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.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Photo by egarc2
Ask Brooklyn parents what pools they like and you'll hear the Red Hook Pool mentioned a lot. Sunset Park is another favorite. Both of these are Olympic-sized pools and are great. But if you are lucky, you might hear mention of one of Brooklyn's hidden gems, The Double D Pool, or the DD Pool.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
This morning we were on Good Day NY to talk about what to do with your kids this summer in NYC. And if you are here looking for the answer, you've come to the right place.
Check out our Summer Fun Guide for all our top picks for kids this summer from outdoor concerts and festivals, swimming pools, beaches, water parks, and even indoor activities like museum programs and story hours.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Summer days are long, it's hot, and you can't just send your kids out to play in the streets. You need help. You need distractions. You need our Free Fun Summer Activity Planner. With a free activity for every single day of summer in July and August, it's like a do-it-yourself camp for New York City parents.
Free concerts, outdoor movies, museum programs, classes and workshops, story times, festivals, performances, events—the following list isn't just 62 activities, many of these events are recurring, so look out for the stars—which indicate an event occurs on additional dates.
*recurring daily
**recurring weekly
***Check for other dates
And don't forget to check out our Summer Fun Guide for more ideas on the best stuff to do in and around New York this summer.
JULY
July 1 Visit the Science Barge *
July 2 Free Wednesdays NY Botanical Garden **
July 3 Union Square Summer in the Square**—Astrograss
July 4 International African Arts Festival, July 3-6
July 5 Free First Saturday Programs Brooklyn Museum and New Museum
July 6 Central Park Clearing in the Forest Series**—The Dancing Bahilla, Middle Eastern dance performance and workshop
July 7 Lower Manhattan River to River Festival *— Sitelines Interactive Environmental Dance
July 8 Tragedy of MacBeth Performance and Family Workshop ***— Battery Park
July 9 Carroll Park Concert Series ***— Lloyd Miller and The Brooklyn Phone Book
July 10 Washington Market Park Concert Series **— Uncle Rock
July 11 NY Philharmonic Concert in the Park ***
July 12 City Parks Dance***—Rennie Harris Puremovement Ballet Int'l Africans
July 13 SummerStage ***— Global Family Day
July 14 The Paper Bag Players: On Top of Spaghetti — Bronx Library Center
July 15 Madison Square Kids Concert**— Audra Rox Concert
July 16 Stuyvesant Town Music on the Oval**— DJ Duane Harriot & Easy Star All-Stars
July 17 MoMA Sculpture Garden Story Time**
July18 Bryant Park Good Morning America Concert Series **— Miley Cyrus
July 19 Macy's Fishing Contest * — Prospect Park
July 20 daydream***— A Midsummer Night's Dream specially adapted for children and performed in Imagination Playground, Prospect Park
July 21 La Caperucita Roja*** — Bi-lingual, revisionist Little Red Riding Hood in Red Hook
July 22 Lucy Lortel Theater***—The Plant That Ate the Dirty Socks
July 23 Laura Vila at Book Culture —Interactive Book event
July 24 Movies with a View** — Curse of the Were Rabbit
July 25 Prospect Park Audubon Center Nestlings Nature Classes**
July 26 Solar One Family Day Environmental Festival
July 27 MoMA Family Program**—Closer Look for Kids
July 28 Kayaking on the Hudson*
July 29 Shakespeare in the Park*—Hair
July 30 Central Park Sandbox Series *— Music Performances, Art Classes, Story-Telling and Music Classes
July 31 Jefferson Market Library Toddler Time**
AUGUST
August 1 Children's Museum of Manhattan — Free First Friday
August 2 Celebrate Brooklyn* — Family Concert
August 3 Queens Museum of Art — Free First Sunday
August 4 Storytime at Babylicious **
August 5 Family Programs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art**— Start With Art
August 6 Outdoor Cinema Socrates Sculpture Park**— The Red Balloon and Persepolis
August 7 Summer on the Hudson*—Billy B., the Natural Science Song and Dance Man
August 8 SummerStarz**—Crafts, Music and Film in McCarren Park
August 9 International YoYo Open and Contest
August 10 Lefferts Historic House**— Early American Crafts
August 11 Rubin Museum of Art Museum Program*—Word Play (free with admission)
August 12 Story time at Giggle**
August 13 Plant 'N Play at Umoja Garden
August 14 CInderella Samba Riverside Park
August 15 RiverFlicks for Kids **— Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory
August 16 Lincoln Center Out of Doors* — Family Day
August 17 Barnes and Noble Union Square Story Time**
