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What's open in New York City on Columbus Day?

10/9/09 - By Anna Fader

Many museums and venues that aren't regularly open make an effort to open on school holidays and offer special programs for families. Here's a list of some of your best bets for Columbus Day.

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The Museum of the Moving Image will be open from 10am to 5pm on Columbus Day and offering family programs including hands on workshops for kids aged 6 and up and short films screenings hourly. See the full schedule at movingimage.us

The Staten Island Children's Museum will be open 10am to 5 pm and FREE!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be open from 9:30 to 5:30 and offering free family programs throughout the day.

The Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center is opening today for the season and will be open on Columbus Day.

The Brooklyn Children's Museum is open from 10am-5pm.

The Children's Museum of Manhattan is open 10am-5pm.

The Zoos are open and with Boo at the Zoo events. at the Bronx Zoo.

The NY Botanical Garden is open and having a Harvest festival (see above)

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden  is open from 10am-6pm

And of course, there's the Columbus Day Parade and Festival

About the Author

Anna Fader

Founder of Mommy Poppins

A fourth-generation Brooklynite, Anna started Mommy Poppins in 2007 to help families find the best things to do with kids in NYC, with a particular emphasis on sharing activities that are free, affordable, and enriching. The site, used by millions of families, has grown to become the ultimate resource for parents in the major US cities, plus travel guides for 100s of destinations.

Anna is a believer in the magic of summer camps, traveling with kids, and that you can raise kids on a budget and still have a rich life full of amazing memories. Anna's first Mommy Poppins book, The Young Traveler's Journal and Activity Book, published in 2025 and co-written with her daughter, Amelia Eigerman, brings that ethos to life, in addition to this website.

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