Activities

Activities, Family Travel, New York City Kids
7 Things To Do With Kids In NYC – Summer Edition
- 1:41 am
- 13 Comments
- by Adanna Dill
Cue Olaf, “In Summer”

I live for summer! All year long, I hunker down under many layers of clothing waiting for the skies to clear up and the sun to burst through screaming my name. Having kids makes summer even more fun, it’s time to play outdoors with them. Through hanging out with my babies, I’ve been able to explore so much more of my beloved New York City. In this city, you can randomly walk into cultural performances, street fairs and other cool events on any given summer day. I wanted to share 7 things to do with kids in NYC during the summer:

1. Jane’s Carousel

Truth be told Mr. Rattles and I randomly stumbled upon Jane’s Carousel, July 4th 2011 while hanging out with The Princess Fairy when she was a toddler. We are huge fans of Brooklyn Bridge Park but had never visited the Carousel before. Our baby girl loved it and it’s become our family tradition to kick off the summer by taking her to the carousel every year.

The carousel is beautiful and located in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge on the edge of the river. As a bonafide history junkie, I appreciate the fact that Jane’s Carousel is restored and it’s beauty is just breathtaking.

2. Staten Island Ferry

I rode the Staten Island Ferry daily for years when I was in college and I loved how it slowed down the life of busy New Yorkers for 20 minutes. There is so much for kids to see on the ferry as it sails along both New Jersey and New York coasts, Statue of Liberty and Governors Island plus kids get to see the many different types of boats providing lots of learning opportunities for kids.

3. Mini Golf at New York Hall of Science

The New York Hall of Science has one of the coolest mini golf courses in the city for little ones. Located in the museum’s Rocket Park. Kids get to play mini golf in the shadow of a real life rocket ship and learn science concepts such as gravity, velocity and more. Pretty cool right?

4. Beach

Going to the beach is one of our family’s favorite summer pastimes. As a bonafide island girl, I always look forward to our beach outings. Some of my tips for going to beach in New York City are to go during the weekdays to avoid the weekend crowds, walk the boardwalk until you find a less crowded area and avoid areas close to public transportation or restaurants.

5. Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride

The Princess Fairy and I have a girls summer date planned to take a horse-drawn carriage ride this summer. She’s really excited to have that experience and since I’ve never done it even after living in NYC for almost 13 years, I’m also excited.

6. MoMA Art Lab

New York City summers can get uncomfortably hot. On the days when you rather be inside than outside take the kids to the MoMA for some learning through play at the MoMA Art lab. The current exhibit Places and Spaces encourages children to explore the world around them and to gain a sense of understanding of where they are located in the world. The Princess Fairy loved the MoMA Art Lab and didn’t get bored not for a minute. The Art Lab is filled with tons of activities, books and games with space for kids to explore and create. As a mom, I really love that the museum has a passport program for kids to collect stamps as they go to different exhibits around the museum.

7. Gantry Plaza State Park

Just this week, I took my son to play at another one of our favorite summer spots. If you’re already following me on Instagram (you should follow me)! You would of seen our post at Gantry Plaza State Park. Gantry Plaza State Park is great for many reasons. It’s not very popular and not overrun with lots of tourists or locals. The park sits on the East River in Queens and has gorgeous view of Manhattan’s skyline. Seriously, the view is amazing. The United Nations is directly across from the park and it’s in the shadows of the Queensboro Bridge. My daughter loves to stare at the city in amazement and count the boats that go by from the relaxing lounge chairs. There is also a toddler playground that The Super Knight loves to play in. If you’re going to be at the park for a while, you can bring some food and take advantage of the picnic tables. Have you been in NYC with kids in the summer? What did you enjoy doing? Follow Rattles and Heels’s board Things To Do In NYC With Kids on Pinterest.
Activities, Family Travel, New York City Kids, Things to do
Day Trip: Things To Do In Philadelphia With Kids
- 5:50 pm
- 37 Comments
- by Adanna Dill
Earlier this week, we thought it would be fun to get out of the city and take a day trip to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is perfect for a day trip for our New York City family because it’s only 2 hours away from home. Philadelphia is awesome to explore with lots of scenic outdoor spaces and historical sights to see. I thought it would be fun to share a recap of our trip and our itinerary. Here are things to do in Philadelphia with kids:

Logan Circle

Our first stop was Logan Circle so the kids could stretch their legs after sitting in the car for two hours. Since it was a really nice Spring day in Philly, The Princess Fairy wanted to play in the Swann Memorial Fountains. We didn’t let her get wet but she got close enough to enjoy the spray of the water on her happy little face. We relaxed on the benches and had a snack while she played and The Super Knight finished up his nap.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Then we continued along Ben Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, only a few minutes away from Logan Circle. Mr. Rattles was excited to check out the Rocky Statue and Philadelphia Museum of Art steps known as the Rocky Steps.

The Princess Fairy haven’t seen the Rocky movies but that didn’t stop her from power posing next to Rocky. Of course, we had to take a group pic with The Super Knight. Why is he so cute with his hands up?

Then we spent sometime just sitting on the stairs admiring the view of the city and chatting. The Princess Fairy raced her dad a few times and they caught it on video. She cracks up each time they watch it.

