Stephanie's blog

All aquariums have tropical fish, penguins and some sort of seal or sea lion, but what they don’t have are the amazing touch tanks offered at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey.  Nearly every exhibit has a touchable component (think sharks and jellyfish) plus they have two hippos on exhibit!

Hopefully you read our post Six Thrill-Seeking Adventures for Kids in New Jersey, especially the part about swimming with the sharks at this very aquarium.  We checked out the whole aquarium (well, not the swimming with sharks bit) last month and are certainly glad we did – it is totally worth the trip. You can trust me I have been to every aquarium in the northeast with my 5 year old sea creature–obsessed son!

The Adventure Aquarium is a great day or weekend trip for us aquarium-challenged NYers and what is more – you can get there without a car.  

Looking for something to do this Labor Day weekend? Read on for more on this great destination, what else you can do nearby and how to get there.

How can it be Labor Day weekend already? Seems like we were writing about what to do for Memorial Day Weekend! There is still time to wring the last few drops out of summer before back to school become a reality. There is plenty of fun to be had in The Big Apple and beyond – arts and crafts, a celebration of the new Cat in the Hat cartoon, storytimes, a huge parade and even a unicycle festival.

It is the first weekend of September which means there are a bunch of museum freebies to take advantage of – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan, The Brooklyn Museum and The Queens Museum are among them.  Plus as a Labor Day gift Cooper Hewitt is offering free admission all weekend, too.

I am actually looking forward to back to school. By the end of summer I am usually exhausted from running around for eight weeks and long for a return to a less hectic routine.  If you are planning your child's re-entry to the school year you may be thinking of after school activities like soccer, free after school classes, or programs for special needs kids.  And don’t miss our newly revamped and updated After School Classes Guide to find the best for your little scholar.

Read on to plan a great Labor Day Weekend.  We hope it is a great one.

Soccer has become more and more popular with both boys and girls in New York City and luckily there are plenty of leagues for kids to join. If soccer fever is running high in your house, you may want to consider registering your son or daughter for an outdoor youth soccer league this fall. League play will teach your kids the rules and skills needed for the game. Plus children can experience the camaraderie of being part of a team versus “taking a soccer class”.  Soccer leagues generally start with kids aged 4. The youngest teams aren’t competitive and everyone gets a chance to play.  And youth leagues are easy on the wallet a season runs about $200 and includes a uniform.  No matter where you live in the Big Apple there is a league close by. Check it out.

This weekend, New York City kids can play tennis, tour a really old boat, catch great live theater and a magic show. Or celebrate their love of reading, honey or the culinary diversity of Brooklyn and check out a re enactment of the largest battle of the revolutionary war (yep, it took place here, in Brooklyn).  If you plan on spending the last few moments of summer in Central Park, check out our recent posts on where to eat and what to do in the park.

Sadly, summer is quickly ticking away but there is still enough time to have an awesome day with your NYC Kid and tell us all about it to be entered to win a Flip in our Awesome Days of Summer contest – plus you can even see your mug grace our home page!

Read on and have a great weekend.

Thanks to a reader tip, we recently left the city and traveled back in time to wilds of Eastern Connecticut to spend the day at The Dinosaur Place at Nature’s Art, where kids can explore a family friendly Jurassic Park style attraction.  Encounter thirty life-sized cretaceous creatures while trekking the wooded nature trails around Raptor Bay, a seven acre lake complete with its own erupting volcano.  A giant playground, an amazing maze, a super cool water play area along with exciting indoor activities (panning for gold and gem mining to name two) round out the offerings. Dinosaur Place is minutes away from Mystic, Connecticut and Rhode Island's beaches making for a perfect day trip destination or part of a weekend away.  Here’s the inside scoop on this fun prehistoric park, and tips to make the most of your time there.

It is a good weekend to be a kid in the Big Apple!  In one weekend they can choose from a kite flying festival, a South East Asian Festival, a classic Volkswagen show and even an Ice Cream Fair.  This is the  last weekend that  kids can ride, walk, scooter or stroll their way through Manhattan uninhibited by traffic at Summer Streets.  They can also hit up a new playground, try a family friendly high-tech scavenger hunt game and take a trip to the beach on an old time subway and bus during the season’s last vintage train ride.  How lucky are they?

Adults, don’t forget about our Awesome Days Flip Camera contest. Simply tell us what you have been doing with your kids this summer and you can be entered to win! If you need some inspiration check out our events calendar, The Mommy Poppins Summer Fun Guide or our post on 100 free things to do this summer (there is still plenty of summer left!)

We have everything you need to know for a fun weekend. Hope it is great.

Most playgrounds in New York City have the same stuff in them – climbing things, swings, places to run, a slide or two and maybe a water feature or a sandbox.  And there are some playgrounds that have all these things – but they are just a little cooler, more fun or different – with features not usually seen at most other playgrounds.  The playground in Nelson A. Rockefeller Park (the big park in the northern part of Battery Park City) is one of these playgrounds.  Whenever I take my son to play here I want to move to the area, it is such a fun playground in a beautiful park, but it is always a huge ordeal to get home with my exhausted son.  Even so it is still worth the trip.  

Geocaching is a fun, high-tech treasure hunt, except instead of searching using maps and compasses players use a handheld GPS and coordinates to find the cache or treasure.  We joined the game this past spring and it is really fun.  Plus, it is free to start and it is an activity your entire family can enjoy together.  So, what are you waiting for? We've got the details here for you, let the hunt begin!

Contrary to popular belief New York City doesn’t close down in August.  In fact, it is humming with activity and tons of fun stuff to do.  In town this weekend you will find celebrations galore– Harlem, Ferragosto, the beach – they are all recognized with their own festival.  Plus there is a cool interactive theater production, favorite storybook characters to meet, crimes to solve, cell phones to dissect and ships to board, all this weekend and all for kids.   Not to mention, the popular traffic free Saturday in Manhattan, Summer Streets, and car free destinations in Astoria and Jackson Heights, too.

Don’t forget to tell us what you and the kids are up to this summer and be entered to win a flip camera in our Awesome Days contest (you can even see your day featured on our homepage!) If you are having a hard time coming up with ideas for fun check out our post with a fun free activity for every day of the summer, our Summer Fun Guide or our newly remodeled Events Calendar.

We’ve got the goods for an awesome weekend. Read on and have a great one.

With back to school right around the corner now is the perfect time for The Prospect Park Zoo to once again run their SPARKS workshops, created to help make science more understandable for children.  But unlike many programs at our city’s zoos, SPARKS isn’t for kids.  This unique and interactive seminar is for adults, specifically for parents (or caregivers) of preschool and elementary aged children.  SPARKS, which stand for, Supporting Parents in Advocacy, Reform, and Knowledge in Science, works by reinforcing and expanding on what adults already understand, teaching them what they don’t and ultimately giving them the opportunity to help educate the next generation in science.  Read on to learn more about this super cool (and free) program.