UPDATE: As of Friday, all weekend events have been canceled! And subways and buses will start shutting down at noon on Saturday.


An earthquake, a hurricane, what's next? Honestly, the wall-to-wall media coverage of these natural "disasters" (the earthquake, thankfully, turned out to be minor; we fear Irene may not pass as quietly) is really overwhelming. But it is important to be prepared!

Since we think we're going to need to stay inside for a few days, we made sure to get out and about this week. (That photo above of a sand artist in Washington Square Park was from one of our adventures.) We spent a day exploring Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, tried lots of fun activities along the East River Ferry route and rounded up free and cheap after-school classes. We've also revamped our Classes Guide for the back-to-school season, and we plan to add several new posts in the coming weeks.

We're almost ready to debut our sister sites in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando. The exact launch date has yet to be determined, but it should be in early September. To make sure you're notified the minute they go live, sign up for the newsletters now.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. Be safe everyone!

We were so happy to wake up to (almost) blue skies today. Although rain may return tomorrow, we're looking at a gorgeous (and not-too-hot) weekend. Let's hope the weather holds out for the final few weeks of summer break. There's so much we haven't done yet—we haven't even gotten to all of the activities on our Hot List.

That's because we've been busy running all over Van Cortlandt Park, researching film classes and browsing used book stores that sell kid lit. Plus we're still working on our upcoming sister sites in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando, now tentatively scheduled to debut in September. To make sure you're notified when they launch, sign up for the newsletters now.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

We spent a lot of time outdoors this week, and why not? It's been absolutely lovely, the perfect weather for exploring our city.

We had a super-cool time at a nearby water park, hit a Destination Playground in Harlem and rounded up amazing nature spots. Plus, we spent a day marveling at the amazing Lego animals at the Bronx Zoo—and we've got a great giveaway to go with our review.

Of course we spent some time indoors, too. We've been hard at work on our upcoming sister sites in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando. To make sure you're notified when they launch, sign up for the newsletters now. And let your friends with families in those cities know that we're coming!

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

This week really flew by—more so than usual. Maybe because it was cool enough for us to actually get outside and run around (unlike the week before).

Playing was our theme. We profiled a new Destination Playground in Elmhurst, Queens, wrote about nonprofit organization KaBOOM!, which is building play spots all over the country, and we stumbled across a blog by an energetic nanny who's attempting to visit every single playground in Manhattan. Just thinking about that tires us out!

We're also busy gearing up to launch our sister sites in Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando later this month. To make sure you're notified when they go up, sign up for the newsletters now.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

Can you believe we say goodbye to July this weekend? Summer always seems to move so quickly. Already, the back-to-school push has started, and we're all counting down the remaining days of break. (My six-year-old is actually marking them on her calendar.)

But August has 31 days! How much fun can you pack into them? There's certainly a lot to do beyond the usual pools, water playgrounds and beaches. The Rubin Museum of Art just opened a new education center, Theatreworks USA's free musical The Yellow Brick Road plays through August 19 and you can always celebrate the season by reading a beautiful book about summer.

And if you have plans to travel to Boston, Los Angeles or Orlando, we have some exciting news: We're launching editions in each of those cities in August (the exact date has yet to be determined). To make sure you're notified when they go up, sign up for the newsletters now. We're also working on a Family Travel site, which will cover destinations all over the U.S.A... and beyond.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

Editor's note: The Rubin Museum will close its doors on Sunday, October 6, 2024.

As New York City museums go, the Rubin Museum of Art is just a baby, but it's definitely growing fast. The only museum in the Western Hemisphere dedicated to the art of the Himalayas (Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China and many other Far East countries and cultures), its collection is varied and vast—there are countless figures of deities, shrines, instruments, textiles and more—and the institution as a whole is surprisingly family-friendly.

We wrote about the Rubin back in 2004, but so much has changed since then, we revisited the museum as well as this post. Not only is there an impressive slate of programming for kids, including drop-in workshops and festivals, the Rubin opened an education center in the summer of 2011, which accommodates children and adults.

Next door to the museum, the two-floor center features circular stairs that mirror the main space's dramatic spiral staircase. It's a lovely addition with large classrooms and a performance area, cute cubbyholes for backpacks, and colorful kid-made art interspersed with items from the museum's collection.

The Rubin is a wonderful destination on any day: The artifacts are stunning and easy for kids to digest (a solid gold statue of a deity doesn't need to be put in context; it's just cool), and there's a cafe with delicious eats. Happily though, there are kids' activities almost every day. Here's what's going on at the Rubin for families this season.

We promise we're not going to obsess on the heat. And we're not going to sing "Hot Hot Hot" or "It's Gettin' Hot in Herre" (sic) like your annoying coworkers. But man, it is boiling in NYC right now... hard to believe just six months ago we were suffering through snow days!

The terrible temperatures didn't dampen our spirits though. We still managed to have some great adventures visiting a Wild Safari, sailing on the Ikea Water Taxi and getting wet at Pier 84 in Hudson River Park.

And that's just a bit of what's going on. Here's what we covered this week on Mommy Poppins in NYC, New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut.

Last summer, a police officer told one of our writer’s kids to stop flying a kite in Prospect Park. That was the first time we heard that technically kite flying is not allowed in New York City Parks (to protect the trees and birds, we imagine).

Of course, this rule is a bit ambiguous. According to the NYC Parks & Recreation Department’s website, “no person shall engage in…kite-flying, except at such times and at such places designated or maintained therefore.” Right below that, it says the same thing about roller skating and sledding. I don't know about you, but no one I know ever looks for "official" sledding, skating or flying zones.

Central Park’s website says kite flying is permitted in “large, open landscapes away from trees,” like Sheep Meadow and the Great Lawn. Prospect Park’s site touts Long Meadow as a wonderful place to fly kites. So really, you need to use your best judgment and hope a cop won’t stop you—or you can attend a kite-flying festival.

While there are wonderful kite events for families throughout the season (Socrates Sculpture Park hosts its annual Kite Flight in early spring), there are a handful of cool and colorful fetes coming up where you can go fly a kite. Sometimes you can even snag (or make) a free flyer.