Fourth of July activities overtake the city this week, as Boston Harborfest celebrations run from June 28-July 4. The War of 1812 Bicentennial is also underway, bringing visiting ships from around the globe to Boston Harbor on June 30 that are available for public viewing this week. Running in conjunction with the Bicentennial is Boston Navy Week, a series of events that includes ship visits, Navy Band concerts, Blue Angels shows, and more.

Boston’s Fireworks on the Esplanade have long set the standard for Fourth of July celebrations across the country, but if the prospect of the crowds seems a bit overwhelming to your family, there are plenty of other options - we’ve rounded up some of our favorites in towns around Boston. And if Harborfest events aren’t enough “history” for you and your family, the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum opened this week and is an interactive experience about the events that started the whole Revolution.

Read on for Harborfest highlights and other special happenings this week, and be sure to check our events calendar for more ideas. And thanks to those who are helping build our list of free things to do this summer in Boston with kids - we'd love to hear what else you're planning!

Enjoy, and have a happy and safe Fourth of July!

Please visit our Boston Harborfest post for updated information.

Hard to believe, but it's been twenty years since Jack and Annie first rode their Magic Treehouse to adventure. In this case, it was some dinosaurs before dark, but our young friends have traveled everywhere from outer space to Hawaii to the deck of the Titanic. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the beloved and award-winning book series, author Mary Pope Osborne, recently made a wonderful donation to Newark-area schoolchildren.

You can’t blame this weekend for feeling insignificant: it’s being overshadowed by a Wednesday of all things. A Wednesday! Well, in its defense, it is a rather big deal Wednesday. Birth of our country and all that. Fireworks, festivals, parades, Barry Manilow, and more fireworks.  It’s hard for simple weekend to measure up, even if it's got movies under the stars, a super-sized rock and Shakespeare in the park. Maybe a free blowout would help boost its self-esteem. 

But let's keep it real. Independence Day is the main event; you're gonna want to see fireworks. That's why you come to us. Not only do we have well over a dozen fireworks displays listed on our daily events calendar,  we've even compiled them for you in a single handy-dandy post. You're welcome. Guess we've earned that free blowout, too bad it doesn't start until after the 4th...

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend, and to find out about that free blowout...

Long Island is beginning its Fourth of July celebrations this weekend. (According to the people outside my window, who've been setting off their amateur fireworks every night for the last week or so, much to my dog's chagrin, the official celebrations are late!) Eisenhower Park's got its world-class fireworks show Saturday night, and check out our Fourth of July Fireworks guide for more fireworks displays going on this weekend. There's also the North Sea Fireman's Carnival, a Water Fest at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, and a great show for the little ones at the Long Island Children's Museum. Happy weekend!

From the time my first son was born, I have spent many days at my local library having fun with him and enjoying watching him grow and learn. As the years went on, and I expanded my family by two more children, we have continued to discover and enjoy all the resources the library offers.

As Alice Cooper says, "School's out for the summer!" and you can kick off break with lots of awesome (and mostly free) activities. This weekend's offerings include some Independence Day-themed celebrations like Prospect Park's Freedom Strut and Tribeca's Historic Ship Festival. Outdoor fun includes the West Harlem Piers Fishing Festival, Bayswater Park’s annual School's Out for the Summer Fest and a jam-packed lineup of cool kids' entertainment at SummerStage's Bronx Family Day.

If you've just got to stay air-conditioned, try the Brooklyn Children's Museum’s Kiddies Caribbean Fiesta, a free indoor concert by the Pop Ups or take a ride on a nostalgia train to the Brooklyn Museum courtesy of the New York Transit Museum.

Our best bets for the weekend are below. Remember, you can find additional suggestions in our Summer Fun Guide—including a list of free things to do every day through the end of August—and our Event Calendar.

For our second dedicated news post, we're taking a look at some new information about the possible causes of autism. With Playmate Jenny McCarthy getting press coverage for saying she knows what triggers the disease while various medical experts argue about its causes, it can be tough for parents to figure out who to listen to. While Time magazine recently reiterated that the study linking childhood vaccines to autism has been repeatedly debunked, its definitive cause remains a mystery.

However, some leading experts on autism, ADHD and learning disabilities have now published a list in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives of chemicals and heavy metals that they believe are more likely than even a genetic predisposition to trigger the onset of these diseases.