Lesser-known things to do in New York with kids: 20 from the Brood List
The half of the Brood List that doesn't make the usual top tens: smaller, quieter, often free, and each one checked and worth the detour.
The short answer
These are the 20 lesser-known experiences on the Brood List, places most visitors miss and plenty of New Yorkers haven't tried. 6 are free. Start with Climb aboard vintage subway cars at the New York Transit Museum, Take the Roosevelt Island Tramway above the East River and Visit a real working farm in the city at Queens County Farm Museum.
Every guide to New York with kids has the same ten places in it, and they're good, which is why they're on our list too. But the days we'd most like to have are often the other ones: the small museum with nobody in it, the park at the edge of the city, the free thing you only hear about from someone who lives round the corner. Here they are, with the same practical details as the famous ones.
0 of 40 done on the whole list · Your tick list
Manhattan
4. Take the Roosevelt Island Tramway above the East River
Upper East Side · All ages · 30 to 60 minutes for the ride, longer if you explore the island
The Roosevelt Island Tramway is a cable car that glides over the East River from East 60th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan to Tramway Plaza on Roosevelt Island, and it costs the same as a subway ride.
16. Climb the hills of Little Island on the Hudson
West Village, Hudson River Park · All ages · 1 to 2 hours
Little Island is a public park on Pier 55 in Hudson River Park, at West 13th Street, and entry is free.
33. Fort Tryon Park and the Met Cloisters gardens
Washington Heights and Inwood · 5 to 12 · 2 to 3 hours
Fort Tryon Park runs from Riverside Drive to Broadway and from West 192nd Street to Dyckman Street in the far north of Manhattan.
40. Climb aboard the Wavertree at South Street Seaport
Seaport, Lower Manhattan · 5 to 12 · 1.5 to 2 hours
The South Street Seaport Museum is at 12 Fulton Street and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm, with last entry at 4:30pm.
Brooklyn
2. Climb aboard vintage subway cars at the New York Transit Museum
Downtown Brooklyn · All ages · 1.5 to 2 hours
The New York Transit Museum in Downtown Brooklyn is built for the child who has opinions about subway cars, and you probably know one.
18. Visit Lefferts Historic House and ride the Prospect Park Carousel
Prospect Park, Flatbush · Under 5s · 1 to 2 hours
Lefferts Historic House is inside Prospect Park, and the Carousel is in the park's Children's Corner, a short stroll away.
31. Explore the Discovery Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Prospect Heights · 5 to 12 · 1 to 2 hours
The Discovery Garden is a one-acre garden for kids inside Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm in October and 10am to 3:30pm in November (closed Mondays except October 12 and closed Thanksgiving Day).
38. Green-Wood Cemetery: the trolley tour and the parakeets
Greenwood Heights · 5 to 12 · 1 to 2 hours (a trolley tour is 2 hours)
Green-Wood is a working cemetery and a National Historic Landmark in Brooklyn, with the Main Entrance at Fifth Avenue and 25th Street open every day from 7am to 7pm.
Queens
6. Visit a real working farm in the city at Queens County Farm Museum
Floral Park · All ages · 2 to 3 hours
Queens County Farm Museum is a 47-acre working farm inside the city limits, farmed continuously for more than three centuries, according to the museum.
8. See all of New York in miniature at the Panorama, Queens Museum
Flushing Meadows Corona Park · All ages · 1 to 2 hours
The Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum is a scale model of the whole city: 9,335 square feet at 1:1200 (one inch equals 100 feet), with about 895,000 miniature buildings built before 1992, every street, park and some 100 bridges across 273 sections.
32. Noguchi Museum and Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City
Long Island City · All ages · 2 to 3 hours for both
These two sit on the same stretch of the East River in Long Island City, close enough to walk between.
35. Walk the West Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Broad Channel · 5 to 12 · 1 to 2 hours
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, with more than 12,600 acres of water, salt marsh, freshwater and brackish ponds, plus upland fields and woods, and it is one of the largest bird habitats in the northeastern US.
37. Take the ferry to Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach · All ages · a full day
Rockaway Beach runs from Beach 3rd Street to Beach 153rd Street, with a boardwalk and playgrounds, and NYC Parks says it comes alive each summer from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
39. Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria
Astoria · 5 to 12 · 2 to 3 hours
The Museum of the Moving Image sits in Astoria at 36-01 35th Avenue.
The Bronx
10. Spend a seaside afternoon on City Island, the Bronx
City Island · All ages · half a day
City Island is a small island in the northeastern Bronx, in Long Island Sound, about 1.5 miles long and half a mile wide, connected to the mainland by a bridge (the new causeway bridge opened to traffic on October 29, 2017).
14. Wander the gardens and Hudson views at Wave Hill
Riverdale · All ages · 2 to 3 hours
Wave Hill is a public garden and cultural center in Riverdale, in the northwest Bronx, above the Hudson River.
36. Eat your way around Arthur Avenue, the Bronx's Little Italy
Belmont · All ages · 1 to 2 hours
Arthur Avenue is the main street of Belmont in the Bronx, often called the real Little Italy, and its covered Retail Market at 2344 Arthur Avenue opened in October 1940 with 117 stalls.
Staten Island
12. Explore the woods at the Staten Island Greenbelt Nature Center
New Dorp · All ages · 1 to 3 hours
The Greenbelt Nature Center sits at 700 Rockland Avenue (at Brielle Avenue) and is free and open to the public year-round.
20. Snug Harbor and the Chinese Scholar's Garden
New Brighton, Staten Island · All ages · 2 to 3 hours
Snug Harbor Cultural Center is an 83-acre campus on Staten Island with museums, gardens, arts education and events.
34. Staten Island Children's Museum at Snug Harbor
New Brighton · All ages · 2 to 3 hours
The Staten Island Children's Museum is at 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building M, on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden.
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