The best indoor activities for NYC kids

Prepare your taste buds: DUMBO's new, out-of-this-world food hall with spectacular views has been created by Time Out Group! Time Out Market New York, located at 55 Water St (within Empire Stores), is now open! The space boasts 21,000 square feet across two floors and includes three bars plus a scenic fifth floor outdoor roof deck. Say hello to views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Lower Manhattan skyline—and our favorite spot to grab a bite. Check out what's happening with our vendors, including Juliana's, Bessou, Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant, Miss Ada, Jacob's Pickles, FELICE, DŌ, Cookie Dough Confections, Avocaderia and more. 

If you're searching for ways to keep your creative kiddos engaged, take a trip to Chelsea.  The neighborhood just welcomed The GIANT Room, an innovation space for tiny New Yorkers with big dreams. Now operating at 550 W 28th St, the venue set up roots just in time for the colder months (when parents desperately need recs for indoor activities for kids).  "It’s kids’ ideas that are GIANT," says Dr. Azi Jamalian, Founder and CEO of The GIANT Room. "We simply give them the space, mentorship and all sorts of tools and equipment they need to bring those ideas into reality.” The hub is geared toward visitors ages 3–12 who are curious about STEAM studies and art classes for kids. Arguably one of the main draws to the space is the "Blank Canvas," where participants help piece together a new monthly exhibit for The GIANT Room's gallery. Currently, little Picassos and their families are tasked with creating an interactive Dream Land this November. Plus, exciting workshops, including "Storytelling, Animation and Character Design" and "Design and Fabrication," are also available.

If your littles have begun drafting a holiday wishlist, now is the time to pay a visit to one of the most popular New York toy store locales. Beginning today, CAMP will transform into a winter wonderland. With the help of eko, the shop's Toy Lab CAMP theme will boast a variety of interactive features that emanate major North Pole vibes. Akin to channeling the role of elves, little shoppers will make their way into the "fun-o-vator," select a toy-testing job (funfluencer, awesomeness agent and play pioneer) and receive a lanyard that they'll get hole-punched as they test each item. It sounds like Santa's workshop has a bit of competition from CAMP! 

The leaves are falling, the Jets are losing and the marathoners are marathoning: Fall is here, and it's time for Smorgasburg to head indoors until the spring. The food market has joined forces with the Brooklyn Flea to take over an unfinished space in 25 Kent, a new development in Williamsburg close to the Wythe Hotel. Think of it as a neo-souk with a million-dollar view of the Manhattan skyline. More than 15 food vendors will set up shop, including Destination Dumplings and Dough Donuts (this was brought to you by the letter D), which will make this a prime choice for families looking to get out of the house during the cooler months.

"Mall" isn't necessarily an accurate way to describe American Dream.  Sure, the highly-anticipated Jersey attraction boasts hundreds of retail options, from Zara and H&M to Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co., but the three-million-square-foot destination is definitely an entertainment hub that needs to be on your radar.  Check out all that awaits: Nickelodeon Universe (Opens Oct 25), DreamWorks Water Park (Opens Nov 27), Big SNOW Ski and Snowboard Park (Opens Dec 5) and more. 

An amusement park staple is getting a wintry makeover.  If your little ones can't find their balance while ice skating in NYC, why not give ice bumper cars a try? They're making a Kings County debut, and deserve prime-time real estate on your winter bucket list.  Venture to Aviator Sports, the gracious host of Big Bounce America, for the super-cool experience. Taking a cue from the Winter Village at Bryant Park, one of Brooklyn's most popular family attractions will offer families (with kids ages 7 and up) a chance to enjoy a 15-minute session for $13 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Time to channel those Coney Island summer days, but with a few cold-weather modifications! 

