After a year-long shutdown, two of New York City's favorite amusement parks are ready to roar back to life. Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and Luna Park, the heart of Coney Island, are set to reopen on Friday, April 9.

To mark the occasion, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is holding its annual "Blessing of the Rides," that day, with locals gathering for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in an event honoring the city's essential workers and ushering in a belated birthday celebration for the namesake Wonder Wheel, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020. Look for more centennial celebrations later in the season.

Keeping with time-honored traditions, Luna Park will celebrate with its annual egg cream christening of the Cyclone. It will also honor essential workers by giving 500 frontline heroes free admission for the day and offering local hospital workers the first chance to ride the Cyclone. 

A lot of things have changed in the last year. Many shops and restaurants have closed, a few new things have opened. But only one thing completely disappeared: LACMA. Okay, technically the museum is still there. It’s even opening up again on April 1. But the main buildings (the Bing Theater, along with the Ahmanson and Hammer buildings and the Art of the Americas building) have all vanished.

I recently visited to see what’s happening at Hancock Park and learned that while a vast majority of the art is in storage, there are actually lots of reasons to visit the LACMA campus—including outside art, inside art, scientists at work, cocktails in the courtyard, and a whole new museum. Read on to find out why a family trip to LACMA should be in the cards this (or any!) weekend.

Sometimes, mama (or daddy) just needs a minute to get something done! If you need to keep your baby or toddler occupied while you work, cook, or finish a project, we’ve rounded up ten highchair activities that keep little ones both busy and happy. The best part is that everything on our list gets attached to the highchair—you won’t need to constantly pick things up off the floor. 

From ice cubes to masking tape to toy cars, these baby activity center ideas are all made from things you already have in the house. These activities are both no cost and no mess, as well: you won't pay for 20 minutes of entertainment with an hour-long clean-up. These baby and toddler activities are also great for helping your little one explore all five senses, learn colors, and figure out cause and effect. 

Looking for more baby activities? Check out our list of 99 Sensory Activities for Toddlers, Infants, and Kids of All Ages, plus tons more activities for little ones in our At-Home Guide for Families.

If there's one thing I remember distinctly about my childhood summers, it's summer camp. Sleepaway camps are great for fostering independence in children, who will leave with lifelong memories and hopefully at least summer-long skills. Houston families have a lot of options for sleepaway summer camps where kids can stay overnight, and most of these are just an hour or two away from the city.

We rounded up a bunch of sleepaway summer camps that are all about two hours or less from the Houston area. Most of the camps offer week-long stays for campers, with a couple offering shorter or longer stints as well. All of them promise to give your kids a hefty dose of fun and memories to last a lifetime. And for more summer and vacation camp ideas, check out our comprehensive camp guide and full directory of camp listings.

Sure, kids dabble in art class once a week or so throughout the Massachusetts school year. But if you have a child who really loves to create, a summer art camp might be just the thing to ignite a passion and nurture a talent. These visual art camps happening in or near Boston encourage kids to experiment with creating a variety of media, from Eric-Carle-inspired paper projects to 3-D sculptures to graphic novels.

Be sure to check out our complete Boston Camp Guide for other art-based programs, including theater camps and more.

Spring break means sunshine and outdoor fun, but it's likely a trip to a far-flung resort is on hold for now. We've found some spring break staycation destinations close to home for a low-key vacation that's an ideal way to welcome warmer weather.

Most New Jersey schools are on spring break in late-March/early-April, when weather in the Northeast can be unpredictable: too chilly for outdoor swimming, yet too warm to stay cooped up inside all week. So dress everyone in layers and plan a mix of indoor and outdoor fun for the whole family. We've rounded up the best options for fun family destinations in and around the Garden State, from New Jersey beach towns and indoor water parks to Pocono resorts and Hudson Valley getaways.

If you're looking for a shorter jaunt minus the overnight stay, check out our guide to New Jersey family day trips.

What better way to stretch legs and get some fresh air this spring than doing so while taking in colorful, wondrous, outdoor public art displays all over the city?

These sculptures, artworks, and installations are all located in public spaces allowing for nearly all-hours viewing. Some of these 15 pieces of public art to see this spring are gearing up to debut, while others are wrapping up soon.

If this list of NYC locations only whets your appetite, perhaps it's time to plan an outdoor art day trip or book some tickets to one of our favorite kid-friendly museums in NYC.

It's been a full year since Mommy Poppins published a monthly NYC GoList, and so it feels especially hopeful to present this list of the best things to do in April. Spring is here; vaccines are proliferating, and, for the moment, the virus seems to be receding. We have a long way to go, of course, but we've also come a very long way. And that's worth celebrating!

Many of our usual go-to GoList spring events are virtual this year, including the Easter Parade and AMNH's EarthFest, or postponing until the fall (looking at you, Brooklyn Folk Fest) in hopes that we're 100 percent out of the woods by then. Still, we've found more than 10 totally worthy GoList must-dos for April, including the Atlantic Avenue Spring Fling, a very cool performance idea from NY Theatre Ballet, the long-awaited arrival of Kusama at the New York Botanical Garden, and more.

Read on for the full, fabulous list and find more seasonal happenings in our Spring Fun Guide. Of course, it's also time to book those summer camps. Slots are going fast for the 2021 season! Learn more about local and virtual summer camps with our upcoming Online Camp Fair. Visit virtual booths and watch live camp demos.