10 things to do with tweens in NYC

Since we are planning the itinerary for our week long trip to NYC that’s coming up, one of the key considerations is to select activities that my 2 kids will enjoy.  To some extent it’s easier to keep the 7 year old happy with a moderate amount of free play and games and playground time. But we want to keep the 11 year old tween happy, satisfied, and hopefully learning and retaining a few good memories from this trip. So I started researching what tweens do in NYC?

What to do with tweens in NYC?

These are the 10 must-do’s for my 11-year old son (definitely good for my 7-year old too).

  1. The Metropolitan Museum
    The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City (NYC) is one of the world’s largest and finest art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of history. Even though my kids are not much into arts, they will still be able to find lots to see at “the Met.”

    A guided tour will cost a bit more but I am seriously considering it to skip the long line up.

  2. Times Square
    Despite the fact some consider it a touristy trap, too crowded and overpriced, our kids have not yet had a chance to experience the world famous Times Square NYC. In addition to visiting the usual tourist must-sees, we can roam around the mega stores and eat at Junior’s. Older kids/teens should still find tons of interesting things to do here.
  3. American Museum of Natural History
    One of the largest museums in the world, the famous American Natural History Museum is home to millions of artifacts. With four floors of science, nature and history and incredible exhibits, our kids will be fully entertained. We are told the GEM room is not to be missed. DS will particularly enjoy the exhibits related to natural wonders, dinosaurs and outer space.

    Remember to grab your tickets ahead of time – no point to leave the hassle of getting tickets to last minute.

  4. Central Park
    While you are visiting the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park is located right there too across Central Park West. The plan is to rent bikes and ride around the Park, and perhaps rent a boat on the Lake.
  5. Rose Center for Earth and Space
    Another stop to consider as it is inside the AMNH is the Rose Center for Earth and Space. It has a nicely renovated planetarium and may be worth a visit.
  6. Brooklyn Bridge
    We plan to walk across the Brooklyn bridge together. The 7-year old likely would need some encouragement fairly early on. We will try to walk from the Brooklyn side so we can see the Manhattan skyline as we walk across the bridge.
  7. Statue of Liberty
    Reservation has already been made to go to the top of the statue. DS was the designated the task of planning this activity as he showed lots of interest in the history of the statue.
  8. Rockefeller Center
    Even though there will be no ice rink nor Christmas lights there when we visit in May, both kids wouldn’t mind roaming around the Lego store. We are still considering Top of the Rock but it looks like it offers some of the best views in NYC. Of course if we do end up going to Nintendo the kids will probably scream in joy.
  9. 9/11 Memorial and Museum
    It’s good for the kids to visit the memorial and museum in NYC commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks and learn about that history. It will very easily reinforce school learning too.
  10. Broadway
    Last but not least, our two kids will likely enjoy a Broadway show if we pick the right one keeping them in mind. As of now, we have not chosen which one yet and had not booked anything. On the other hand, we may want to try our luck and buy discounted tickets on the day of.We know we are taking a risk by not purchasing tickets ahead of time. What do you think would be a good show for a 11 year old and 7 year old?

    My top 3 choices are Aladdin, Lion King, and MJ at this point.

Even before we research into it we knew in a city like New York City there’s no way parents need to worry what to do with tweens in NYC.

See also  Journal of our last day of NYC trip, including the Met and Central Park

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