If you're looking for a vacation that will provide thrills and fun for everyone in the family, an amusement park is a great bet. Most of the 40 top amusement parks in the US for a family vacation offer rides, attractions, shows, and other activities for everyone from toddlers to teens and their grown-ups. My family recently visited one of these theme parks, Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, and had an absolute blast.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a European-themed park that's been voted the World’s Most Beautiful Amusement Park by the National Amusement Park Historical Association for over 30 years. The massive park is broken into nine villages that center around six countries—Germany, France, Ireland, Scotland, England, and Italy. Many of the rides, attractions, performances, and foods are themed around those countries. There are also animal habitats to visit. While there's enough to do at Busch Gardens Williamsburg to make it your sole destination, its proximity to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and other historical sites can also make it one part of a larger family vacation.

Here's what to know about visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg, VA with kids.

There is no shortage of warm-weather family activities in Brooklyn, but I find myself continuously making the trip to Brooklyn Bridge Park throughout the spring and summer months. Spanning 1.3 miles along the East River, Brooklyn Bridge Park is an 85-acre waterfront green space promising recreation, sustainability, and environmental exploration. Where else can you fish, roller skate, kayak, barbecue, hit some spectacular playgrounds, catch the ferry to Governors Island, see FREE outdoor movies, explore a sensory labyrinth, or visit an environmental education center? Plus, the Lower Manhattan skyline views never fail to impress.

We've rounded up our favorite things to do in Brooklyn Bridge Park with kids. Looking for more green spaces to explore? Bookmark our Guide to Parks and Playgrounds in NYC.

With space travel increasingly in the news, children’s fascination with all things space is sky-high. Being able to get up close to real space artifacts at one of these space museums near NYC is thrilling for any kid, not just those obsessed with space, like somebody in my house!

We've found a collection fo dedicated space museums near NYC, plus some ultra-cool space-themed galleries within some favorite local science museums. At these spots, kids and adults can experience what it feels like to be in space through simulators, interactive exhibits, planetarium shows, or watching a live feed from the International Space Station.

Find more cool museums for kids in our Guide to Museums and Galleries for Kids or find more STEM-inspired fun in our Guide to Science Experiments for Kids.

Creating your very own pollinator garden is a fun and easy activity that teaches kids the importance of bees and butterflies to every aspect of our ecosystem. Don't have a green thumb, or even a backyard? No problem. We’ve got tons of easy solutions to get started on a simple at-home bee garden or butterfly garden for your backyard or a window box. And planting and caring for a pollinator garden isn't just for adults; it’s a perfect family activity suitable for kids of all ages.

Once you’ve planted a bee garden or butterfly garden, you can watch these creatures up close as they drink nectar and fly from flower to flower. But don’t stop there—get crafty and create some homemade wind chimes out of recycled materials to decorate your new pollinator garden.

Check out more green activities for kids as part of our Earth Kids Guide to Green Activities for the Planet.

Have you heard about Boat Cinema? It's billed as a sort of floating drive-in, a float-in if you like, and it just might be the coolest way to experience movies this summer. With Boat Cinema, families in LA can watch movies on a big screen while lounging in small, family-sized boats.

Read on for the current lineup of movies! You can also see a movie at one of the local drive-in theaters in Los Angeles, or at an outdoor movie on a blanket in a park.

Ever think you would spot a seal in Manhattan or a giraffe in the Bronx? Did you ever hope you'd be surrounded by sharks at Coney Island? New York City zoos and the New York Aquarium offer families the chance to get up close and personal with animals from all over the world. From the Bronx Zoo to the Staten Island Zoo, each borough has its own unique zoo experience. Whether your children are big or small, there is a zoo in NYC suited to their age, interests, and attention span. Best of all, access to these creatures doesn't have to break the bank. Free admission can be as easy as picking the right afternoon to visit. Check out our insider tips for making the most of New York City's zoos and aquarium.

If you grew up in the Garden State, you’re already familiar with the hotly contested "Taylor ham" versus "pork roll" debate, or the “What exit?” joke. Kidding aside, New Jersey has a lot of well-known assets, including its shoreline, farmland, mountains, the Pine Barrens and, of course, its urban hubs.

There are also a number of lesser-known lures that are worth a visit. Here are some off-the-beaten path attractions in Jersey, from the birthplace of its most illusive and infamous resident, the Jersey Devil, to a giant elephant that used to be a hotel. There's even a museum dedicated to weirdness. What's not to love about that?

If you're looking for other diverting day-trip ideas, check out our guide to New Jersey's best zoos and aquariums or our rundown on the best beaches in the state. And be sure to bookmark our Weekend Trips Guide for things to do with the fam all season long.