computer stations and videos; the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, which features rock specimens, five ocean beds and computer interactions and videos that let you experience the evolution of Earth.
Staten Island Children's Museum (statenislandkids.org) offers different hands-on experiences for kids including insect behaviors, pirate ships and different environments such as rainforests and tundra regions.
The New York Hall of Science (nysci.org) with its 450 plus interactive exhibits is another New York City attraction. Highlights here include Science Playground where kids can experience scientific concepts of sound, motion and more; and Marvelous Molecules which shows you firsthand how molecules interact in different life forms.
Outdoor Fun
Central Park (centralparknyc.org) offers a variety of activities and attractions for kids. The park has over 10 playgrounds with abundant space and a range of innovative play equipment. Set your kids free to swing, climb, jump and find their way through mazes. The carousel ride and the Victorian Gardens Amusement Park are other kid-friendly attractions in the park.
Spend a day at Madison Square Park Conservancy (madisonsquarepark.org) featuring limitless options for recreation. Explore the trees, shrubs and flowers in the Bridget's Garden for children or let them play at the spacious playground, which features seasonal highlights such as 15-foot waterwheel and arts and crafts lessons. Seasonal highlights also include special events, music concerts and festivals.
Visit the Hudson River Park (hudsonriverpark.org) to enjoy a variety of activities including bicycling, basketball and carousel riding as well as biking, boat excursions and bowling. Another highlight is the park's 400-acre estuary, which provides habitats for more than 200 fish species, insects and birds.
Zoos
The Central Park Zoo (centralparkzoo.com) features over 150 species of animals from around the world, including mammals and amphibians as well as birds and reptiles. Park exhibits include different habitats and corresponding animals such as sea lions, polar bears and rain forest inhabitants.
Allow your child to explore the wilderness of Tisch Children's Zoo, which has a nature trail, ponds and friendly inhabitants. For more animal attractions, visit the Bronx Zoo (bronxzoo.com), the largest urban zoo in the world with over 600 species of inhabitants from across the world. Meet a world of mammals and amphibians as well as fish, reptiles and birds and insects here. Exhibits include several habitats such as Congo Gorilla Forest, Tiger Mountain and Wild Asia Monorail, featuring interesting inhabitants such as gorillas, tigers and huge crocodiles.
For some quiet bird study and nature gazing, visit Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (nps.gov). Access Jamaica Bay beaches and watch for Piping Plovers, an endangered bird species. Engage yourself in numerous other activities as well, including walking and hiking as well as fishing, boating and horseback riding.
Kid-Friendly Eats & Shopping
Offer a sweet treat at Dylan's Candy Bar (dylanscandybar.com). Dylan's Candy Bar has more than 5,000 kinds of candy, including the classic candies including Pixy Stix and Wax Lips and more than 300 types of bulk candy including various kinds of bubble gums and fruit gums. Treat your kids to the taste of "New York's best cheesecake" at Junior's Restaurant (juniorscheesecake.com), an establishment more than half-a-century old. Junior's Restaurant's menu includes a range of items, from salads and sandwiches to steaks and seafood. Visit Toys "R" Us (toysrusinc.com), a which features a range of toys, from new favorites to the old classics. In addition to toys, there are games, sports goods and electronic items as well as baby products and kids' clothing and furniture. Store highlights include the huge 60-foot Ferris wheel, a life-sized Barbie dollhouse and an animatronic T-Rex 20-foot in size.
