This Week: Great Family Weekend Trips, Walking with Dinosaurs Ticket Giveaway, 50 Fun Science Experiments for Kids

6/19/14 - By Raven Snook

Even though the beginning of summer is an exciting time, I always find the end of school to be bittersweet. Yes, the kids are psyched about going to camp and traveling to fun places, but they're also saying goodbye to their friends as classes change, or heading off to a new school entirely. And for us parents, it's another milestone that reminds us that our kids are growing up—fast.

That's one of the big reasons we try to make every summer the best one ever, and there are plenty of ways to do that in NYC and beyond. Beautiful beaches beckon like Short Beach Park in Connecticut and Cape May in New Jersey, as do fun-filled festivals like the New Jersey State Fair at the Meadowlands, which kicks off this weekend. Or how about a day trip to a nearby theme park like these family favorites on Long Island or New Jersey's brand-new Diggerland USA? If you're looking for a longer getaway, Pennsylvania's Dutch Wonderland, which recently opened a new Exploration Island dinosaur attraction, is a great weekend trip and Asheville, North Carolina makes for an awesome vacation destination.

Speaking of dinos, seeing Walking with Dinosaurs - the Arena Spectacular at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in July is also on my family's list of must-do summer activities. This week, we're giving away a family four-pack to the show and even if you don't win, we've got a discount on tickets to select performances, too.

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

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We kicked off the week with a roundup of summer deals, including deep discounts on NYC day camps.

Hoping to catch Macy's 4th of July Fireworks in person? We've got the scoop on the best places to watch on land and from the water.

Children are born scientists, always experimenting with everything. So we came up with a list of 50 fun and easy science activities to do at home. Perfect for rainy days!

We took a trip to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to check out its brand-new attraction, Exploration Island, featuring 20 animatronic dinosaurs.

Water fun is a rite of summer for all kids, which is why we rounded up adaptive water sports programs for children with special needs, including swimming and boating lessons.

Our month-long focus on the Financial District continued with a look at Battery Park's hands-on Battery Urban Farm, which has lots of educational programs for kids and families.

We went to see the Bronx Zoo's brand-new live stage show, Fimi's Forest Adventure: An Elephant's Journey Home, part of the animal spot's campaign to promote awareness of African forest elephants that are being hunted by poachers.

This week's WeeWork projects included super-easy two-ingredient ice-cream muffins and how to make corn husk paper.

Best bets for the weekend include the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, the summer sports fest Adventures NYC in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and no-cost concerts all over town as part of Make Music.