Things to Do with Kids in Brooklyn

The world's first children's museum, and kids still don't want to leave. Water play, block building, art studio, sensory galleries -- all for ages birth to 10. Free for kids under 1. Free every Thursday 3-5pm and every third Thursday 3-7pm.

Run by the Wildlife Conservation Society. Discovery Trail, barn with domestic animals, sea lion pool, nature theater. The whole thing is compact enough that a 2-year-old can actually enjoy it without getting overwhelmed. Book tickets online in advance -- required.

52 acres with a dedicated Children's Garden -- the first in the world. Kids get a dipping pond, musical instruments, and touch-and-feel stations. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden and Cherry Esplanade are stunning for a walk. Kids under 12 always free.

Multiple free playgrounds and the LeFrak Center Splash Pad, named Best of New York by New York Magazine. Splash pad free for kids 12 and under, 10:30am-6pm, Memorial Day through mid-September. Harmony, Vanderbilt, and Imagination Playgrounds round out the options.

Each session, kids build a robot from motors, circuits, and recycled materials -- and they take it home. Different project every time. Drop-in classes, birthday parties, and camps. Ages 2-14.

40,000 square feet of ziplines, ropes courses, climbing walls, laser tag, paintball, obstacle courses, roller skating, and slides. Three hours of unlimited everything with admission. Ages 3+. The kind of place where you drop kids off and they come back exhausted.

Youth climbing programs starting at age 3. After-school classes, weekend programs, summer camps, birthday parties, and parents' night out events. Drop-in climbing starts at age 5. Day passes available for families.

Toy store up front, then themed play installations behind secret doors. Rotating themes -- recent ones included Bluey's House and a Slime Bar. Arts and crafts, a cafe, and a little theater. Free to walk in and browse. Downtown Brooklyn location.

1.3 miles of waterfront with playgrounds at every pier. Pier 6 has a water-play lab and sand village. Pier 5 has sports fields. Pop-up pool in summer. Jane's Carousel ($2). Manhattan skyline right across the water. All playgrounds free.

Free storytime, craft programs, STEM workshops, and a dedicated children's reading room. All 60+ Brooklyn branches run free kids programming year-round -- baby lap-sit to teen maker labs. The Grand Army Plaza building is an Art Deco landmark worth seeing on its own.

Cafe with a playroom attached. You drink coffee, they play. Also runs construction workshops, sing-alongs, yoga, and new-parent meetups. Free Wi-Fi. The kind of place where nobody gives you a look when your toddler screams.

Free museum covering 200+ years of the Brooklyn Navy Yard -- Civil War, WWII shipbuilding, and its current life as a manufacturing hub. Interactive exhibits. Walking tours of the active Navy Yard campus also available. Best for school-age kids who like building things and asking how stuff works.

100+ food vendors every Sunday in Prospect Park, April through October. Free to walk around -- just pay for what you eat. Kids get to run on the grass between bites while you try the ramen burger or whatever's new.

Inside a real decommissioned 1936 subway station. Kids walk through vintage subway cars, sit in the driver's seat, and pull levers. Interactive exhibits on how the city moves. $10 adults, $5 kids. The gift shop has train conductor hats. Good for ages 3 and up.

Free public canoeing on the Gowanus Canal, offered by volunteers on weekends during warm weather. Life jackets provided. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. It is the Gowanus Canal, so manage your expectations on water clarity, but kids think it is an adventure. First-come, first-served.

The Audubon Center at the Boathouse runs free nature programs for families -- birdwatching, pond dipping, nature walks, and animal encounters. Electric boat tours of Prospect Lake also available ($8 adults, $4 kids). The building is a restored 1905 boathouse on the lakefront. Open seasonally.

Kids' activity center in Gowanus offering tumbling, gymnastics, rock climbing, martial arts, and dance classes. Open play sessions available for drop-in. Birthday parties too. Ages 6 months to 14. The tumbling and climbing combo works well for kids who need to burn energy on a rainy day.

A modern playground on the Williamsburg waterfront with climbing structures, slides, swings, and a sandbox -- all with the Manhattan skyline right across the river. The park also has a taco stand, open lawn, and artifact walk from the old Domino Sugar factory. Free. Stroller-friendly throughout.

Free admission for all visitors under 19. Family Art Saturdays offer free hands-on workshops tied to current exhibitions. The Egyptian galleries and mummy collection are a reliable hit for school-age kids. The museum is right next to the Botanic Garden and Prospect Park -- easy to chain together for a full day.

Outdoor roller skating rink at Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park with views of the Manhattan skyline. $10 includes skate rental, or bring your own for $6. Free admission days throughout the summer. Open May through October. Good for kids 5 and up -- the surface is smooth and the vibes are relaxed.

STEAM workshops for kids held inside the working Brooklyn Navy Yard campus. Kids use real tools and materials for age-appropriate building, design, and engineering projects. Programs run on select weekends and school breaks. Pre-registration required. Best for kids 6 and up who like making things.

Indoor soft play area for kids under 7 in Flatbush. Ball pit, slides, climbing structures, and a toddler area for the youngest ones. Two-hour play sessions. Birthday party packages available. A solid rainy-day option for the Flatbush and PLG neighborhoods.

Hand-carved marionette puppet shows for kids in a tiny Park Slope theater that has been running since 1980. Productions adapt fairy tales and classic stories. Shows last about an hour. $11 per person, cash only. Reservations recommended -- the 75-seat theater fills up on weekends. Ages 3-9.

A 1912 carousel with 53 hand-carved horses, a lion, a giraffe, and a deer. $2 per ride. Located near the Prospect Park Zoo entrance. Open weekends year-round and daily in summer. The kind of thing toddlers want to ride seven times in a row.

An old-fashioned soda fountain and ice cream shop inside a restored 1920s apothecary in Carroll Gardens. Egg creams, sundaes, floats, and milkshakes made the classic way. Not an activity per se, but kids treat this as an experience -- they think they stepped into another era. Sundaes from $8.