Wet Friday, chilly Saturday, sunny Sunday. Coats on, then outdoors.
Friday brings showers, with thunderstorms possible after 5pm, a high near 75 and gusts up to 25 mph. Showers and storms are likely Friday night, with gusts up to 30 mph. Saturday starts mostly cloudy and turns sunny, high near 53, a proper temperature drop. Sunday is sunny with a high near 57. No advisories were listed when the National Weather Service forecast was issued on Wednesday evening, so check it again before you go.
Sunset 6:12pm. Full forecast (National Weather Service)
Friday is one for indoor plans and a towel by the door. Then the weather does a full costume change, about twenty degrees colder and much brighter, so dig out the hats and point everyone at a pumpkin.
A free ferry across the harbor, then a bus into the middle of the island
Allow most of the day with a five-year-old. The museum says the S74 takes about 30 to 45 minutes from the ferry, on top of the crossing.
Where: Historic Richmond Town, 441 Clarke Avenue, Richmond Town, Staten Island. Take the Staten Island Ferry from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan to St. George, then the S74 bus.
Subway: Check the MTA trip planner for the stations near Whitehall Terminal, and check elevator status first, because elevators do go out of service.
Old Home Day is Saturday only, 11am to 4pm, and it is free. The whole 1820s village opens up for demonstrations of blacksmithing, tinsmithing, carpentry, broom making, candle making and basket making, with live music in the tavern taproom, musket firing from the village fields, and Native Encampment programs on Northeast Woodlands history. There is free apple cider, soup cooked over an open flame and bread baked in the 1820s kitchen of the Guyon-Lake-Tysen House, first come, first served. Saturday is the chilly one, high near 53 and clearing as the day goes on, and a village full of old buildings with fires going is a sensible place to be in it. Plus the ferry is free, and the Statue of Liberty goes past the window whether or not anyone is paying attention.
The event page says free and open to the public but also has a FareHarbor reservation link, so reserve to be safe. Start at the Visitor Center in the Third County Courthouse, where admission and the Village Store are, and ask there for the nearest restrooms. The ferry terminals have restrooms too. Bring layers: the harbor will be breezy after Friday night's storms.
National Museum of Mathematics, 635 Sixth Avenue, Flatiron, Manhattan Free, All ages
An evening on the surprising secrets of the pentagram, which is a lot more fun than it sounds when you are seven and allowed to stay up. Register online first. The nearest subway stop is 23rd Street, and the museum says the F and M run closest. On a stormy Friday this beats watching the rain from the window. Details and booking
Wagner Park, 39 Battery Place, Battery Park City, Manhattan (at the Go Fish! event, not inside the museum) Free, All ages
The Skyscraper Museum sets up a table in Wagner Park where children learn about eco-friendly towers and then build their own out of marshmallows and toothpicks. No RSVP needed. Structural integrity is tested by engineers; marshmallow integrity is tested by small mouths. Details and booking
VCPA Learning Garden, Van Cortlandt Park, The Bronx. Enter off Mosholu Avenue and Broadway; the garden is past the Northwest Playground, next to the Riverdale Stables. Free, Ages 2 to 7 with a caregiver
A drop-in gardening morning with seasonal crafts, plant watering, vegetable harvesting and digging in the soil. RSVP is suggested on Eventbrite. After Friday night's storms, assume the soil will be enthusiastic and dress accordingly. Details and booking
Artist-led Halloween activities: carve a pumpkin, make a costume, watch a spooky short film, then wander the galleries. Reserve free tickets on Eventbrite. A separate Pumpkin Carving Workshop with artist Danielle De Jesus runs 10:30am to 2:30pm and needs its own RSVP. Details and booking
El Museo del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue, East Harlem, Manhattan Free, All ages
A day of art and remembrance with a botanical altar and communal ofrenda (bring a photo of someone you want to remember, or print one there), a clay workshop, chalk activities, face painting and photos with a Catrín or Catrina. Tamales, champurrado and atole while supplies last. Register on Eventbrite. Details and booking
Bay Terrace Library, 18-36 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, Queens Check the library page, Ages 5 to 8 and their families
Master storytellers share tales from mythology and traditions around the world about kindness, then 15 minutes of songs and crafts. A small library, a big story and a quiet hour, which is the rarest thing in this whole newsletter. Details and booking
Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Free, walk-up, All ages
A mini pumpkin patch (one pumpkin per child, first come, first served), five craft stations, giant bubbles, face painting, a scarecrow stiltwalker and Hopalong Andrew on stage at noon. A Dolly Parton cover band plays at 2pm. There is free coffee for the grown-ups, which is the kind of public service we can get behind. Costumes encouraged. Details and booking
Soissons Landing, Governors Island Free (ferry fare applies), Families
Artist Miguel Braceli's participatory performance: children make small objects to fill the piñatas, then the First Panamanian Marching Band of Brooklyn leads a procession at 5pm and the flag-shaped piñatas get broken, with the contents shared out. RSVP on Eventbrite. Sunset is 6:12pm and it will be cold by then, so pack a hat. Details and booking
Sun, Oct 18, art project 10am to 1pm, walk 1:30 to 2:30pm
Wave Hill, 4900 Independence Avenue, Riverdale, The Bronx Free with grounds admission: adults $10, children 6 and up $4, Families; the walk is for ages 3 to 8
Learn about the Palisades cliffs across the Hudson, then make your own sand-cast rock formation at Wave Hill House. After lunch, Kids on the Move leaves from Glyndor Gallery for a walk around the grounds on mixed paths with some steps and rugged bits. No registration. The sunniest day of the weekend plus the best view of the Palisades in the city is a tidy match. Details and booking
Wyckoff House Museum, 5816 Clarendon Road, East Flatbush, Brooklyn Free, All ages; the 11:30am family tour is for ages 4 and up
Fall crafts, house tours and outdoor activities at a Dutch colonial farmhouse museum in East Flatbush. For Open House New York weekend there are Attic to Cellar Tours too, with a family tour at 11:30am. There is a farmstand on Saturday only, 11am to 2pm. Details and booking
Queens Museum, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Check the RSVP page, Workshops all ages; the show is aimed at ages 2 to 5
Drop-in artmaking all afternoon, then Woody Guthrie's Songs To Grow On, a 40-minute interactive show by New York City Children's Theater, followed by about 45 minutes of hands-on activities with the cast. RSVP through the museum's ticketing page. Details and booking
New Victory Theater, 209 W 42nd Street, Midtown, Manhattan From $25 including fees, 4 and up
A 60-minute musical, no intermission, based on the STEM picture books about a young engineer, scientist and architect. There is a book signing after the 11am show on Oct 17. Expect requests for cardboard and glue afterward. Details and booking
Nolan Park, Governors Island Free (ferry fare applies), All ages
A free pumpkin patch with thousands of pumpkins, pumpkin painting, trick-or-treating, ghost tours, fall foliage walks, folk music and a reading nook. Ferries before 11am on weekends are free for everyone, which is a strong argument for an early start. Details and booking
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn Adults $38, youth 12 to 17 $17, under 12 free, All ages
Ticketed and runs rain or shine: a costume parade at 3pm led by Batalá New York, musical chairs and freeze dance with a DJ, story time at 11:30am, mini pumpkin decorating, a cider press and face painting for 15 and under. No outside food or drink. Details and booking
Outdoors
Book ahead
Tip. Friday evening is wet and gusty, then Saturday is about twenty degrees colder than Friday. Lay the hats and gloves out on Friday night, because nobody finds a matching pair at 9am on a Saturday.
Free, one short email a week. Thursday, 7am: the weather call, one proper day out and the family events worth leaving the apartment for this weekend, checked with the organizer. Read the latest one first.
Thursday, 7am: the weather call for the weekend, made for you.
One proper day out: with the subway stop, the stroller verdict and where the restrooms are.
The family events worth it: each one checked with the organizer and linked, famous and lesser known side by side.
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