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Fun Free Activities for Kids in January 2024: 29 Free Things To Do in NYC

Join BCM for a storytelling session that focuses on the uniqueness of all kids and families at Drag Story Hour. Photo by Winston Williams
Join BCM for a storytelling session that focuses on the uniqueness of all kids and families at Drag Story Hour. Photo by Winston Williams
1/2/24 - By Drew Kristofik

If your bank account needs a rest, fear not: We've found 29 things to do in January to keep New York City families busy all month long.

Though most of the big holiday attractions in NYC are packing up the tinsel this month, January celebrations like the Three Kings Day Parade in East Harlem and the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March are just getting started. Plus, many NYC parks offer outdoor nature programs like a hike after dark in Prospect Park and Astronomy fun in Queens. Plus, Battery Park City's KindieRock series kicks off with a performance by Key Wilde.

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Mulchfest takes over city parks for the first weekend in January. Get rid of your Christmas tree and do good for the environment in the process. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks Department
Mulchfest takes over city parks for the first weekend in January. Get rid of your Christmas tree and do good for the environment in the process. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks Department

Best Free Things To Do in NYC: Monday, January 1-Sunday, January 7, 2024

47th Annual Three Kings Parade

East Harlem
Friday, January 5, 2024
Line up with live camels, colorful puppets, parrandas, music, and dancing on this magical day. This time-honored annual parade begins at 106th Street and Park Avenue and ends at 115th Street and Park Avenue. Return to the museum to keep the party going following the parade. READ MORE

Free Book Friday

Pelham, the Bronx
Friday, January 5, 2024
Visit the Van Nest Library and receive a free book...to keep! Kids and teens are invited to browse through an assortment of special books and give the books a new home.  READ MORE

Three Kings Day

Lower East Side
Saturday, January 6, 2024
New York’s only Latino children’s theater celebrates one of the most important Latin American holidays for children, El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos/Three Kings Day.  READ MORE

Greencycle Post-Holiday Swap

Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Town Square's popular Greencycle Swap is back, just in time for you to quietly give away those "unexpected" holiday gifts and get a fresh start with your closets. READ MORE

Tree Drop-Off and Mulchfest

Dumbo, Brooklyn
Through Saturday, January 6, 2024
After you're finished with it, bring your tree to Mulchfest at Brooklyn Bridge Plaza and save it from going to waste. READ MORE

Mulchfest in Prospect Park

Prospect Park
Saturday & Sunday, January 6 & 7, 2024
Bring your holiday tree to Prospect Park, where it will go through a chipper to transform into environmentally friendly mulch at both the 3rd Street and Park Circle entrances. Plus, you can take some home for your yard or garden. READ MORE

MulchFest 2024

Citywide
Through Sunday, January 7, 2024
Bring your holiday tree to Mulchfest to be recycled into mulch to nourish plantings in the parks all year long! You can watch your tree devolve and evolve in person! READ MORE

Family Program - Landscapes

Kingsbridge Heights, the Bronx
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Lehman College Art Gallery invites visitors to tour the exhibition, Framing the Female Gaze: Women Artists and the New Historicism, and create a landscape based on the work of Vera Iliatova in Lehman's dedicated Gallery Studio. READ MORE

Best Free Things To Do in NYC: Monday, January 8-Sunday, January 14, 2024

Drag Story Hour

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Join BCM for a storytelling session that focuses on the uniqueness of all kids and families. Drag Story Hour NYC programs celebrate gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give kids the confidence to express themselves however they feel comfortable. READ MORE

Family Fridays: Hyperbolic Play

Chelsea
Friday, January 12, 2024
MoMath invites visitors to explore the world of hyperbolic geometry with shadows, clay cubes, soap films, and more—you can even build and take home your own negatively-curved sculpture, and learn how to play tic-tac-toe on it! READ MORE

Landmarks Old and New

Battery Park
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Take a tour of the Skyscraper Museum's exhibition SKY MARKS | LANDMARKS during its final days and learn about the landmarking process and how landmarks change and adapt over time. Then, kids work to make appropriate changes to a building designed by the Skyscraper Museum’s educator—changes that must be approved by the museum's landscape committee. READ MORE

