Let's be honest, having kids can be expensive. Entertaining kids can be even more expensive. Museums, zoos, and amusement parks can be fun and even educational, but not always economical. Sometimes the best time to go is when the littlest ones can still get in with free admission. Maybe you can even check a few things off of your bucket list. To make it easy, we've created this list of which places offer free admission for what ages. We've even included some more obscure museums so you can broaden your horizons and try some place new! So hurry up and plan that outing while the kids are still little.

My 10-year-old daughter is a Harry Potter fanatic. She’s read the series six times, watched all the movies, and still sincerely hopes for an acceptance letter from Hogwarts when she turns 11. We’ve both taken online quizzes to figure out which Hogwarts house we’d belong to. (She got Gryffindor, and I got Ravenclaw.) When I heard about Puffs, a play that recounts the Harry Potter story from the perspective of the Hufflepuffs, who were mostly background characters in the Harry Potter saga, I knew we had to see it.

Puffs is charming, entertaining, and fast-paced. The premise is simple: No one really wants to be a Puff, not even the Hufflepuffs. When the characters receive their house assignments, the new Puffs feel a little bewildered. What is being a Puff really about?

Read on for our full review, or check out our NYC Theater Guide for more family shows playing now, and coming soon, such as Frozen and SpongeBob.

Ever use a four-foot slingshot to launch a pumpkin at a target? No? How about dive head first into a pit of corn? Well, let us point you in the direction of Benedict’s Home and Garden in Monroe. And, while we're talking Fairfield County pumpkins and corn pits, check out our fall fun guide and subscribe our newsletter so you won't miss corn maze, apple orchard, or harvest festival this season. 

The City Point complex, Brooklyn’s new shopping center downtown, has so much to offer families. Parents will appreciate the Target and Trader Joe’s, and the whole family will enjoy the sleek new movie theater and vast DeKalb Market Hall with delicious offerings from dozens of vendors. And this ain’t no ordinary food court—you won’t find stale bagels and bland Chinese food here. Instead, think fried chicken on a stick and make-your-own cake pops.

Find our favorite picks below and return often for updated offerings there and around the neighborhood. Before you know it, you'll be raising certified Brooklyn foodies.

It's My Little Pony turned real life at Spirit’s Promise Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation, a facility for abused, neglected or unwanted farm animals. It offers animals a renewed lease on life while providing a rewarding and educational destination for visitors. 

Want to get up close and personal with other animals? Peruse our list of animal farms and petting zoos on Long Island. Looking for more East End fun? Check out our guide to the Hamptons and North Fork.

The Shopkins gang took to the stage this September in their very first live show, Shopkins Live! Shop It Up! Based on Moose Toys' popular line of tiny, collectible grocery store items—and the animated series on YouTube—the show features life-size versions of characters like Lippy Lips (a tube of lipstick) and Kooky Cookie (a chocolate chip cookie).

The show, which I caught in New Jersey with two preschool-age kids (and a theater full of mostly girls ages 4-8, decked out in Shopkins gear), was a full assault of rainbow colors, upbeat singing, and coordinated dance moves. It’s campy, silly, and pure fun for little fans of the figurines.

Read on for our full review of this children’s theater show, which continues its North American tour into 2018, hitting more than 75 cities and metro areas, including Tarrytown, New York (September 26), two more New Jersey theaters (September 27-28), Westbury, New York (October 1), Houston (October 20), and Hollywood, California (November 18).

Fairfield County’s most anticipated autumnal attraction is, without question, a visit to Silverman’s Farm. This little slice of pastoral paradise has served as a family destination in Easton along Route 59 for 95 years. Particularly during fall.