The Hunters Point Library that opened this week is a stunner, a $40 million public amenity so airy and tasteful it looks like it could be in the capital of a Scandinavian country. But here it is in the borough of Queens, rising from a former brownfield site on the Long Island City waterfront. As Alicia Keys put it, "Let's hear it for New York." What's so special about the building? The walls, for one. Designed by Steven Holl Architects, which has done major projects for Princeton and MIT, the library's walls carry the building's weight, opening up the interior to be a sculptural space free of columns. Those soaring stairs and cascading floors are made possible by clever engineering. The library is more than a pretty facade—it's some serious architecture.  Most importantly, it's a library with an amazing section for kids and some fantastic children's programs, including Toddler Times (Wednesdays at 10:30am), Saturday Pre-K Music and Play Times (10:30am), Wednesday Crafternoons (4–5pm) and Thursday STEAM Afternoons (4–5pm). You can find a calendar of activities online.

 New Yorkers take their immersive experiences quite seriously, and this fall promises a slew of sensory-filled adventures.  After indulging in creamy goodness at the Museum of Ice Cream's new Soho flagship, head over for a creative afternoon at Sloomoo Institute. This 8,000 square-foot entertainment hub, also in Soho, opens Oct 2Sloomoo acts as an art exhibit and art class for kids, too. Visitors big and lil' will enter a black light cove with glow in the dark slime, let an EEG machine provide a sneak peek of your brain on slime and much more. For creative youngsters who love STEM project, this is one of the coolest fall activities for kids taking place this year.  Tickets are now on sale ($38) and include an 8-ounce custom slime and other fun trinkets. For those who take their sliming super seriously, visitors can participate in a Sloomoo photoshoot (for an additional $30) where slime pours down on eager participants a la 90's Nickelodeon days.

Home to the largest and arguably most fabulous collection of dinosaur fossils in the world, AMNH’s fourth-floor dino halls have been blowing kids' minds for decades. Roughly 80 percent of the bones on display were actually dug out of the ground; the rest are casts. The Hall of Human Origins boasts a fine display of your old cousins, the Neanderthals. The Hall of Biodiversity examines world ecosystems and environmental preservation, and a life-size, 100-foot-long model of a blue whale hangs from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life.

Explore a magical world of interactive miniatures at Times Square's lovable attraction, which contains almost 50,000 square feet of the world's most magnificent landmarks. Visitors can walk by the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, Buckingham Palace—even the pyramids! Have tiny train, truck and car-lovers on your hands? Expect almost 1,000 trains, 12,000 wagons and a total of about 10,000 cars and trucks on display. The longest track is almost eight miles long! 

This nearly 40,000-square-foot institution houses exhibits that make learning about culture, history and science a blast for kids ages 6 and under. Explore the benefits of good nutrition from "EatSleepPlay," a Dora the Explorer play area, and immersive exhibits that rotate in and out of the five-story space. CMOM also hosts classes and workshops—from Gross Biology for kids who love burps and germs, to the Music in Me!, a toddlers' program by Laurie Berkner—all designed with the latest child-development research in mind.

This children's museum celebrates imagination through art, storytelling and education. Kids can explore different exhibits like "The Pollen Catchers' Color Mixing Machine" a site-specific mural inspired by fables and folktales and "People, Places, and Things: Selections from The Studio Museum," a collection of art from the 1930s to 1980s that features portraits and landscapes from a group of artists who depicted everyday life in U.S. communities including Harlem. The museum hosts a variety of events for kids from story hours to art workshops.

When it was founded in 1899, the BCM was the country’s first museum specifically made for children. Today it’s one of the most comprehensive, with a permanent collection of 30,000 objects, including musical instruments, masks, dolls and fossils. Kids have fun while learning (sneaky!) at interactive exhibits like “World Brooklyn,” a pint-size cityscape lined by faux stores where young’uns can weigh ingredients and knead pretend dough at the Mexican Bakery, or shop for cans of Indian ghee and Turkish candy at the International Grocery.

Rather than being a place to learn math, the museum is a place to realize all the remarkable things math can be used to create. Its 30-plus interactive exhibits include the Wall of Fire, a laser "wall" that shows visitors that cross-sections aren't always what you think they are; Math Square, a Jumbotron on the floor that connects each person standing on it by the shortest path possible, changing the moment anyone moves; a design studio where participants create a 3-D design on a screen, for a chance to have it "printed" into an actual sculpture via a 3-D printer; and Enigma Café, a place where families can sit down at tables to work on digital puzzles.

