This Week: August's Best Bets, New Water Park and Whale Watching

7/30/15 - By Raven Snook

Between all the back-to-school ads and the calendar on the wall, there's no denying that August is nigh. That means summer break is half over—or only half started, depending on how you look at it. August brings some of the season's best family activities, and we've rounded up our top picks of the month in NYC, Westchester, Connecticut and elsewhere. It's worth browsing the GoLists on all of our sites to inspire a day trip or two.

Speaking of skipping town, there's a brand-new water park near NYC, and we could all use some serious cooling off right about now. Our Westchester site profiled one of our favorite easy getaways, the alfresco art spot Storm King Art Center, a 75-minute drive from Manhattan, while Connecticut raved about the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, located just 15 minutes away from family hot spot Mystic. If you're up for a true vacation, consider whale watching in Boston or hopping a plane to Las Vegas, which is amazingly kid-centric.

Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Get out your calendar! It's time to mark down the absolute best things to do with kids in NYC this August, including Coney Island's Sand Sculpting Contest, Queens' Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival and Manhattan's car-free Summer Streets.

Speaking of Summer Streets, the coolest new addition to this annual favorite is a massive 270-foot water slide, and we've got the scoop on how to snag FREE tickets.

Another great way to beat the heat: plan a road trip to the just-opened Kalahari Resorts, a 100,000-square-foot indoor water park in the Poconos.

Queens' Rockaway Beach offers a respite from the sweltering temps with beaches but also plenty of playgrounds with amazing water features.

Find out where to catch Grammy nominees The Pop Ups and a slew of other awesome kindie bands in our roundup of FREE August concerts for NYC kids.

Frozen fever just won't let go in your home? These fun and easy activities inspired by the Disney blockbuster should melt the hearts of all the little Elsa and Anna fans out there.

Best bets for the weekend include the activity-packed Kids Rule Weekend in the Bronx, an entertainment-filled SummerStage Family Day on Staten Island and the first day of Summer Streets, all of which are FREE.