This Week: May Festivals and Street Fairs, Focus on Chelsea, Star Wars Fun for NYC Kids

5/4/12 - By Raven Snook

No, the kids in the picture aren't caught in a net. They're playing in the new Ernesto Neto exhibit down in Chelsea, one of the cool things we posted about this week. Speaking of Chelsea, we'll be exploring this super-family-friendly area throughout May and we kicked off our coverage with our top 50 things to do with kids in the neighborhood. We also rounded up the best outdoor festivals and street fairs going on throughout the month, and we profiled the Queens County Farm Museum, one of 40 historic NYC sites vying for grants from Partners in Preservation. You can help pick the winners by voting for your favorite spot on our Facebook page.

Outside NYC, our New Jersey site has lists of the best family-friendly biking routes and hiking trails in case you're looking for an active day trip. Our Boston site has suggestions for easy-to-make homemade Mother's Day gifts. And our Travel site has a review of the Malibu Dude Ranch in Milford, Pennsylvania.

Here's what else we shared this week on our NYC site.

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We started the week by ending our month-long focus on Dumbo with a roundup of the best toys stores and children's boutiques in the neighborhood.

In honor of International Star Wars Day this Friday, May 4 (May the fourth be with you, get it?), we shared ways little Jedis can get their Star Wars on in NYC.

We profiled the Queens County Farm Museum, one of 40 historic sites vying for Partners in Preservation grants. Mommy Poppins is proud to be working on this awesome initiative by getting the word out about how you can help decide who gets the money by voting for your favorites. All the info is in the post.

Looking for a fun outdoor festival? We found 25 cool street fairs, fests and carnivals throughout the month.

Our biweekly news post includes info on Cooper-Hewitt's soon-to-open Design Center, a new comic book store in Midtown and a kiddie cruise with Dan Zanes.

Our top 50 things to do in Chelsea with kids includes lots of spots to play, learn, shop and snack.

Click through our slide show to see how much fun your kids will have climbing through Ernesto Neto's interactive exhibit of suspended crocheted structures.

Give your kids a taste of farm life at these planting and harvesting summer camps, right here in NYC.

If you've been thinking about doing a family photo shoot for Mother's Day or Father's Day, check out these deals and discounts from professional children's photographers.

Our best bets for the weekend include the Hippo Playground Spring Fair, Sheep Shearing Weekend at the Queens Zoo and Open House Weekend at all Partners in Preservation sites.

And finally a favor: Mommy Poppins has been nominated as one of Babble's top 25 travel blogs. Please click through and show us some love. You don't even need to register—just "like" us.