Puppetworks Inc.
Take the train to Brooklyn and watch a puppet show. Located in the Park Slope neighborhood, Puppetworks is an Old School puppet theater with modern sensibilities. Patterned after 19th century European puppet theaters, Puppetworks largely focuses on the hand-carved, wooden marionettes as the instruments of storytelling. The theater relies on international folk stories and fairy tales as well as children's literature for productions and works hard to maintain the essence of the source material in its work. Past productions have included "The Three Bears," "Peter and the Wolf" and "The Frog Prince." Puppetworks also offers a chance to see how it all works by providing entertaining post-show tours that include up-close looks at the marionettes. Take note: this place packs them in regularly, so get there early.
Puppetworks Inc.
338 Sixth Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11215-3403
(718) 965-3391
http://www.puppetworks.org/
Queens County Farm Museum
Take the kids to the only fully operational historical farm in New York City. Located in the borough of Queens, the 47-acre farm dates to 1697. Your children likely will have a good time observing the livestock, farm vehicles, tools, orchard, herb garden, greenhouse and historical buildings. Open year-round, the farm also offers hayrides and farmhouse tours and sells animal feed that the little ones can give to the goats and sheep. Other animals include pigs, hens, rabbits, dairy cows and even bees. Educational programs are a big draw on the farm and include a greenhouse workshop, colonial cooking, an apple pressing workshop, a workshop on turning sheep wool into thread, an "eggs-periment" tracing chickens from embryo to hatching and Honey Bee Alive, devoted to the life-cycle of honeybees.
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway
Floral Park, New York 11004-1129
(718) 347-3276
http://www.queensfarm.org/index.html
Coney Island
Let your kids go wild during a trip to the fabled Coney Island. After spending a few days in the city touring one big building after another, children are bound to be a little restless. So, break up the trip by spending a day at the beach. Coney Island is one of the closest beaches to Manhattan and it offers plenty of activities to keep the little ones smiling. Just off the beach and boardwalk is the world famous, rickety Cyclone roller coaster. Next door to the Cyclone is the New York Aquarium, home to numerous jellyfish, sea lions and even a few sharks. Down the boardwalk the opposite way is Keyspan Park, home of minor league baseball's Brooklyn Cyclones, a farm team of the New York Mets. Cyclones games are popular with Brooklynites, so expect a boisterous time.
Coney Island
1208 Surf Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11224-2816
(718) 372-5159
http://www.coneyisland.com/
New York Aquarium
Surf Avenue at West Eighth Street
Brooklyn, New York 11224
(718) 265-3474
http://www.nyaquarium.com/contact-us.aspx
Brooklyn Cyclones
KeySpan Park
1904 Surf Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11224
(718) 449-8497
http://www.brooklyncyclones.com/
