This Week: Awesome Day Trip Ideas, Family Resort in Costa Rica, New Queens Play Space, NYC Weekend Fun

7/24/14 - By Raven Snook

Every year around this time, I start to feel like my daughter and I are the last New Yorkers left in the city. All of our friends are away at sleepaway camp or off on exotic vacations, like Mommy Poppins founder, Anna, who stayed at the fabulous Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort in Costa Rica this week. Not that I'm complaining. While I can't say we have NYC to ourselves (I think I've given directions to tourists every single day this week), we are still enjoying all summer in the city has to offer, including museum exhibits (the pic above is from the Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney), public pools, beaches and playgrounds. And since my daughter just got a pair of hand-me-down roller skates, the two new rinks in Brooklyn are on our must-do list.

Of course you don't have to get on a plane to have an out-of-town adventure. Our Long Island site highlighted six farms where kids can feed and pet the animals, and eight family-friendly hiking trails. Meanwhile, New Jersey rounded up seven pick-your-own farms with summer berries, and spotlighted the small but activity--filled ocean-side town of Avalon. And Connecticut made a list of the top 25 things to do with kids in New Haven.

Regardless of where you're spending the season, remember to post your playful pics on social media for a chance to win great prizes in our SUMMER OF PLAY CHALLENGE. It ends in a few weeks so start snapping today—you know you want to show off that gorgeous family of yours.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

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There's a brand-new drop-in play space in Queens: Opened by a local mom, Bounce 'N Play boasts bouncy and inflatable attractions in addition to toys, play sets and a jungle gym.

As much as we love writing about new destinations, we also love stumbling across things we never knew existed. That's what happened when we turned a corner in Williamsburg and discovered the Brooklyn Bike Park for all-ages mountain biking.

Our SUMMER OF PLAY series continued with a list of 10 outdoor games from the '70s all kids should learn.

Can't stand the thought of dipping your toes into a public pool? We updated our post of private pools that offer day passes.

Our biweekly news roundup included info on the soon-to-open Sesame Street exhibit at the Performing Arts Library, a new urban farm on Governors Island and FREE pre-K programs at two Queens libraries.

Going to a family-friendly museum exhibit is a fun way to beat the heat. And we found a great one: the Chuck "Bugs Bunny" Jones retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image, which includes cool hands-on animation projects on Saturdays for kids.

Our WeeWork project this week is a cute fish printing craft.

Best bets for the weekend include the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day, Theatreworks USA's new The Lightning Thief musical in the West Village and a Harry Potter birthday party at the Scholastic Store.