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The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is an iconic NYC holiday destination. Photo courtesy of Rockefeller Center
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Lightscape at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has become an enchanting holiday tradition for many families. Photo courtesy of the garden
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34 Fun Free Things To Do in NYC this February

Kids Week returns to Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park from Tuesday, February 21-Friday, February 24. Kids can join a free skate lesson. Photo by Jody Mercier
Kids Week returns to Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park from Tuesday, February 21-Friday, February 24. Kids can join a free skate lesson. Photo by Jody Mercier
2/1/24 - By Drew Kristofik

We're leaping into February (extra day and all) and celebrating with this list of free things to do in NYC with kids. Our picks for the best free things to do with kids this February include the big Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, a fun valentines-making workshop, and the city's best summer camp fair, CAMPTOPIA.

Looking for more fun things to do all month long? Be sure to bookmark our list of February's top family-friendly events plus our Family Activity Calendar and NYC Kids' Guide to Winter Activities for more seasonal picks.

Be sure to click through to each listing for all the details, including location, time, and recommended ages.

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OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Mark your calendars for the free Winter Ice Sculpture Show on Governors Island. Photo courtesy of Okamoto Studio
Mark your calendars for the free Winter Ice Sculpture Show on Governors Island. Photo courtesy of Okamoto Studio

Free Things To Do in NYC from Thursday, February 1-Sunday, February 4, 2024

Teen Night: Lights, Cameras, Crooklyn!

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Friday, February 2
Kick off February with 2024’s first Brooklyn Museum Teen Night, a teen-led program centered on art and activism! Inspired by Spike Lee: Creative Sources, this evening features art-making, performances, and more.    READ MORE

Hands on History: Victorian Valentines

Jamaica, Queens
Saturday, February 3
Kick off the season of love with Victorian valentine-making at the Kings Manor Museum using reproductions of historic patterns and ephemera. Mean valentines, known as vinegar valentines, were also popular during this period, so broken hearts are welcome.  READ MORE

Fourth Annual Winter Ice Sculpture Show on Governors Island

Governors Island
Saturday, February 3
Ten artists team up with a professional ice carver from Okamoto Studio for this live ice carving demonstration on Governors Island. Visitors can witness real-time ice carving and vote for their favorite sculpture for the People's Choice Award.  READ MORE

Post-Groundhog Day Hike and Shadow Craft

Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island
Saturday, February 3
Join the Urban Park Rangers and celebrate Staten Island Chuck’s prediction with a hike and craft! Learn the history of Groundhog Day and explore the way light shapes our vision of nature and the seasons with a paper craft. READ MORE

Lunar New Year Celebration & Balloontopia Dragon Edition

Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, February 3
Celebrate Chinese New Year at City Point with traditional lion dances, Balloontopia Dragon Edition, kids' Lunar New Year-inspired crafts, and family portraits.    READ MORE

CAMPTOPIA - NYC's Most Fun Camp Fair

Downtown Brooklyn
Sunday, February 4
Arts and crafts, robotics, filmmaking, s'mores, slime, soccer skills, a photo booth, gymnastics, an obstacle course...it sounds like an amazing day at summer camp or what you'll find at CAMPTOPIA, the most amazing camp fair ever! Plus, a bounce house, face painting, DJ, and more—all FREE! Don't just read about summer camps, come to CAMPTOPIA and play with them! READ MORE
Swoop into the Year of the Wood Dragon and celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, with an afternoon of art at the Rubin Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum
Swoop into the Year of the Wood Dragon and celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, with an afternoon of art at the Rubin Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum

Free Things To Do in NYC from Monday, February 5-Sunday, February 11, 2024

Kindie Rock

Battery Park
Wednesdays February 7, 14, 21, and 28
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

Drumming Circle with Brother Mustafa

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Thursday, February 8
Lay down the beat at the Brooklyn Children's Museum during this special drumming workshop! Brother Mustafa performs Sufi-inspired songs in an interactive drumming circle.   READ MORE

Family Fridays: Möbius Origami Extravaganza

Chelsea
Friday, February 9
Fashion artist Uyen Nguyen leads a hands-on workshop at MoMath creating origami “Möbius strips”—pieces of paper that are transformed to have only a single surface. Learn about this fascinating shape and combine it with other mathematical delights to create your own sculptures that you can wear as bracelets, necklaces, and more! READ MORE

Take Two Film Workshop: Monster Movie Mayhem

Long Island City, Queens
Saturday, February 10
In this hands-on workshop, kids create a scene from a classic kaiju movie, like Godzilla! First, they construct a miniature set using recycled materials. Then, learn about camera angles and frame rates to film a short movie of epic proportions. Kids take home their creations and a link to their video. READ MORE

Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival

Lower East Side
Saturday, February 10
The Better Chinatown Society's annual New Year's celebration is hosted in Sara D. Roosevelt Park with firecrackers, cultural performances, and much more. READ MORE

90-Second Newbery Film Festival 2024

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, February 10
Check out the 13th annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival—a yearly video contest in which kid filmmakers create weird short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery award-winning books in about 90 seconds. READ MORE

Love is in the Air Pixel Event

South Street Seaport
Saturday, February 10
Head to the Alfred E. Smith Recreation Center and prep for Valentine's Day by visiting different stations to create hearts, roses, and flowers. All participants go home with the creative art pieces they have made.   READ MORE

Lunar New Year Family Celebration

Upper West Side
Saturday, February 10
Ring in 2025 as the Year of the Snake: self-discovery, transformation, and celebrating connection for all, including a beloved lion dance performance on Josie Robertson Plaza and Storytime with Ahsley and Jeff Chang of The ABC Digest. READ MORE

Valentine Making Workshop

Battery Park
Sunday, February 11
All we need is love! Take part in a time-honored annual Battery Park City tradition where participants are invited to make old-fashioned handmade cards for their loved ones! Cut, paste, and decorate with provided materials...and don’t forget to seal it with a kiss. READ MORE

Losar Family Day: Wondrous Wood Dragons

Chelsea
Sunday, February 11
Swoop into the Year of the Wood Dragon and celebrate Losar, the Tibetan New Year, with an afternoon of art. Learn about traditional Losar celebrations and this year’s zodiac animal, the powerful and determined Wood Dragon. Then, explore the galleries, watch a traditional torma butter sculpture demonstration, and more.  READ MORE

China Institute Hoppy Rabbit Playdate

Financial District
Sunday, February 11
China Institute's Hoppy Rabbit Playdate program offers a 1 1/2 hour open session where families can bring their children to a spacious and cozy indoor playground to play, socialize, have fun with age-appropriate toys and activities. READ MORE

Free Second Sundays

Chelsea
Sunday, February 11
Admission to the Whitney is free all day on the second Sunday of every month. Visitors of all ages can participate in art-making, activities, tours, classes, and other special events that celebrate Whitney exhibitions and community events.  READ MORE
Half Moon Sword presents this 38th annual festival with free, family-friendly performances of this traditional dance. Photo courtesy of Half Moon Sword
Half Moon Sword presents this 38th annual festival with free, family-friendly performances of this traditional dance. Photo courtesy of Half Moon Sword

Free Things To Do in NYC from Monday, February 12-Sunday, February 18, 2024

Miller Theater Pop-Up Concert: Beethoven Sonatas

Upper West Side
Tuesday, February 13
Free and fun pop-up concerts provide the perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with today’s most exciting new music. Sit onstage and mingle with the musicians and fellow concertgoers after the show. READ MORE

Valentine's Day Art Program: Marbled Hearts

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 13
Using shaving cream and washable paint, create a marble pattern on heart-shaped paper. Once dried, your creation can become a special Valentine to give to a loved one! READ MORE

Cinderella at Brooklyn Public Library

Prospect Heights
Saturday, February 17
The classic tale, complete with wicked step sisters and fairy godmother, gives the Central Library a shimmer of fairy dust in a one-hour family production. READ MORE

Lunar New Year at The Seaport

South Street Seaport
Saturday, February 17
The Seaport is partnering with the New York Chinese Cultural Center to bring an intergenerational Lunar New Year celebration to life to mark the Year of the Wood Dragon. READ MORE

New York Sword Dance Festival

Citywide
Saturday & Sunday, February 17 & 18
Half Moon Sword presents this 38th annual festival with free, family-friendly performances of this traditional dance form with modern twists by nine performing groups from around the Northeast. READ MORE

Lunar New Year at the Queens Botanical Garden

Flushing, Queens
Sunday, February 18
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon at the Queens Botanical Garden with lion dance performances, a zodiac-themed craft, storytelling, and more. READ MORE

Free Things To Do in NYC from Monday, February 19-Thursday, February 29, 2023

The Great Backyard Bird Count

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Monday, February 19
The Brooklyn Bird Club leads Prospect Park’s GBBC contingent in an effort to count birds and create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. READ MORE

Free Kids Week Programming in NYC Parks

Citywide
Monday, February 19-Friday, February 23
Spend spring break exploring NYC Parks with the help of the Urban Park Rangers FREE programming series. READ MORE

Midwinter Recess in Prospect Park

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Monday, February 19-Friday, February 23
The Prospect Park Alliance offers family-friendly programming every day during midwinter recess. READ MORE

Freezin' Season Winter Break Workshops for Kids

Jamaica, Queens
Tuesday, February 20-Thursday, February 22
King Manor invites kids inside for Freezin’ Season, an activity series to help keep kids busy during winter break that includes plastic recycling weaving, packing peanut igloos, and puzzle time. READ MORE

Harlem Grown Wellness Fair

Harlem
Friday, February 23
Harlem Grown hosts a wellness fair focused on promoting kindness toward yourself and others, with holistic activities exploring acts of kindness in different ways, including DIY wellness activities, cooking demonstrations, storytime, and more!   READ MORE

Keepsake: Guatamala at 6 River Terrace

Battery Park
Saturday, February 24
Bula Arts and Culture hosts a family workshop highlighting Guatamala. Create a keepsake to take home, and enjoy interactive live performances and storytelling by Ch’umilkaj Nicho, Tito Medina, and Kevin Ortiz Lemus. READ MORE

Lenfest Kids Presents The Wiz at Columbia

Manhattanville
Saturday, February 24
Columbia University School of Arts' monthly series of films for the whole family offers a free screening of Sidney Lumet's The Wiz.  READ MORE

27th Annual New York City Lunar New Year Parade & Festival in Chinatown

Chinatown
Sunday, February 25
A half-million spectators often line the streets of Chinatown for this colorful pan-Asian procession, which includes Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and even Hispanic floats and cultural performances.  READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Brooklyn Central Library - Dweck Center
Alfred E Smith Recreation Center
Miller Theater at Columbia University
Brooklyn Central Library - Dweck Center
Various locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn
Jewish Community Center