August 18 Bryant Park Summer Film Festival** — Superman
August 19 Tales on Tuesdays Carl Shurz Park
August 20 Wednesdays in Teardrop Park
August 21 Preschool Art Rockefeller Park **
August 22 RiverFlicks for Kids **—Shrek
August 23 Walk, bike or roll up car-free Summer Streets**
August 24 Blues and BBQ Festival Hudson River Park
August 25 Moxie Spot Story Time **
August 26 Discovery Tuesdays at Brooklyn Botanic Garden**
August 27 Free Story Time Yoga at Karma Kids **
August 28 Broadway in Bryant Park **
August 29 McNally Rand Baby Storytime **
August 30 Free Bike Rental in Manhattan*
August 31 Books of Wonder Story Time **
Like what you see? Subscribe to Mommy Poppins through RSS or our free email newsletter and never miss out on all the great stuff going on for kids in NYC.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Just in time for the Summer Solstice, our Summer Fun Guide is here! You won't find any other resource like this—with everything your family needs to have a great time in New York City this summer. The best pools, beaches, playgrounds, water theme parks, concerts, festivals, free programs, family travel tips and more. We've even got indoor activities to keep you cool on too hot or rainy days. There's over 30 articles, each one jam-packed with fun.
And be sure to check out our newly updated post on Story Times Around the City where you'll find 20 different story hour locations.
On Monday we'll be posting our famously popular free activity a day for the entire summer. Don't miss it! It's all you need to have a fun-filled summer without spending a dime. And we'll be adding more posts to our Summer Fun Guide so stay tuned for even more summer fun coming up.
Also check out our new events calendar. You can find all our picks for this weekend's and upcoming events there.
This weekend you won't want to miss:
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Reader, Carmen, submitted this great indoor activity tip. Thanks, Carmen!
Take a trip back to the late 1700's without ever leaving Brooklyn. The Lefferts House is one of a very small number of farmhouses to survive from Brooklyn's Dutch settlement period, over 300 years ago. This family-friendly destination features hands-on craft activities, a gardening program and furnished rooms to reflect daily life in the 18th century.
What my daughter and I enjoy best is the child's room, just off the entrance. Here, young ones can dress as they did on days past, play 'I Spy', color a mural, and play with toys and games from that time.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
You can now rent bicycles in Lower Manhattan for FREE! Perfect for families, you can even get bikes with baby seats or Tag-a-longs (those kid bike add-ons that turn a bike into a tandem perfect for young bikers to safely ride with a parent). They have wagons too!?
Bike Around Downtown is a new program that lets you borrow a bike for a two to three-hour window. You can register online and pick up your free bike at the South Street Seaport Bike and Roll booth. From there you can bike up the Greenway up the East or West sides, or even head over to Governor's Island. (By the way, I noticed that they are also renting-not for free- bikes on Governor's Island now, with tag-a-longs available there too.)
Submitted by Anna Fader on
Because our emails did not go out last week, we are extending our big ticket giveaway by one day to give everyone a chance to enter to win these great ticket prizes. All entries must be in by tonight at 8pm in order to qualify. We will announce the winner tomorrow, June 16th. Good Luck!
We would also like to announce that we have added classified ads to the site. You can post ads in many categories, including childcare, toys, gear and real estate for sale or wanted. Postings have already started even before we announced them. Find our classified listings in the green tab at the top of the page. It's totally free.
Submitted by Anna Fader on
It can be hard to wow! a NYC kid. They've seen it all and can be too cool to be impressed with much. But we're giving away tickets for two shows, Xanadu, and Walking with Dinosaurs , that will make a big impression even on the most jaded New York City kid, or maybe even especially a jaded NY kid.
During Xanadu, Melpomene, in just one of several meta comments throughout the production which make fun of the show and other Broadway hits, states that "it's like kiddie theater for 40 year old gays." Xanadu, the remake of the tragically bad 80s flick starring Olivia Newton-John, isn't made for kids, but it will appeal to them greatly.
Read on to find out the ten reasons you should go see Xanadu and find out about our giveaway for Xanadu and Walking with Dinosaurs tickets.
