Top 20 Places to Take Kids in Westchester County

Come howl with wolves! Home to 40+ wolves, including critically endangered red wolves and Mexican gray wolves, the Wolf Conservation Center is one of the wildest destinations in New York. Visitors learn about the true nature and plight of wolves during guided education programs and are able to witness wolf communication and behavior firsthand by howling with the WCC’s ambassador wolves! Through wolves, the WCC teaches the broader message of conservation, ecological balance, and personal responsibility for improved human stewardship of our World. Register for a program today! https://nywolf.org/

Discover adventure at The Rock Club! Featuring over 15,000 sq feet of climbing, young climbers will have a blast scaling the walls and experiencing the thrill of indoor climbing. Stop by for the day or join us for one of our many youth programs including after-school programs, climbing camps, and birthday parties.  In our programs, climbers will learn basic climbing techniques and participate in fun games while building confidence, focus, and teamwork skills. Join the climbing community!

Muscoot Farm was originally a "Gentleman's Farm" founded by Ferdinand T. Hopkins in 1880 and operated as a dairy farm until Westchester County acquired the property in the late 1960s. Today, Muscoot Farm is a Westchester County Park that strives to preserve and interpret its agrarian past. Visitors may stroll through the orginal barns, visit with the animals, participate in educational programs or hike the many miles of trails. There is something for everyone on Muscoot’s 777 acres!

Bear Mountain State Park is situated in rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson River. The park features a large play field, shaded picnic groves, lake and river fishing access, a swimming pool, Trailside Museums and Zoo, hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails. An outdoor rink is open to ice skaters from late October through mid-March. The Perkins Memorial Tower atop Bear Mountain affords spectacular views of the park, the Hudson Highlands and Harriman State Park. Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower are open from April through late November, weather permitting.

The oldest and largest museum in Westchester, the Hudson River Museum is home to art galleries; Glenview, the historic 1876 river home; the Hudson River Museum Planetarium (formerly Andrus Planetarium); and Hudson Riverama, an environmental teaching gallery.

The Greenburgh Nature Center is a nonprofit nature preserve and wildlife refuge with a mission to ignite passion, curiosity and respect for our natural world. The 33-acre property includes a woodland preserve with hiking trails, a pond, organic garden, Native Plant Meadow, Native American Replica Village, and nearly 100 animals. The Nature Center impacts close to 90,000 individuals every year through visits to its nature preserve and community outreach. Visit www.greenburghnaturecenter.org for a full listing of upcoming programs and events.

The Bronx Zoo is the world’s largest urban zoo, featuring more than 600 species. As part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Bronx Zoo Education Department offers programs for children, teens, and families to inspire people to value nature.

Ready for a BRICKTASTIC family adventure?! Jump into a world of supercharged creativity, color and playful learning at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester, the ultimate indoor LEGO® playground located at Ridge Hill Mall!

The entire family of budding builders can create memories with a mind-bopping amount of LEGO bricks and experiences! Take a totally awesome flight on Merlin's Apprentice, blast your way on a chariot to save the princess on the Kingdom Quest interactive ride, and meet your favorite LEGO characters in-person and inside the wicked-cool 4D Theater with mind-blowing special effects.

Rockefeller State Park Preserve offers quiet countryside walks of all lengths through forested hills and valleys surrounding sunlit pastoral fields. Thirty miles north of New York City, the property is the former Pocantico Hills and Rockwood Hall country estates of John D. Rockefeller family and William Rockefeller. Since 1983, the Rockefeller Family has generously donated over 1425 acres to the State of New York to safeguard these lands for present and future generations. Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, the Preserve is open to the public year-round, sunrise to sunset.

The Emelin, well-known for its high-quality and affordable programs, is one of the few performing arts venues in this region which offers a broad mix of entertainment appealing to all ages and tastes, produces its own theater performances, and attracts diverse audiences throughout Westchester County and beyond.

Cranberry Lake Preserve is a 190-acre park in North White Plains. Since 1967, the park has been a safe haven for animals and plants, including migratory birds, turtles, and dragonflies. Within the preserve are a variety of habitats including a four-acre lake, cliffs and scrubland, mixed hardwood forest, vernal pools, and a swamp. The Nature Center offers family-oriented nature programs on weekends and houses a variety of interactive, educational displays and live animals. Outdoor birthday parties are available for three to 13-year-olds, Saturdays and Sundays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) is a nonprofit five-screen cinema and education center located in Pleasantville, NY. With new releases, events, and special guests, the JBFC has programs for people of all ages including curated film series such as JBFC Kids which introduces young audiences to old and new films from around the world. Summer camps, school field trips, and high school fellowships at the JBFC’s Media Arts Lab provide emerging young artists with the tools and guidance to explore their creative pursuits.

Pelham Art Center's mission is to provide the public with a place, the resources and the opportunity to see, study, and experience the arts in a community setting. Affordable classes are offered year-round in many art forms and media: visual, performing, literary, and digital. Small class sizes, one on one attention from outstanding instructors, and convenient hours provide an enriching experience for our students. School vacation workshops include visual and performing arts and culminate in a performance

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures.