Founded in 1891, the New York Botanical Garden is a 250-acre oasis in the middle of Bronx Park, housing 50 specialty gardens, and more than one million plants. The largest botanic garden in the United States, it's also a National Historic Landmark and well worth a visit in any season. 

When I was growing up, my family ran a generations-old business selling plants and designing fabulous landscapes for the well-to-do in my native Colorado. My first job was weeding the plants in the garden center, and for a time, I thought I'd go to school to become a landscape architect and follow in my father's footsteps. Plants are practically in my blood, and to this day, I still crave a connection with nature and want my born-and-bred New Yorkers to feel blades of grass between their toes and get their hands dirty.

While we've always found our nature fix in Central Park and some of the wonderful gardens, flower shows, and greenspaces the city has to offer, no park in the city has captivated me as much as the Bronx's New York Botanical Garden. Read on for 10 things to love about this green treasure, as the cultural gem embarks on its yearlong celebration of #plantlove.

Ever since my son could read, he's been a history buff. Our family tree is filled with brave men who have served our country, so military history has always been a subject close to his heart. We've loved exploring the city's National Parks and Monuments and learning about the storied military past of Governors Island together, but nothing has sparked his curiosity or inspired as many return visits as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

A decommissioned Essex-class air craft carrier, the Intrepid is a floating museum docked in the Hudson River at Pier 86. It was commissioned in 1943 and served a varied history spanning from WWII to the space age. During WWII, it survived a torpedo strike and five kamikaze attacks. Later it was used in the Cold War, as a NASA recovery vessel in the 1960s and as a "special attack carrier" in Vietnam. Decommissioned in 1974, the Intrepid was saved from the scrapyard and converted into a museum in the early 80s. It was remodeled between 2006-08 and returned to Pier 86 as the museum we know today.

With that bit of history under your belt, read on for 10 reasons we love to visit the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

There's no shortage of great theater here in New York, but there are very few shows where children actually get to play an interactive role in the story. Enter Pip's Island, a production in which young audience members become characters—no, stars—themselves, engaging with the actors in a roving, room-to-room adventure.

After a successful trial run in 2016, the show has re-opened in a custom-built space giving Pip, his friends Finn and Pebble, and countless kids a whole new immersive environment where they can play out their adventure as they attempt to save Pip's Island from the villainous Joules Volter.

Raising kids in New York City isn't for the faint of heart. City parents have plenty of worries to contend with that our suburban counterparts don't, from car seats in cabs to finding the right stroller for your lifestyle, and how, exactly, to navigate the subway with a baby in tow.

But one thing city mamas shouldn't have to worry about is where to feed their babies, specifically where to breastfeed or pump when you're on the go. While state law protects a mother's right to breastfeed in public, saying "a mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be," not all mothers are particularly comfortable baring it all, and certainly pumping isn't easy on a city bench. When mama's not comfortable, neither is baby.

To help ease the stress of breastfeeding or pumping on-the-go, we've rounded up some private or semi-private spots for you to feed your wee one while you're out-and-about checking things off our NYC baby bucket list.

Just three years after making waves with the debut of Titanosaur, one of our favorite family-friendly museums is upping the ante. The American Museum of Natural History is kicking off its 150th anniversary with a fantastic new exhibit dedicated to the ferocious king of all dinos. The interactive exhibit T. rex: The Ultimate Predator opens to the public on Monday, March 11—read on for more details on this not-to-be missed exhibition that will impress dinosaur-obsessed kids and adults alike.

Potterheads take note: A new coffee shop has opened in the East Village serving steamy brews and magical potions, along with a side of Harry Potter-themed fun. At Steamy Hallows, you can fill the void of the recently departed History of Magic exhibition with a Butterbeer, or even treat your sweetheart to a "Love Potion No. 9 3/4." Read on for a peek inside the new spot and details about the magic-inspired menu. Accio, hot cocoa!

Parents of special needs kids take note: Many cultural institutions are raising the bar when it comes to accessibility. While a crowded museum can be overwhelming or inaccessible for special needs kids, some of our favorite kid-centric museums go the extra mile, modifying their educational offerings to accommodate kids of all abilities.

Take, for instance, the Children's Museum of the Arts, where weekends go way beyond the fantastic dot paintings and clay bar sculptures. Here, a trio of programs caters to special-needs visitors with inventive programming meant to meet kids where they are, and encourage artistic exploration for all.

Read on to learn more about the programs at CMA and seven other city museums. While the increased access is priceless, most of the programs are FREE for kids and their families, though some programs may require advance registration. Be sure to click through to the websites for more details.

Kids are naturally intrigued by history—the "who, what, and when" of how the world as they know it came to be. Curious history buffs in the making (and their parents) take note: One of our favorite children's museums in NYC is actually tucked into the basement level of the the New-York Historical Society in the heart of the family-friendly Upper West Side, just steps from Central Park. If you haven't visited yet, read on for 10 reasons we love the DiMenna Children's History Museum at the New-York Historical Society, a hidden gem with plenty for kids to explore.