253 kid-friendly places and programs on Staten Island, led by playgrounds, sports and play spaces. Includes Art Lab at Snug Harbor and Fort Wadsworth.
An independent fine and applied arts school on the Snug Harbor campus with youth classes in drawing, painting, ceramics and fiber arts grouped from preschool through teens. Seasonal half-day and full-day art camps run in spring, summer and winter.
A historic military site at the Staten Island foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, with a visitor center, fort ruins and views across the Narrows. Kids can explore old batteries and watch ships pass under the bridge.
Seasonal outdoor ice rink in Clove Lakes Park with public sessions on weekends and Friday evenings plus a snack bar. A classic winter outing for Staten Island families.
The hub of Staten Island's 2,800-acre Greenbelt, with nature exhibits and trailheads into LaTourette Park's woods and wetlands. Families join guided hikes and nature programs or head out on the Blue Trail.
A large general bookstore with a dedicated children's book section where kids can browse picture books, early readers, and toys and games. The chain hosts periodic in-store kids' storytimes and author events that are free to attend.
A 193-acre Staten Island park with a chain of lakes, rowboat rentals in season, woodland trails and a playground, right next to the Staten Island Zoo.
Clove Lakes Park Playground is a NYC Parks play area in Sunnyside, with climbing structures and play equipment scaled for kids. It is in Clove Lakes Park, where families can add a lakeside walk to the visit. Accessible swings let children who need extra support share the swing set with everyone else.
A North Shore center beside Faber Park and its outdoor pool. Kids and teens with a Parks youth membership use the gym and activity rooms, and staff run after-school, sports, and arts programming for school-age children.
A former landfill on Staten Island being transformed into a park nearly three times the size of Central Park. North Park, Schmul Park and the New Springville Greenway are open, and families can explore the interior grasslands and creeks on scheduled tours and programs.
A 100-acre village with more than two dozen historic buildings where costumed interpreters demonstrate trades like tinsmithing and open-hearth cooking in warmer months. Kids can visit an old schoolhouse, general store and farm.
Lyons Pool in Tompkinsville has a big Olympic-size outdoor pool. Kids can splash and swim for free during the summer season, and NYC Parks often runs free Learn to Swim sessions at outdoor pools. Bring a padlock and swimwear.
A large indoor track-and-field facility near South Beach built for competition, with a hydraulically banked track. Youth track clubs train and race here and it hosts school meets.
An indoor play space where little ones climb, slide and dive into ball pits, plus a carousel, while parents can grab food at the attached café. It also hosts birthday parties, lessons and a summer camp.
A South Shore Staten Island park that combines a Raritan Bay beach with woods, a freshwater pond, playgrounds and trails, making it an easy mix of beach and nature day.
Kids head to Wolfe's Pond Park Playground at End of Cornelia Ave, opposite the hockey rink to climb, explore and run around on equipment built for children. It is one of the city's accessible playgrounds, with universally accessible swings in the mix. Summer brings the spray showers, so pack a towel and a change of clothes.
The Victorian cottage and waterfront lawn of pioneering photographer Alice Austen, with sweeping views of the Narrows. Exhibits of her photos show kids what New York looked like over a century ago, and the lawn is perfect for a picnic.
Staten Island fencing club running classes from the beginner Mini Musketeers group up to youth foil and épée and competitive teams. Kids practice drills, footwork and bouts in the St. John's Lutheran gym.
Housed in a historic Grymes Hill mansion, this cultural center offers kids hands-on Italian cooking classes and beginner Italian language lessons. School, scout and camp groups can book programs with Italian games, music, dance and gardening.
A 260-acre state preserve of ponds, wetlands, sandy barrens and woodland on Staten Island's west shore. The interpretive center has wildlife specimens and runs free nature walks, pond studies, bird walks and Tot Time for little ones.
A 1680 stone manor at the southern tip of Staten Island where a failed 1776 peace conference tried to end the Revolutionary War. The surrounding park has beaches, trails and a visitor center, making it a full-day outing.
A Staten Island tennis academy with 10-and-under training on modified courts and balls, plus junior groups for beginners through advanced players. In summer it runs a weekday junior camp for ages 7-17 with full-day, half-day and daily options.
Faber Park Playground gives Port Richmond families a free spot to play, with structures sized for young children. Like other NYC Parks playgrounds, it is free and open to everyone.
Faber Pool and Park in Port Richmond has a large outdoor pool. Kids can splash and swim for free during the summer season, and NYC Parks often runs free Learn to Swim sessions at outdoor pools. Bring a padlock and swimwear.
The Rosebank home of inventor Antonio Meucci, an early telephone pioneer, who sheltered Italian hero Giuseppe Garibaldi here. Exhibits explore invention and Italian American heritage.
LittleGotham lists 253 places and programs for kids on Staten Island. The largest groups are 56 playgrounds, 45 sports programs, 33 play spaces.
Yes. 112 of 253 are free to attend, including Fort Wadsworth, Barnes & Noble Staten Island Mall, Clove Lakes Park.
153 listings are indoors, such as Art Lab at Snug Harbor, Barnes & Noble Staten Island Mall, Faber Recreation Center.
West Brighton (21), Charleston (17), Tottenville (15).