Rose Sala

Rose Gordon Sala is a mom to three but also a longtime editor and journalist. She's covered all the capital 'P' subjects, including pets, politics, PR, and parenting. She's written for MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, the New York Post, and Mom.com.

Latest posts by Rose

Registration Opens for Free Spring Break STEM Camps in NYC

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 01/24/2023 - 9:53am

Kids can get a lesson in space technology at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum's STEM Matters spring break camp. Photo courtesy of the museum

The NYC Department of Education's popular free STEM Matters program is back in 2023 and offers FREE week-long camps during New York City's spring break, with programming running from Monday, April 10-Friday, April 14, 2023. The deadline to apply for these hands-on programs, serving kids in kindergarten through 8th grade, is fast approaching.

Seventeen different sites are offering programs across the five boroughs, and many are hosted by New York City’s top cultural institutions, including kid hot spots like the Bronx Zoo and the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The subjects are diverse but focus on the sciences.

Looking for more camp coverage for spring break or beyond? Be sure to bookmark our New York City Camp Guide and our Camp Directory where you can search for camps by type, age, and neighborhood.

Visiting Field Station Dinosaurs with Kids: Tips for a Family-Friendly Expedition

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 07/19/2022 - 12:20pm

Come face-to-face with T. rex and other fearsome, live-sized dinosaurs at Field Station: Dinosaurs in New Jersey's Overpeck County Park. Photo by Katherine Dhurandhar

Calling all pint-size paleontologists: Field Station: Dinosaurs, New Jersey's dinosaur-themed adventure park celebrates its 10th anniversary this season and is celebrating with some fun new additions to a park that already included 30-plus animatronic dinos, including Tyrannosaurus rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and Spinosaurus.

Read on for our review of this seasonal dinosaur attraction, which makes a great day trip from the tri-state area. Find more places for prehistoric fun on this list of local dinosaur destinations.

NYC Opens Applications For FREE Summer STEAM Programs

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Mon, 04/04/2022 - 5:22pm

Choose from a wide range of STEAM programs during the STEAM Matters summer programs. Photo courtesy of the NYC DOE

New York City has opened applications for its Summer STEM Matters NYC program, which includes FREE STEAM summer camps for elementary school students and hands-on internships and classes for high schoolers. Don't delay: Applications for all programs are due Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The popular annual summer day camps are available to NYC kids entering kindergarten through ninth grade in September. Students entering grades 10-12 can apply for STEM courses and internships.

The programs occur at more than a dozen popular NYC institutions known for STEAM programming, including popular family-friendly spots like the Bronx Zoo, the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, the Queens Botanical Garden, and more museums, gardens, zoos, and maker spaces. Public, charter, and home school students in NYC may all apply.

Read on for all the details on the STEM Matters NYC program. Find more summer camps in New York City, including our picks for free and affordable summer camps, in our Summer Camp Guide and Camp Directory, where you can search for summer camps by type, age, and neighborhood.

A New Christmas Village Opens in Central New Jersey

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Mon, 12/06/2021 - 4:55pm

Anne-Ellen Tree farm has been a long-time Christmas destination and its walk-through village adds to the allure.

My family relishes checking out the many holiday displays and Christmas lights in New Jersey. It’s one of our can’t-miss holiday traditions, so we couldn’t wait to see the brand-new Christmas village decked out with holiday lights, Santa, a gingerbread house, and more holiday activities at the Anne Ellen Christmas Tree Farm in Manalapan, New Jersey.

We’ve enjoyed the drive-thru Christmas lights popping up, but we also love the chance to get out of the car for an in-person stroll. The Village at Anne Ellen allows kids to do just that all while sipping hot chocolate, walking along an outdoor trail, and popping into different experiences from a North Pole post office to a model train room.

Magic of Lights Drive-thru Dazzles in New Jersey

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Thu, 11/18/2021 - 3:39pm

Drive through a transfixing wonderland of lights at the Magic fo Lights Drive-thru at the PNC Bank Arts Center.

The Magic of Lights returns to New Jersey’s PNC Bank Arts Center on Friday, November 19, and runs through the holiday season until January 2, 2022.

Desperate for some pandemic-era holiday merriment, my family tried out the Magic of Lights drive-thru in Holmdel for the first time last year. Naturally, our young kids (all under age 8) were antsy on the 40-minute drive south on the Garden State Parkway. But –– upon reaching the gates of this outdoor, drive-thru holiday village, they were beyond thrilled and dazzled by the seemingly millions of lights, dancing elves, cheery Santa figures, blinking holiday trees, sweet illuminated scenes, and the eye-popping tunnel of lights.

Find more seasonal fun in our Christmas and Holiday Guide for New Jersey Kids.

A Maker Studio Just for Kids Opens in Morris Museum

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 10/26/2021 - 10:19am

What will your kids create at the new Spark!Lab maker studio at the Morris Museum?

A brand-new maker space has opened right in Morristown –– and it’s just for kids. The Smithsonian-founded Spark!Lab debuted in a back corner of the Morris Museum in September, and it’s fabulous.

The Spark!Lab is filled with interesting and colorful raw materials with which kids can tinker, build, and experiment. It’s one of 10 in the country, modeled after the original that opened in 2008 in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Catskills With Kids: 35+ Family-Friendly Finds in Sullivan County

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 09/28/2021 - 5:38pm

Enjoy the Catskills for a weekend getaway. Photo by Orianna Riley

An escape to the Catskills is always a cozy retreat for my family. And while the Catskills towns closer to the Hudson River seem to attract all the splashy press (New Paltz! Woodstock!), there are quite a few hip little towns hiding out in the Sullivan County section of New York's Catskills, which leans up against the Delaware River.

Sullivan County towns like Narrowsburg, Callicoon, Cochecton, Roscoe, and Livingston Manor are filled with things for families to do on a quick weekend away, including adorable main streets and shops, great restaurants and breweries, family-friendly farms, rail trails for biking, and cozy boutique hotels with hiking trails and amazing taverns.

The Funniest Lies Parents Tell Their Kids

Submitted by Rose Gordon Sala on Tue, 08/03/2021 - 11:02am

Tired of kids stealing from you plate? Tell them your food is spicy! Waaay too spicy!

We don't want to condone lying, but sometimes a parent has to rely on a little white lie to get through the day...or to just emerge unscathed from Target's toy aisle. A little white lie might also be put to use to coax a kid into a much-needed nap or away from the ice cream truck that always shows up 10 minutes before dinnertime.

We recently asked our readers about the funniest lies they had told their kids, and wow, some of these are next-level genius parenting hacks!

Rose Sala

Latest posts by Rose

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