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Summer for NYC Kids: Our Guide Has the Best Free and Fun Things to Do All Season Long

5/22/12 - By Raven Snook

Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. The beaches open, the sprinklers turn on (assuming it's over 85 degrees), Governors Island begins welcoming visitors and kids start having trouble focusing in school. (Funny, we have the same problem with work.)

In anticipation of a wonderful season full of fun and free activities and cool destinations, we've updated our Summer Fun Guide. Highlights include:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

A roundup of eight New York City beaches, all accessible via public transportation.

Our top five suburban beaches, including Sandy Hook and Jones Beach

A list of playgrounds with amazing water features

A roundup of nearby water theme parks, most of which open Memorial Day weekend

Amusement parks closer to home like the ones in Coney Island and little-kid favorite Victorian Gardens in Central Park, which opens Memorial Day weekend

Info on a variety of free summers sports programs for kids, including swimming lessons

A preview of the season on Governors Island, which opens with a big family festival this Saturday

A roundup of NYC carousels, including the return of the long-closed Forest Park Carousel which begins turning again Memorial Day weekend

Places to play a round of miniature golf

Over the next few weeks, we'll update our roundups of outdoor performance festivals, free outdoor movies and kids' concerts, and outdoor pools, which open for the season on Thursday, June 28. And we'll be posting about a lot more summer fun throughout the season. So bookmark our Summer Fun Guide: You'll be using it for a while.

About the Author

Raven is a writer, editor, performer and mom, who was born and bred in NYC, just like her husband, her mother and now, her daughter. In addition to Mommy Poppins, she has written about parenting and pop culture for New York Magazine, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, the New York Post, TV Guide and SheKnows. She's also the founder of Hot Mama Burlesque, the world's only all-moms burlesque show.
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