Don't run out of fun activities to do with the kids this summer vacation. Here's a list of free admission times at NYC's children's museums, zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. Never a boring day!
RELATED: Our List of Cultural Festivals in NYC
The Bronx Zoo – General admission is free on Wednesdays. Visitors are asked to donate what they wish to support the zoo’s mission. Total Experience activities cost extra.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden -Free all day on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10am-noon. Free on winter weekdays November-February.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum - Free Thursday afternoons from 2-6pm.
Children’s Museum of the Arts - Pay-what-you-wish Thursdays, 4-6pm.
Children’s Museum of Manhattan - Free the first Friday of every month, 5-8pm.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): Free for all Fridays, 4-8pm; always free for children younger than 16.
New York Aquarium - Pay-what-you-wish on Fridays, 3-3:30pm, during the fall, winter and spring; in the summer, free Friday hours run from 4pm-5pm.
New York Botanical Garden - Free grounds admission all day on Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 9-10am. Special exhibits cost extra.
New York Hall of Science- Free admission on Fridays, 2-5pm, and Sundays, 10-11am.
New-York Historical Society - Pay-what-you-wish Fridays 6-8pm, which includes the DiMenna Children’s History Museum.
Queens Botanical Garden - Free admission daily November through March. Free admission Wednesdays, 3-6pm, and Sundays, 4-6pm the rest of the year.
Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling - Admission for children 8 and younger is always free. Children ages 9-17 enter for $4; adult admission is $7.
The Staten Island Children’s Museum - Although this museum doesn’t have regularly scheduled free times, it often hosts “Cool School Holiday” free admission days during public school holidays. Check our calendar for more info.
Staten Island Zoo -Free Wednesdays, 2-4:45pm.
Wave Hill - Free Tuesdays and Saturdays, 9am-noon. The garden also hosts special free arts events throughout the year.
Whitney Museum of American Art - Pay what you wish Fridays, 7-10pm
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Updated May 2017
