10 Unique NYC Museums Families Love, New York, New York

One of the challenges to visiting New York City is finding fun, authentic, kid-friendly things to do, that every other tourist isn’t also doing. Here’s one good tip to help you avoid the crowds:

The Big Apple has more than 100 museums, many of them are smaller, far less crowded and easier to explore as a family than the marquee ones like the Met and the Museum of Natural History.

Here are nine lesser-known NYC museums for kids and adults, both. They offer unique educational and local experiences. Not surprising, they are some of my family’s favorite city attractions.

The lower level has a small children’s museum that is packed with video screens, games and exhibits that focus on the aspects of New York City history that are pertinent to kids.

Learn about a day in the life of a “Newsy” and read letters from city kids sent to live on the prairies. The cozy reading room is an excellent place to take a time out from the noisy city, especially with very young kids.

The two upstairs floors have changing exhibits that are often family friendly. We’ve seen an exhibit all about the quirky children’s author Mo Willems and another that looked at the history of the “real” magic referenced in the Harry Potter books. At Christmas they have a great little train show. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).