Top 20 Places to Take Kids on Long Island - 2023

Of course, the libraries on Long Island are not really ONE place, but MANY places... but it's important to emphasize how valuable libraries are for family learning and fun. The libraries in our area are wonderful about posting their events to the KidsOutAndAbout calendar so you always can get ideas for free things to do with your kids that celebrate education and imagination. KidsOutAndAbout.com takes this opportunity to salute the wonderful children's librarians who serve our community with such dedication. They're proud that locals voted them #2 in best places to take kids this year!

Bounce! Family Entertainment Center is an indoor birthday party and play space located in Syosset. Perfect for birthday parties, group events, open play, and more! We have the best party packages on Long Island! Our facility has multiple AWESOME attractions: The Trampoline courts, The Adventure Zone, Bumper Cars, Laser Tag, Soft Play, Arcade, & MORE! If you need a break from jumping and climbing, try out some of our delicious food from The Bounce Bites Kitchen! We will be open 7 days a week for Open Play & Birthday Parties this summer! For more information and daily hours, check out our website! 

Live Theatre For Kids & Adults Theatre Education Program Comedy & Concerts Community!

Adventureland is Long Island's Amusement Park since 1962! Enjoy a fun and exciting day on rides, attractions, games, and more. Adventureland Amusement Park is only located 30 minutes east of New York City, at 2245 Broad Hollow Rd. in Farmingdale, New York and features over 30 fun and exciting rides and attractions. Adventureland has something for everyone with a variety of thrill rides, family rides, kiddie rides, and water rides.

The Long Island Children's Museum offers 14 interactive exhibits plus live theater, art spaces and daily activities to provide hours of discovery for children of all ages.

Urban Air Lake Grove is Long Island’s biggest indoor adventure park! We’ve got the tallest Sky Rider on Long Island, plus trampolines, bumper cars, 40 foot climbing walls, two virtual reality arenas and more! The best birthdays happen here! Great for group and camp outings too! Grab a membership or make a reservation online. 

Benner's Farm is a private fifteen-acre family homestead, first farmed in the 1700's. Each year the farm provides thousands of people a sense of what it was like to live on a small farm in years past. The Benners are the seventh family to farm this land. They have been farming organically since the late nineteen seventies in their family garden and fields of strawberries, and also raise a variety of farm animals for self-sufficient living. Thousands of people come to visit and participate in the many workshops, festivals and special events during the year. We also offer summer camps for ages 3-18!

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery closed its doors as a New York State fish hatchery on March 31, 1982. The following day it was reopened as a non-profit educational center by the Friends of the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery, Inc. Its mission is to operate as an environmental education center and public aquarium that continues to raise and stock trout. We are proud to have the largest living collection of New York State freshwater reptiles, fishes and amphibians. The Hatchery is a fun place for your family to spend an afternoon together. Visitors can tour our two aquarium buildings and eight outdoor ponds, feed the hungry trout, and try our “Catch & Keep” fishing. Special events, such as Animal Passport Program and Hatching Turtle Day, offer the public an opportunity to learn more about the creatures that inhabit New York State’s natural environment.

The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport is Long Island's only year-round professional theater company, casting its actors from the Broadway talent pool. Featuring Stadium-style seating, State of the art lighting and sound, and The Green Room Lounge

The Long Island Science Center is a 501(c)3 STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)  Learning Museum  with a mission to prepare young people for the challenges of a 21st century economy built on advanced technology and innovation. We ignite curiosity, fuel creativity and unlock the passion for problem-solving and discovery with STEAM curricula, programs and interactive museum experiences designed to cultivate future leaders and engaged citizens. 

Old Westbury Gardens, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is the former country estate of John and Margarita Phipps.

The Energy & Nature Center is on a barrier island beach within Jones Beach State Park. Exhibits and programs make use of this unique coastal setting to explore wind, wave, and solar energy as well as local dune and marine habitats. There are lots of fun things for kids to do. Inside the Center, children can feel live marine animals, look through a microscope, experience an energy-efficient playhouse, and make waves in a wave tank. Outside, children can walk through our pollinator garden, see whale bones and play musical instruments in the play area, and touch a 128ft-long wind turbine blade.

Conveniently located in western Suffolk County, the Sports Arena's state of the art, climate controlled 45,000 square foot facility provides a safe, clean environment for all of your sport and entertainment needs. Youth leagues, adult leagues, camps, birthday parties, individual training, and more.