7 Children’s Museums in New York City You Need to Visit

New York City has plenty of museums. And with institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Intrepid Air & Space Museum offering exhibits for children, there are plenty of great places where parents can bring their kids for a day of learning. The only problem is that, despite these institutions’ best efforts, they’re designed primarily for adults. It may be challenging to keep your kids engaged for a significant time. Where can you go for learning-focused activities that are entertaining for children?

Fortunately, New York City has many options. Across the five boroughs, here are seven of the best children’s museums.

1. Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Why not start your journey to New York City’s children’s museums with the originator? A revolutionary institution, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum holds distinction not only as New York City’s first children’s museum but also the first anywhere in the United States.

Since its opening in 1899, BCM has grown to offer programs and activities for children of all ages. Its youngest guests will love the padded play space at the Totally Tots Exhibit, and parents can nurture their children’s artistic skills at ColorLab. To be noticed is World Brooklyn, an interactive exhibit where kids can wander through a miniature Brooklyn complete with restaurants and stores.

2. DiMenna Children’s History Museum at the New York Historical Society

Children and their parents can find much to do at the New York Historical Society. While the Upper West Side organization maintains exhibits for adults, the child-focused museum in the same building provides a fun look at the US — and particularly New York City — history.

Recent exhibits have offered children the opportunity to play a tabletop baseball game, learn about the early lives of famous New Yorkers, and pretend they’re newsies selling newspapers out on the city street like in the days of old. During the winter, DiMenna Children’s Museum also presents a train show.

3. Jewish Children’s Museum

This children’s museum offers its Soil to Oil Workshop during the holiday season, where children can learn to make fresh olive oil. The workshop also teaches kids to prepare potato latkes and allows them to eat chocolate gelt after learning the meaning of the dreidel.

Fortunately, if you can’t make it here during the holidays, there’s plenty to do the rest of the year. Located in Crown Heights, the Jewish Children’s Museum focuses on educating its guests about Jewish customs and history through a range of kid-friendly programming.

4. National Museum of Mathematics

This Manhattan gallery is packed with hands-on activities designed to illuminate the power of math for guests. Known as MoMath, it was established following the closure of a Long Island-based math museum. Realizing the defunct institution had been the only one of its kind in the country, MoMath’s founders created a comprehensive museum that engenders an appreciation for math.

Today, MoMath works to carry out that mission by maintaining various activities, such as a 3D design studio and digital puzzles. Also, the Math Square exhibit is where guests can watch as a Jumbotron changes to show the shortest path between each person every time someone moves.

5. New York Hall of Science

The New York Hall of Science started in 1964 and was built as part of the World’s Fair. Expanded in the past decade, it’s a perfect place to immerse your kids in science.

Popular options include Connected Worlds, a touchscreen activity that invites guests to make decisions to keep an animated world thriving. Preschool Place, meanwhile, allows the museum’s youngest visitors to learn about science while burning off some energy, and kids can also express their creativity at any of the five stations of the Design Lab.

6. Staten Island Children’s Museum

Many kids dream of becoming a firefighter, and Staten Island Children’s Museum allows them to play one at its Ladder 11 exhibit. While not all kids necessarily fantasize about being an ant, the museum lets them pretend to be one of those by crawling through a giant anthill.

Larger-than-life activities here also include a gallery filled with enormous versions of games like Dominoes and Connect Four. For budget-conscious families, Staten Island Children’s Museum occasionally offers free admission days, thus making the trip from one of the other four boroughs even more worth it.

7. Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling

Speaking of free, Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling never charges admission for children aged eight and under. Located in Harlem, this subterranean institution offers a program to celebrate the power of art and story.

While children are busy participating in art workshops, attending interactive story time, or joining other programs designed to nurture their creativity, parents can explore original artwork at three on-site galleries. Much of the art on display has been created by local artists and is for sale, and visitors may also catch a glimpse of art being made in real-time at the museum’s two studios.