Kid-friendly museums in New York
New York has too many museums, so with kids the job is subtraction: this list keeps only the ones you can touch, climb and sit inside, roughly in order from age two to ten.
At two, go to the children's museums: CMOM on the Upper West Side has five floors, and Brooklyn's is the oldest children's museum in the world and far less crowded. From three or so, the dinosaurs and blue whale at the Natural History Museum (pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents), and the New York Hall of Science in Queens, with the city's best preschool area and an outdoor science playground. From five, climb the aircraft carrier and submarine at the Intrepid, the three-story maze at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, and ride the square-wheeled bikes at MoMath. The Transit Museum works for all ages; see the ferries and trains guide.
- 7 places
- 7 stroller-friendly
- closest is 10 min away
7 places
Travel times from Midtown, by subway or car
American Museum of Natural History
5.0Manhattan · 15 min away
3.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Getting there: Subway B/C to 81 St–Museum of Natural History; the museum entrance is right in the station
Children's Museum of Manhattan
5.0Manhattan · 20 min away
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Getting there: Subway 1 to 79 St or B/C to 81 St, then a 5-minute walk
New York Hall of Science
5.0Queens · 35 min away
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Getting there: Subway 7 to 111 St, then an 8-minute walk; paid parking if you drive
Brooklyn Children's Museum
5.0Brooklyn · 40 min away
2.5 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Getting there: Subway 3 to Kingston Av or C to Kingston–Throop, then an 8-minute walk
Liberty Science Center
5.0Jersey City · 40 min away
4 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Getting there: PATH to Exchange Place, then Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to Liberty State Park; paid parking if you drive
Intrepid Museum
4.0Manhattan · 20 min away
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Getting there: Subway A/C/E to 42 St–Port Authority, then a 15-minute walk or the M42 bus to the end of the line
MoMath, the National Museum of Mathematics
2.0Manhattan · 10 min away
2 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Getting there: Subway N/R/W/6 to 23 St, then a 3-minute walk (beside Madison Square Park)
💡 Good to know
- AMNH, the Met and the Cloisters are pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents (buy at the door); most others have free hours on Friday evenings or Sundays, so check the sites.
- Be there at 10 on weekends; by 11 the water areas in the children's museums are mobbed. Bring a change of clothes.