Create Your Own Folk and Fairytale Characters

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Head to the Sheepshead Bay Library for a creative program where kids learn how to design and construct their own folk and fairytale characters.   READ MORE

Ice Age Hike

Jamaica, Queens
Sunday, January 14, 2024
Take a trip back in time with the Urban Park Rangers and hike through Cunningham Park discussing the lay of the land in prehistoric times. Rangers describe the Pleistocene megafauna of New York. READ MORE
Join Manhattan Country School for its 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March. Photo courtesy of the school
Join Manhattan Country School for its 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March. Photo courtesy of the school

Best Free Things To Do in NYC: Monday, January 15-Sunday, January 21, 2024

36th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March

Upper West Side
Monday, January 15, 2024
Manhattan Country School eighth graders honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by taking to the streets of Manhattan to speak out about what they consider to be the most pressing civil rights issues of their time. READ MORE

Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Prospect Park

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Monday, January 15, 2024
Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with nature education programs at the Prospect Park Audubon Center, the first urban Audubon Center in the nation. READ MORE

Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

Fort Greene
Monday, January 15, 2024
BAM hosts its free annual Brooklyn tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., and everyone is invited. The celebration brings together artists and civic leaders to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King.  READ MORE

MLK National Day of Service

Citywide
Monday, January 15, 2024
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day each year, all Americans are encouraged to step up to make communities more equitable and take action to create the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream. Examples include cleaning up a public space, mentoring a young person, or helping those who are food insecure. READ MORE

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Multiple Locations
Monday, January 15, 2024
On select days throughout the year, all national parks are open to the public with no admission fee. READ MORE

Family Movies at Gerritsen: Turning Red (PG)

Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Snuggle in for a library screening of Turning Red: A 13-year-old girl named Mei Lee is torn between staying her mother's dutiful daughter and the changes of adolescence. And as if the challenges were not enough, whenever she gets overly excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.   READ MORE

Prospect Park After Dark Hike

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Saturday, January 20, 2024
The Urban Park Rangers lead families on a hike after sundown around Prospect Park Lake. Explore and experience the sights and sounds of Prospect Park at night.  READ MORE

Hibernation Hike and Games

Mid-Island, Staten Island
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Learn how animals such as birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and others survive the cold and the snow on an educational wildlife viewing adventure, followed by games and activities.   READ MORE

Nature's Workshop: Foraged Crafts

Crotona, Bronx
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Forage the forest responsibly to gather sticks, twigs, weeds, and other materials to create useful crafts inspired by nature. READ MORE

Best Free Things To Do in NYC: Monday, January 22-Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Kindie Rock

Battery Park City
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Shake all those wiggles out at Battery Park City's weekly kid concerts. Attendance is first-come, first-served, so arrive early for one of the two sessions. READ MORE

Winter Tree ID

Pelham, Bronx
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Hike through Pelham Bay Park in search of different tree species and learn some ways to identify these trees during the changing season.   READ MORE

Gather Around the Campfire

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Families are invited to gather by the campfire to enjoy an afternoon of storytelling and fireside activities in Arthur S. Somers Park. READ MORE

Astronomy: The Winter Sky

Fort Totten, Queens
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Urban Park Rangers serve as your guides to the solar system, discussing the science, history, and folklore of the universe. Winter is a prime season for stargazing, as cold air clears the night sky of clouds and creates ideal conditions for seeing the stars, planets, and other celestial highlights. READ MORE

Keepsake: Greece

Battery Park City
Saturday, January 27, 2024
The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church & National Shrine hosts a Family Workshop highlighting Greece. Create a keepsake to take home, and enjoy live performances and traditional dance with the Greek American Folklore Society. READ MORE

Sensory Perception Hike

Queensboro Hill, Queens
Sunday, January 28, 2024
Engage your sense of touch, smell, sight, and hearing as you explore the natural world during this hike in Kissena Corridor Park. READ MORE

Anime Movie Night: Wolf Children (PG)

Van Cortlandt Village, the Bronx
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Van Cortlandt Library hosts an anime movie night, with free snacks and coloring sheets provided for all attendees. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Museo del Barrio, 1230 5th Ave. @104th
Brooklyn Children's Museum
National Parks - Multiple Locations