Kids & Family in New York City

Your kid will try to live here. Plan for 3 hours minimum.

Five floors, all for kids 0-7. The toddler crowd runs this place.

NYS residents pay what you wish. The dinosaur hall alone is worth the trip.

450+ exhibits. Free Fridays 2-5pm. The 'why' kids go nuts here.

Free for kids 0-8. The building alone is worth the trip to Sugar Hill.

An actual aircraft carrier with a space shuttle on the deck. Kids under 5 free.

Three floors of slides and obstacle courses. Bring socks or they'll send you home.

Half toy store, half theme park. Recent installations: Bluey's House, Slime Bar.

$1,580 gets you 15 kids, 4 staff, a singer-guitarist, and zero stress.

22-foot rainbow pipefish sculpture. Sprays kick on automatically at 80F.

Free. Walk the elevated park, do the scavenger hunt, hit the playground at the end.

Named Best of New York by NY Mag. Free. Summer only -- get there early.

Four playgrounds in one park. Bring a change of clothes -- they will get soaked.

92 branches, all free. Baby Lapsit, Toddler Time, STEM workshops -- just show up.

60+ branches, all free. The Grand Army Plaza building has a kids room worth seeing.

Tiny Park Slope studio. Low-key, no-pressure art for ages 1.5-5. Drop-in $38.

Teaching kids music since 1912. 24 classrooms, 266-seat theater, $76/lesson.

UES art classes. $65 drop-in or $900 for the semester. Ages 2-14.

Pyramids, obelisks, water features -- and it's right next to the Met. Free.

Pay-what-you-wish Thursdays 4-6pm. Clay, paint, collage -- kids make real art.

Central Park's biggest playground. Climbing rocks, bridges, water features. Free.

Free organized sports, games, and fitness in playgrounds across the city. Just show up.

Waterfront playground with Manhattan views. Taco stand. Free.

Free kids cooking demos at the farmers market. Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat.

Hidden gem. Bluestone slide built into the hill. Splash pad. Sand pit. Free.