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The Brooklyn Children's Museum and  North American Indigenous Center of New York host a two-day celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. Photo by Winston Williams/courtesy of the museum
Indigenous Peoples Day Weekend in NYC: Harvest Fests, Halloween, and More Things To Do
The Little Red Lighthouse welcomes fall with an all-ages, waterfront festival on Saturday, October 4. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks
Halloween and More Things To Do in NYC with Kids October 2025, from Mommy Poppins Editors
GUIDE
Halloween Events & Activities for NYC Kids
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Try your hand at corn husking and more analog entertainment during the Corn Fest at the Queens County Farm Museum. Photo courtesy of the Queens County Farm Museum
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Hit The High Line in costume to celebrate all things creepy and crawly on Saturday, October 25. Photo by Liz Ligon/courtesy of The High Line
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GUIDE
Back-to-School Guide 2025-2026
See the skyline from a whole new vantage point on the Roosevelt Island Tram. Photo courtesy of NYCGo
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Stranger Things: The First Shadow plays at the Marquis Theatre and gives the popular Neflix show a prequel. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
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Tom's Restaurant is situated on a fairly sleepy corner in Morningside Heights despite its high-profile turn in Seinfeld. Photo by Jody Mercier
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Vinland Playground got a fresh upgrade in Bay Ridge. Photo by NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
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NYC Summer Camp Guide
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Climb on platforms dangling from ropes at Hester Street Playground. Photo by Jody Mercier
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Photo courtesy of PLAY Greenpoint.
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Free activities for Kids in NYC include the Children's Museum of the Arts, which has pay-what-you-wish Thursdays from 4-6pm. Photo courtesy of the museum
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For an only-in-NYC experience, head to the Top of the Rock to enjoy the view. Photo by Jody Mercier
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This Week In
New York City
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Bay Ridge Prep Upper School Open House
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HudsonWay Immersion School
Spooktacular at Tribeca PAC
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4 Cool New Free Public Art Displays That NYC Kids Will Love

4/14/13 - By Stephanie Ogozalek

While there are a bunch of wonderful new kid-friendly exhibits this spring, you don't need to go to a museum to find awesome art in NYC. Cool public art installations are popping up as quickly as spring flowers in Manhattan's parks and plazas, and they're FREE for all to enjoy. From an enormous statue of a bird by Madison Square Park to a series of iconic NYC landmarks contorted into dazzling new shapes on Park Avenue to a dozen winged hearts suspended in a Midtown West passageway, here are four public art displays to catch this spring in New York City.

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Bird – Flatiron
Flatiron Plaza, 23rd Street and Broadway
On view through Sunday, April 21
You only have one more week to check out Will Ryman's eye-catching sculpture: An enormous, 12-foot bird made entirely of giant nails. The artist used 5,500 nails to form the bird's body, which is perched on another 90,000 for the base. Make sure you walk around the bird as the tail feathers are amazing. While adjacent Madison Square Park often showcases offbeat art, this is the inaugural work for Flatiron Plaza.

Goodbye My Love – Midtown West
Anita’s Way, pedestrian passageway connecting 42nd and 43rd Streets between Sixth Avenue and Broadway
On view through Monday, May 13
You have to know where to look to spot Esterio Segura's funky installation, which is suspended from the ceiling of a Times Square walkway. The Cuban artist explores love and separation through a dozen shiny red heart-shaped airplanes. Kids are sure to love this imaginative display even if the message is lost on them.

No Limits – Midtown East
Park Avenue Malls between 54th and 67th Streets
On view through Sunday, June 9
Of all the public art we saw on our tour, Alexandre Arrechea's series of contorted NYC skyscrapers was our favorite. See the Chrysler Building rolled up like tape, the Citicorp Center perched on what looks like a top, the Empire State Building wound up in a circle and other landmarks completely reimagined.

United Enemies – Midtown East
Doris C. Freedman Plaza, 60th Street and Fifth Avenue
On view through Sunday, August 25
The theme of political corruption inspired these sculptures of two pairs of bound men. Created by German artist Thomas Schütte, the pieces play with focus: The men's faces are soft, abstract and hard to see while the ties that bind them are incredibly detailed and realistic. My son and I found them really intriguing. Even though they have no limbs they seem to be physically fighting to get away from each other.

Read about other cool public art displays at the Art in the Parks website.


Find out about other cool art exhibits for kids in our Museum Guide.

Free Activities Museums Preschoolers Kids Tweens & teens Uptown Downtown Flatiron Midtown East Midtown West New York City

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