Philadelphia is full of exciting places to host birthday parties, including indoor play spaces, museums, parks and gardens. Make no bones about it, these are awesome places to host a birthday party! But if you are looking for something extra special that really fits your birthday kid’s personality, there are some extraordinarily unique spaces in Philly to host a one-of-a-kind birthday experience.

On April 22, people across the world celebrate Earth Day by exploring their local environments, learning how to protect the natural world, and finding new ways to become "more green." Plenty of eco-friendly events in the New Haven area will focus on educating children about how their actions can affect the earth - for better, or for worse. ​Check out fun events happening in Fairfield County and Hartford County too.

A visit to a top-notch aquarium is a great way for kids to explore the secrets of the sea. Families in the Northeast are blessed with an array of regional aquariums, including the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, the New England Aquarium in Boston, and the Adventure Aquarium with its Shark Bridge in Camden. Southwest families are fortunate to have the Aquarium of the Pacific in their back yard.

If you’re looking for really fabulous odes to underwater environments and sea life that are simultaneously entertaining and educational, we’ve found them, from a 28-foot-tall kelp forest to a jellyfish invasion. The following 11 aquariums up the aquatic ante and are so worth the trip.

April 22nd marks the 46th celebration of Earth Day, an annual celebration in which kids (and adults!) are encouraged to give back to planet Earth.  There are a range of celebrations in Fairfield County from the artistic to the philanthropic.  The spectacular Grace Farms property in New Canaan has a whole day of activities planned for children and adults of ages. For more suggestions, check out our Earth Day round ups in Hartford, New Haven, as well as Westchester and  the Lower Hudson Valley.

If summertime means theme and water park fun and roller coaster thrills for your family, then you’ll want to check out what’s new for the 2016 season at some of our favorite amusement parks in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

While the recent cool spring temps along the East Coast have put a hold on opening day for some amusement parks, others are already open for junk food eating, coaster screams and arcade fun. We found two brand-new roller coasters and more little kid friendly fare like a five-slide complex and new home for Jersey dinosaurs in our search across parks in the greater New York City area, including Coney Island’s Luna Park, and a bit beyond, like Six Flags in New Jersey and Edaville’s Thomas Land in Massachusetts to round up more than a dozen new rides, features and thrills for summer 2016.

Read on for all the details, including height requirements and expected opening dates.

We've already rounded up several Earth Day celebrations happening throughout Westchester, and the fun doesn't stop there! We are going beyond the county line to explore even more ways to celebrate our planet in Lower Hudson Valley.

Earth Day, held annually on April 22, falls on a Friday this year, and there's plenty going on throughout April. These events are interactive, educational and fun for all ages—after all, it's never too early show our kids that we must love, protect and preserve the world we live in. Read on for our top picks for Earth Day events happening throughout Lower Hudson Valley. If you see something that piques your interest, click through to the event listing for all the details, including address, time and price. Also, be sure to peruse our Event Calendar for more family-friendly outings.

Whether your kid is just learning to ollie or is an advanced skater perfecting her frontside noseslide, there are plenty of skateboarding masters around NYC ready to teach the next generation.

We rounded up six great skateboarding classes where kids ages 4 and up can hone their skills from Manhattan to Staten Island, and of course, Brooklyn. Worried about this new sport involving possible asphalt face-plants that your kid is hounding you about? Well, it’s also a great workout, building strength, flexibility and coordination—oh, and a decent mode of transportation!

Find more NYC classes in our Classes Guide and Directory Listings.

Our children grow quickly and leave behind bags of barely worn clothes and gear. Instead of throwing those non-essentials out, why not let someone less fortunate get more use from them and clear out your closet at the same time? Brooklyn families have a number of options for donating gently used children's items, so you can contribute to a good cause instead of wasting good items.

Read on for eight organizations accepting your donations in Brooklyn.