[Tweet “#VisitPhilly Here are some fun sights and things to do with your kids”]

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a magnificent building, it’s the type of architecture that would make an impression on you each time you see it. As a former student of architecture , I really appreciated it’s beauty.

Next we headed out to the Please Touch Museum that we heard lots good things about. We took in the scenery of Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River on our way there. It was a gorgeous day and there were people out canoeing and on row boats.

We also drove past the Philadelphia Zoo on our way to the museum and we wish we had the time to check it out. We are definitely going to visit Philadelphia Zoo on our next visit. All locals we chatted with recommended it for children.

Please Touch Museum

The Please Touch Museum is a children’s museum housed at Memorial Hall at Fairmont Park. Just like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the architecture of the building is quite impressive.

The Liberty Arm and Touch greeted us, it’s a 40 feet life size version made with toys and other objects.

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This elephant is made of all recycled materials. The Princess Fairy had a good time pointing out what all the different things were.

I thought that it was awesome that there is a carousel in the museum. The beautiful Dentzel Carousel is 100 years old and was originally in West Philadelphia as part of an amusement park. We go to children museums regularly and never went to one with a carousel. This makes Please Touch memorable for my little fun seekers.

After the carousel ride we went down the rabbit hole to the Wonderland exhibit to enjoy a tea party.

We did lots more at the Please Touch Museum but it truly deserves it’s own post which you can look out for soon.

Reading Terminal Market

We worked up an appetite walking through the exhibits at the Please Touch Museum so we decided to head out to the Reading Terminal Market in Downtown Philadelphia. The Reading Terminal Market was perfect as we had no idea where to find restaurants so it was awesome to have it all in one space. There are over 100 merchants at the market. Since we went towards closing time (they close at 6pm) some of the merchants were already closed. The Reading Terminal made it tough for us to make a choice with so many yummy options. There was everything from Philly Cheesesteaks, to organic produce and hand made products.

We decided to try Hunger Burger since they feed a child from each purchase. The kids tried their mac and cheese and I tried their lobster mac and cheese. My hubby settled on a real manly corn beef sandwich from Hershel’s East Side Deli. He loved it!

The best part of the Reading Terminal Market for my family was dessert at Bassett’s ice cream.

The ice cream was amazing and I loved the fact that they were willing to take my daughter’s nuts allergies into consideration. They opened a new tub of chocolate ice cream to prevent cross-contamination. The ice cream was so good, I forgot to take a photo before having it. I checked out their website and even President Obama is a fan of Bassett’s ice cream.We look forward to exploring Reading Terminal Market more on our next trip to Philly. It is definitely on our must do list for all future trips visit to Philly.

Next, we then headed back to New York City. Although we left around 6:30pm we didn’t hit much traffic and got back home in approximately 2 hours.

What are your favorite things to see and do in Philly with kids?

Thank you Visit Philadelphia for partnering with us. As usual, all opinions expressed are my own.
Activities, Family Travel, Motherhood, New York City Kids
7 Things To Do With Kids in NYC
- 10:45 pm
- 7 Comments
- by Adanna Dill
It’s spring break here in New York City and after a brutal winter we all deserve to get out and have a BLAST. I love the spring because there are so many fun activities you can get into here in New York City. Since this city is so amazing, these options are all awesome. Here are 7 things you should do with you kids during spring break to really have a fun time:

1. The Manhattan Children’s Museum

Last Spring, we took The Princess Fairy to the Manhattan Childrren’s Museum on a rainy day. It was perfect for a rainy afternoon fun. She loved the EatSleepPlay™: Building Health Every Day
exhibit. As a a mom, I thought it was a brilliant way to integrate teaching kids about their bodies with play. Other highlights were the Adventures with Dora and Diego and PlayWorks™ echoing and learning about different parts of the city.

2. The New York Hall of Science

We love the Hall of Science! My daughter is always asking us to take her there and we probably enjoy visiting as much as the kids do. There are tons of interactive activities to really get kids thinking and creative. As someone who loves to make stuff, I truly appreciate this about the Hall of Science. Beside that, kids can learn lots of cool science and really get to investigate different things that they are curious about.

3. The Bronx Zoo

As I mentioned in my spring activities for families post, spring is the perfect time to take kids to the zoo. It’s not too hot and the animals are comfortable. The Bronx Zoo is huge so I would recommend that you make a plan before going, figure out which animals your kids really want to see and plan your day around that.

4. Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

This is the perfect time to get out and enjoy the botanical gardens. The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is a local favorite this time of year with the gorgeous cherry blossoms. This will be my kids very first year visiting.

5. Queens County Farm Museum

Need a quick escape to a rural farm. You can find that just minutes away at Queens County Farm. It’s no secret that I love this farm! I seriously think it’s my farm and our family is always excited to visit. During the spring, kids have the opportunity to really learn a lot about the farm animals and plants. This is a working farm as I mentioned here, so your kids learn a ton about farm life.

6. Long Island Children’s Museum

Make a short trip out to Long Island and enjoy the Long Island Children’s Museum, take in a show at their theatre and let the kids loose on Climb it. You can read more about the museum here.

7. FAO Schwartz

Last but not least,take a day to just get silly and dance on the big piano at FAO Schwartz with the kids. This is one of our family’s favorite things to do in our city.

What do you like to do with your kids in NYC?