As the saying goes, "You have to see it to believe it." The now-permanent Museum of Illusions offers 70+ exhibits in science, tech, mathematics and other fields that will have patrons doing a double take. This sensory-driven experience allows visitors to take a look at unusual works, try their hand at games and puzzles and get to the bottom of the opitical ollusions. All ages. 

After nearly 50 years in its Marcel-Breur-designed building on Madison Avenue at 75th Street, the Whitney Museum decamped in 2015 to a brand new home in Lower Manhattan's Meatpacking District, conceived by international starchitect Renzo Piano. Planted at the foot of the Highline along Ganesvoort Street, the new Whitney building boasts some 63, 000 square feet of both indoor and outdoor exhibition space. Founded in 1931 by sculptor and art patron Gertrude Vanderbilt, the Whitney is dedicated to presenting the work of American artists. Its collection holds about 15,000 pieces by nearly 2,000 artists, including Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper (the museum holds his entire estate), Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claes Oldenburg. Still, the museum’s reputation rests mainly on its temporary shows, particularly the exhibition everyone loves to hate, the Whitney Biennial. Held in even-numbered years, the Biennial remains the most prestigious (and controversial) assessment of contemporary art in America.

The Jewish Museum, housed in the 1908 Warburg Mansion, contains a fascinating collection of more than 28,000 works of art, artifacts and media installations. The two-floor permanent exhibition, “Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey,” examines how Judaism has survived and explores various Jewish identities throughout history. There is also a permanent exhibit specifically for children: The Café Weissman serves contemporary kosher fare.

When MoMA reopens to the public on Oct 21 after a $450 million expansion, it won't just be a larger and sleeker, it will offer updated and upgraded activities for kids and families. Here's a preview of what you'll find at the Museum of Modern Art, and how to get the most out of a family visit to one of the greatest museums in the world. If you have you have young children in tow, head straight to the Heyman Family Art Lab (all ages) on the first floor. The cheerful art studio overlooks the garden, and it has books and toys and a small play area in addition to activity stations stocked with amazing art supplies. After visiting the art lab, grab one of the newly reimagined family gallery guides that helps transform the museum into a playful and thought-provoking experience. New labels in the museum for children called For Kids not only identify art, they ask questions that will get your little gallery-goer chatting away.  Older kids (10 and up) will want to go to brand-new Paula and James Crown Creativity Lab on the second floor. This studio is geared for children, teens and adults, with more sophisticated art projects.

The Discovery Channel is one of the sponsors of this large-scale exhibition center, which will offer limited-edition runs of exhibits from across the globe. The 60,000-square-foot space is housed in the former New York Times building, and includes a learning center, a space for special events and a café. In "Ocean Odyssey," you'll enjoy virtual interaction with sea lions, rays, dolphins and see virtual humpback whales, great white sharks and Humboldt squids. You'll experience photo-real animation, huge projection screens, immersive sound and an area where guests can engage with interactive technology (photo areas, touch screens, holograms and games involving ocean conservation and research).

You and your crew will want to hop on a ferry to pay Lady Liberty a visit—so start planning those day trips now. A new museum debuted on the landmark's grounds in May 2019, making one of the most iconic symbols of the American spirit better than ever. Due to security concerns, the accessibility currently limits 80 percent of visitors to enter the pedestal and check out the museum. The new Statue of Liberty Museum is looking to make changes so all patrons are treated to a welcoming, educational experience. And trust us, you'll need to put this on your list of new and upcoming exhibits to explore. There are three components to check out: an immersive theater that provides a glimpse into Lady Liberty's history and ideals; an engagement gallery where visitors can get a behind-the-scenes look of how Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi built the Statue and the inspirational gallery, arguably the most exciting facet of the grounds, as it allows you to get up close and personal with the original torch.