Author: jerseykids

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American Museum of Natural History – 7.5 Ways to See it with Kids

The American Natural History Museum is so immense you just can’t see it in one visit. Or two. Or three. So here are 7.5 ways to explore it with your kids!

1. PICK AN EXHIBIT

Whether you choose a special exhibit or a permanent one, pick one and explore it in depth. Given the high cost of visiting the museum, newcomers to the museum might want to stick with the standard holdings unless there’s an exhibit you REALLY want to see. The special exhibits are add-ons, i.e. they cost extra.

Add-ons:

–Space movies

–special exhibitions

–Butterflies – (open part of the year, now through May 27, 2013)

–Our Global Kitchen (open through August, 2013)

–IMAX movies

For permanent exhibits, don’t miss the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life (that’s where the big whale is), Fossil Hall (with the dinosaurs), the Grand Gallery (the beautiful 77th Street lobby), or the gemstones.

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Boston – What the Kids Like to Do

We had a plan for what we’d do and see in Boston. It was educational. It was cultural. It was physical ( lots and lots of walking).  The highlights for the kids, however, were not the ones we planned for them. They did not love the Freedom Trail. They did not love seeing Daddy’s alma mater and hearing fascinating stories of the building donors and founders. Here’s what they’ll remember from Boston:

#1. These are doors leading into and out of the Boston T stops. They open in a funny way – going in, then up. The kids found this endlessly amusing.

#2. The vending machines. Our hotel (the Midtown Hotel) had an endless supply of interesting vending machines, like this one that Continue reading “Boston – What the Kids Like to Do”

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Unique New York: Souvenirs

The I (heart) New York t-shirts are cute, but they’re so prolific you get a little sick of seeing them in all the tourist stores. So what kind of New York souvenirs do you bring when you visit friends and family elsewhere? Or where do you point your visitors to get something unique to take home? Here are some ideas:

How cute are these cookies from Eleni’s at Chelsea Market? Buy them individually, or get a boxed assortment – the ones below are 11 for $65. Continue reading “Unique New York: Souvenirs”

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Shark Speed Boat Ride in NYC and discount tickets

it’s not a NYC boat trip without the Statue of Liberty

The kids were not overly excited when I told them we were going on a speed boat ride – with a bunch of other people. What fun is it if you don’t get to drive the boat yourself? And my husband chalked this one up to another of my crazy ideas.

You know what? The kids had so much fun that they asked to go again during the next visit to Manhattan. And my husband had a grin on his face the whole time. (discount info for Shark Speed Boat Ride at the bottom) Continue reading “Shark Speed Boat Ride in NYC and discount tickets”

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Disney’s Animal Kingdom with Kids

We really loved Animal Kingdom and wished we spent more than a few hours there (we split the day with Hollywood Studios). We got there before park opening, in enough time that we were actually first on a ride. That has NEVER happened for us at an amusement park! And to show how geeky we are, as we finished the ride, we asked the ride operators if we could stay on for a second spin, and they let us. I’m sure they could have gotten fired for that, but given that we were still the only people there…

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5 Things Not to Miss at Toys R Us – Times Square

I’m not a big Toys R Us fan in general, but I do like the one in Times Square (Broadway at 44th Street). Not that I actually shop there, but it’s a fun place to hang out. Here are five things not to miss when you go!

The Ferris Wheel – You can’t miss this four story Ferris wheel, which is the first thing you see when you walk in. While waiting in line (you buy timed tickets) you can try to figure out which car would be the best for you – the Cabbage Patch Kids? The Scooby Doo car? The Little Tykes car? The Monopoly car? My Little Pony? Mr. Potato Head? The M&M car? The Toy Story car? The Rug Rats? At $4.50 a person per ride, it’s not cheap, but the proceeds do benefit the company’s charity.

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Review: Harry Potter Exhibition in New York City Times Square

I have a confession. I’ve never seen a Harry Potter movie. But I have read all the books. My kids haven’t seen the movies either – I won’t let them until they read the books (my daughter is partway through the third, and my son is listening to the first on tape).

With that in mind, I took them to the Harry Potter exhibit in Times Square, hoping it would inspire my kids to plow through (note to readers – my son is now on the 5th book and we’ve seen the accompanying movies – he now wants to go back to the exhibition AGAIN). And even though I haven’t seen the movies, the scenes are so vivid in my mind (and the movie actors so ingrained in our culture) that I was interested in seeing the recreation.

Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images. Reproduced with permission

The exhibit officially opens on April 5th at the Discovery Times Square exhibition center (that’s where Pompeii is currently showing). Continue reading “Review: Harry Potter Exhibition in New York City Times Square”

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Cherry Blossom Festival – Branch Brook Park

Did you know that Newark’s Branch Brook Park has thousands of cherry blossom trees, with more variety (and number) than those in Washington DC, which is so well known for their trees.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is coming up in April, and it’s popular, with 10,000 visitors a day at the peak.

Aside from just looking at the blossoms, come for some activities, including:

April 9 – bike race – the Cherry Blossom Challenge.

April 10 – 10K and one mile fun run

On April 17th, check out Bloomfest, with lots of events, including Japanese cultural demonstrations, live music, kids’ activities, crafter’s marketplace and food. Free admission, open from 11-5. Activities are mostly around the Essex County Cherry Blossom Welcome Center.

 

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Quilts Quilts Quilts – at Park Avenue Armory

If you are able to get to the Park Avenue Armory by March 30, you must go. Here’s why:

I dragged the kids and husband – who did not understand my desire to see quilts hanging from the ceiling. I tried  to explain – it would be 650 quilts – all in red and white. They still didn’t get it. But once they walked into the fabulous armory (which itself is an architectural masterpiece), they were also awestruck.

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Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Kids

This is part of a series about Disney World with kids.

Since we initially weren’t going to buy park hopper passes, and only had three days, we were trying to decide between Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. Some said they spent two days in Hollywood Studios on each trip, and others said Animal Kingdom was their all-time favorite. We were stumped. In the end, we got the park hopper passes (long story) and didn’t have to decide. We split the day between the two parks.

The result? While we liked many individual things about Hollywood Studios, we did not love the park. We can sum it up with this: not enough rides, too many shows. After a few hours, the kids actually said “can we stop seeing shows? We want to go on rides.” But there weren’t more rides for them to go on. Next time: we’ll plan the whole day for Animal Kingdom and skip Hollywood Studios.

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