We recently visited the newly renovated Sony Wonder Technology Lab and by the end of the visit this great venue had shot up to the top of our list of must visit spots for kids in New York City. The Sony Wonder Technology Lab has always been a great find, with free movie screenings and a fun children's museum with interactive exhibits. But the new renovation and exhibits leap-frog the Sony Wonder Technology Lab to the forefront of NYC children's museums for kids.

New York is full of great children's museums, but the Sony Wonder Technology Lab does one thing really, really well that none of the other children's museums in New York City currently do: it teaches kids about the stuff they want to learn about most, technology.

If you have a Harry Potter fan at home, these are some pretty exciting times. What with the new Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie out now and the final book in paper back. But for New York City kids, of course, there are always more ways to get involved in any passion than just viewing it through mass media. If you are a Harry Potter fan in New York, Harry Potter can come to life for you in lots of fun ways.

Here are some upcoming events for Harry Potter fans:

Imagine a New York where people flock to visit not for skyscrapers and luxury shopping, but gorgeous sand and beach front fun; a New York where "staycation" really takes on a new meaning. This weekend, you can get a glimpse of that version of the City with the City of Water Day festival--a celebration of our waterfront's potential. But until we rival the beaches of Capri (hey, it could happen), there's other things to keep us occupied, like turning the streets into a drawing canvas, saws making music, fishing contests and kid-friendly Shakespeare.

We also have weekly listings for Long Island events and New Jersey events on their respective pages (whether you live there or are looking for a day trip). And of course, our event calendar is jammed with even more things to do, as is our Summer Activity Guide.

Another circus is coming to Long Island, Brooklyn and Staten Island. We just heard about the Cole Bros. Circus – which is surprising since it has been around for 125 years. So we did a little research and found it's something you might want to check out.

Since this is their 125^th Anniversary, they are celebrating with a special performance reprising legendary circus acts of the past along with showcasing the talents of cirque nouveau artists.  There is a 7-man pyramid on the high wire – these acts always amaze me as I really feel for the guy on the bottom holding all these people on a high wire no less; also gymnastic routines, circus daredevils (with “the Globe of Death and Giant Gyro Wheel”) and of course clowns for a little comic relief.  And,  no circus would be complete without the animals, and there are elephants, camels, dogs, ponies and a mule. It is a fast paced two hour show – with something for everyone.

Summer in the city takes a unique type of alchemy to make it go smoothly. Little tricks like putting the juice boxes or water bottles in the freezer the night before and taking a clean, used yogurt container to the playground for collecting and pouring water are the little tricks that seem so obvious once you know them, but help make long, hot summer days go just a little easier. We've gathered up some of the things we think are essential to having the best summer in the city:

If you read our recent post on free outdoor Shakespeare performances and loved the idea, but worried your kid couldn't handle it, we've got another recommendation. The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is doing performances of "The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)" that are so entertaining and funny that we had three kids (ages 5-10) at rapt attention for the entire show, laughing hysterically and (literally) quoting lines from Shakespeare the next day.

One of the geniuses of Shakespeare has always been that it works on so many levels. While we may think of Shakespeare's plays as the high brow and somewhat inaccessible, they are actually filled with lots of very low-brow humor, potty language and puns (the lowest form of humor), couched in flowery talk. Of course, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) is a parody of Shakespeare's works, but they're working with some very rich material.

Our Summer Activity Guide is already filled with hundreds of fun free things to do with kids in New York City this summer, like free music in the parks, free outdoor movies and Free Summer Sports Activities, but the free stuff just doesn't stop. Until now, I just haven't had time to write up some of our favorite free summer programs. There's the free movie clubs, free children's theater, free bike rentals, free bowling, and more. Let FREE-dom ring!

What a great summer this is turning out to be in NYC. The weather has stayed at quite civil temperatures making it that much more fun to roam the city taking advantage of all the great stuff to do. One thing that did heat up this week was some word wars over Park Slope's stay at home dads. If "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" maybe they should check out a cool tribute to Michael Jackson. We've also got some tips on a free movie screening, the secret places of NYC, free admission to National Parks, and iPhone apps that could save your life.

Also don't forget to enter our Susie's Supper Club Dinner Party Giveaway in our Summer Activity Guide. You could win a dinner party for 10 adults plus kids.