Rainy Day Manhattan: Indoor Fun for Families

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We hope they’re wrong, but if the weather forecasters are right, NYC will see sporadic, end-of-summer showers throughout the rest of the month. To
keep your family happy and dry, here’s a big (but succinct) list of indoor destinations to consider, including a kid-friendly high-tech paradise, the coolest family café in the city, a
great new crafts store, a weaving wonder, a very big glass house, and on and
on. And if it doesn’t rain but it’s
really humid and disgusting out and you’re looking for a good air-conditioned
adventure, the list still works.

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Sony Wonder
Technology Lab—a free technology and entertainment haven for kids.
(wondertechlab.sony.com)

Dave and Busters

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Let’s Dress Up—An unbelievable array of dress-up
clothes for kids. (212-879-0956)

Ripley’s Believe It
Or Not—What’s odd turns out to be
quite fun and educational. (ripleysnewyork.com)

Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM)—Lots of daily drop-in programs, and great
mainstay exhibits like Dora and Diego. (cmom.org)

New
York Public
Library—Check the listings for branch events (always
free), or make a pilgrimage to the big kids center at the main library. (nypl.org)

Time Warner Center—Between Borders and
Samsung, you’re more than covered. Plus, lunch at Whole Foods. (shopsatcolumbuscircle.com)

Fantasma Magic—A magical magic store. (fantasmamagic.com)

LEGO Store—Build anything. (lego.com)

Moomah—The coolest craftiest family café in the NYC.
(moomah.com)

Michaels—The city’s
great new crafts store. (Michaels.com)

Books of Wonder—And there are cupcakes of wonder there, too. (booksofwonder.com)

Loop of the Loom—Beautiful threads, and teachers skilled at
showing kids how to work a loom. (loopoftheloom.com)

International Center of Photography (ICP)—Kids love to take pictures, and this is a great resource to show them the best way to do it.
(icp.org)

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MAD (Museum of Arts and
Design)—Their
workshops for kids are all the rage. (madmuseum.org)

World Financial Center—That’s
some glass house they got there, and there’s often fun stuff going. (artsworldfinancialcenter.com)

Train To The Plane—AirTrain
JFK links the Howard Beach

and
the Sutphin Boulevard subway
stations, and LIRR’s Jamaica Station directly to JFK. Enjoy the train.
Then enjoy watching the planes.
(mta.info)

The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center—Central
Park’s environmental education center hosts children’s
workshops throughout the year. (centralpark.org)

Scholastic Store—That’s one playhouse of a bookstore
with lots of scheduled activities with crafts and characters. (scholastic.com)

ArtKids—Runs great age-appropriate museums
visits. (artmuseny.com)

Morris-Jumel Mansion—Manhattan’s oldest
home has lots of free arts workshops and other programming connected to its
mission to honor history. (morrisjumel.org)

And don’t forget that many children’s activity and
enrichment centers offer drop-in sessions, especially in summer; and you also
can drop in to movies, theater, live music, and . . . bowling! (as in Bowlmor ( bowlmor.com); Lucky Strike (bowlluckystrike.com);
Chelsea Piers (chelsea
piers.com); Harlem Lanes (harlemlanes.com) and Brookyn Bowl (brooklynbowl.com).