Beloved children's characters spring to life on stage this season. Our top theater picks for the coming months include musicals starring popular little-kid icons such as Curious George, Peppa Pig, Clifford the Big Red Dog and the Runaway Bunny. But there are plenty of cool shows for tweens, too, including an interactive adventure staged throughout Lincoln Center's grounds, a trio of offbeat circus performances and a revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown starring theater pros who are still in middle school.

While there are some big Broadway shows debuting this spring, including a musicalization of Tuck Everlasting and Cirque du Soleil's first-ever Main Stem spectacle Paramour, there's no need to shell out big bucks to give your kids a memorable live entertainment experience in NYC. A dozen of the 14 shows we're highlighting are just $25—or less—per ticket.

This is, seriously, one of the cutest towns in Fairfield County.  Classic New England.  Classic Connecticut.  It is something straight out of a Norman Rockwell.  I quickly googled just to make sure none of them actually was based on a New Canaan setting, and learned I'm certainly not the first writer to make the comparison.  That being said, it's also home to some of the nation's wealthiest ... so, yes, you did read that price at the pump correctly. Our first list of 25 Things to Do in New Canaan was written a few months ago but there is so much to do we've added another 25 here. Enjoy!

What’s the difference between humans and animals? Do all living beings have a soul? What happens to us after we die? These are pretty heavy questions to ask of your kids, but if you’ve been looking for a way to broach the topic with your little ones, the Anima exhibit at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood may be your way in.

The small art installation, part of the Tilt Kids Festival, creates a quiet space away from the outside world, where you and the kids can marvel at the calm and power of nature, and all its living beings. Inspired by Mayan mythology, the installation asks, “What if all living things are equal?” We visited this unusual, immersive FREE exhibit and have details to help you decide if it's right for your little one and tips to help you plan your visit.

There's a new hike in town! OK, maybe it's not completely new—but, for the first time since the winter storms of 2005, the entire Lake Hollywood perimeter trail is open. And, with the exception of the northern section (which is partly packed dirt sidewalk and partly concrete sidewalk along a fairly quiet road), the trail is paved and so wide it's more a street than a trail. That means more than three miles of car-free walking, running, or biking—with a touch of Los Angeles history and amazing views of the Hollywood sign thrown in.

(For more hike ideas, check out our family hiking guide!)

Time travel is indeed possible, at least on specific weekends at the New-York Historical Society this spring. Families will journey back to Manhattan circa 1915 and a deadly typhoid outbreak thanks to the creative theater troupe, Live In Theater. This Drama-Desk-nominated acting company known for its interactive, historical whodunits, mounted The Pinkertonian Mysteries last year and returns to the museum with another fascinating slice of NYC's storied history—a look at the mystery behind the infamous "Typhoid Mary."

After The Pinkertonian Mysteries, I was expecting The Trial of Typhoid Mary to be a high-quality, interactive, historical adventure—and I wasn't disappointed. The just-opened show will play three more times through May 1, so don't miss out.

When it comes to technology, I am quick to play the "I made it through college with a typewriter and Wite-Out" card when talking with my kids. This inevitably garners an eyeroll and probably rightly so: our children were practically born with devices in their hands. And since statistics predict that by 2020 over 1 million computing jobs will be unfilled in the US due to lack of candidates with the right skills and experience, perhaps it's time for me to embrace the need for my kids to have some mad computer skillz. So I was thrilled when my 10-year old son was offered a coding class at CodeAdvantage, and a Minecraft one to boot, which is just about his favorite thing on earth. Read on to hear about our CodeAdvantage experience.

Spring is here, which means the days of being stuck inside the house because of cold temps and snow will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, the warmer weather will bring a slew of opportunities for fun activities that the entire family can enjoy together. So get your sunglasses and sunscreen ready because we’ve come up with 15 things we can’t wait to do this season. And for more ideas, be sure to check out our Spring Fun Guide.

April Fools' Day is a great holiday for parents. When I was in high school and college, I often egged on my friends to pull pranks. Now, as a dad of three boys, one my great joys is being able to gag my own kids. 

With that in mind, I reached back into my memories for the following list of old-school April Fools' jokes that buddies or family members played on me at one time or another. These high jinx, with a little prep work, can turn into funny moments.