Indoor play spaces, museums, pools, climbing gyms and classes to keep kids busy when the weather turns. For free library story times, see the story times guide. 1,780 listings.
624 listings
A Lower East Side arts center with free contemporary art galleries, theaters and studios, run by Henry Street Settlement. Families can visit exhibitions and attend performances and community arts events.
The city's famous natural history museum, home to dinosaur skeletons, a life-size blue whale, gem halls and planetarium shows. Kids can explore dioramas, the Gilder Center's insectarium and butterfly vivarium, and hands-on discovery rooms.
Harlem's legendary performance hall offers reservation-only guided tours that take visitors backstage and through the history of the artists who launched careers on its stage. Families can also catch performances such as the famous Amateur Night, and school groups can book curriculum-based tours.
A small free gallery on the third floor of the Arsenal, NYC Parks' headquarters inside Central Park near the zoo. Rotating shows often explore nature, parks and the city, making it an easy art stop during a Central Park outing.
Asphalt Green's Yorkville campus hosts its AGUA Swim Academy, with song-and-game classes for babies and toddlers, preschool lessons for ages 3–5, and Foundations and Core levels for kids 5–16. A free parent-and-child Water Explorers program is also offered.
A free Saturday visual arts program for New York City public high school students, held on Cooper Union's East Village campus. Teens take studio classes in drawing, painting, design and more, with portfolio courses for juniors and seniors heading to art school.
The Beaux-Arts train station where kids can spot constellations on the Main Concourse ceiling, test the Whispering Gallery and watch trains come and go. Official 90-minute guided tours explore hidden corners.
A museum aboard a retired aircraft carrier docked on the Hudson, where kids can see fighter jets on the flight deck, go inside the submarine Growler and view the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Interactive exhibits cover flight, naval life and space exploration.
One of the oldest chess clubs in the country hosts Sunday junior tournaments and runs the Marshall Chess Academy with classes and school-break camps for young players. Kids get to play rated games in a historic Greenwich Village brownstone.
559 listings
A free drop-in workshop series at the Gowanus creative production center where families build tunnel books, design puppets and sculpt miniature artworks. Each session ties into a current exhibition, and no registration is needed.
The Shorefront Y's swim academy follows the SwimRight method, taking kids from 3 months old through nine levels that end with all four competitive strokes. There are also swim teams and Red Cross aquatics courses.
A nonprofit gallery in a former DUMBO industrial building that shows large-scale work by emerging and mid-career artists, free of charge. Its Art Ready program offers free art mentorship for NYC public school students.
The Greenpoint YMCA in Greenpoint runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
The Park Slope Armory YMCA in Park Slope runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
The nation's first urban Audubon Center, set in Prospect Park's Boathouse by the Lullwater. Families meet park animals at free Animal Encounter sessions, borrow gear for nature exploration and join beginner bird walks.
The Prospect Park YMCA in Park Slope runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
Brooklyn's arena offers 75-minute behind-the-scenes tours and pregame tours where fans watch players warm up. Families can also catch Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty games and touring family shows.
A waterfront learning space where kids get hands-on with East River science, from local wildlife to the park's salt marsh and plants, during free open hours and scheduled programs.
346 listings
An environmental education center in Queens with resident animal ambassadors, nature trails through Alley Pond Park's wetlands and woods, and a big menu of classes. Toddler classes start before age 2, with weekend, homeschool and free programs for older kids.
The Flushing YMCA in Flushing runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
The Jamaica YMCA in Jamaica runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
The Long Island City YMCA in Long Island City runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
Located in the Far Rockaway library, this free STEM center lets kids 12 and up build robots, learn design software and try fabrication tools during after-school drop-in hours.
Inside Queens Public Library's central branch, middle and high schoolers take robotics and technical workshops and use design and fabrication equipment with guidance from STEM staff. Access is free with an NYC FIRST membership.
The Ridgewood YMCA in Ridgewood runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
Kids at this community Y take part in swim classes, youth sports, teen programs, and holiday or school-break activities in a shared family setting. Program offerings and times vary by season, so families check the branch schedule.
Neighborhood YMCA offering youth sports classes and leagues such as basketball, soccer and fitness, plus swim lessons and after-school programs. It serves eastern Queens.
119 listings
Teens drop in to use 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers and electronics gear, get hands-on help with robotics team builds, and join workshops in coding, fabrication and engineering. Membership is free and grants walk-in access during open hours.
A Bronx community boxing gym where kids learn boxing basics alongside mentoring aimed at self-control, leadership and anti-bullying confidence. The center also runs music, art and storytelling activities rooted in Puerto Rican, Latino and African American culture, and kids 8 and older can go on to compete.
The flagship Kips Bay clubhouse in Soundview, with an Olympic-size pool, an indoor domed turf field and the Bronx's only ice rink. Members play basketball, baseball, soccer, flag football, softball and ice hockey, and can learn to skate.
The Northeast Bronx YMCA in Williamsbridge runs YMCA swim lessons in its indoor pool, from parent-and-child water play for babies and toddlers to preschool classes for ages 3–5 and stroke-building levels for school-age kids and teens. Families can also use scheduled family swim times.
A historic Bronx center with a gym, game room with billiard tables, and youth programs. Young members can play pickup games, join sports clinics, and take part in arts and enrichment programs offered each season.
A South Bronx center with an indoor pool, gym, and youth media classes. 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.
Sits in Williamsbridge Oval park, near its track, fields, and playground. 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 parent-and-child play program mixing gymnastics and music activities designed around each stage of early development. Classes are kept small, and the space also hosts parties and weekend play by appointment.
An 1836 Greek Revival mansion with formal gardens inside Pelham Bay Park. Guided tours show kids how a wealthy 19th-century family lived, and the grounds are great for a picnic.
132 listings
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
786 indoor play spaces and gyms are listed, including Grand Central Terminal, Chelsea Market, SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.
167 indoor listings are free, such as Grand Central Terminal, Arsenal Gallery, Chelsea Market.
1,780 listings: Manhattan (624), Brooklyn (559), Queens (346), the Bronx (119), Staten Island (132).