FREE Midwinter Recess Things to Do With Kids

NYC schools are closed Presidents Day, Monday, Feb. 15, through Sunday, Feb. 21 for Midwinter Recess.

Here is a calendar of things to do with your kids or grandkids, virtually or in person, from top NYC museums and NYC parks, so everything is a combination of learning and entretainment.

All events are FREE  because the name of our website is NYC on the Cheap. If you want to spend a lot of money entertaining your kids, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

Donations are accepted, of course, to continue the good work of these museums.

Monday, Feb. 15

New York Historical Society photo

Lincoln in the Time of Crisis

President Abraham Lincoln took office during a time of great division in  the United States. Join the Living History experts on Presidents Day to discover how he brought the nation back together.

Families can ask questions to historical interpreter Dennis Boggs about Lincoln’s most difficult decisions. Then, learn methods for having productive conversations about challenging topics. Use our discussion starters to practice with friends and family after the program.

• FREE, from the New York Historical Society.  Donations are accepted
• Register Here

Image: Dennis Boggs as President Abraham Lincoln 

New-York Historical Society is open to visitors.  Reservations are required.  The DiMenna Children’s History Museum remains temporarily closed.

If you visit in person, be sure to spend some time at Meet the Presidents and the Oval Office, which includes a full size replica of the famous White House office. 

NYC on the Chief Executive Editor Evelyn Kanter was able to sit at the President’s desk when the exhibit opened in early 2020.

The exhibit also has photos or portraits of all the US presidents, info on the issues and challenges they faced while in office, and a treasure trove of historical photos of presidents and international leaders meeting in the Oval Office.

Kids Week at Intrepid Museum

This annual event goes virtual in 2021 with five days of events, streaming FREE daily, Monday, Feb. 15 to Friday, Feb. 19, streaming 10am to 3pm.

This year, Kids Week features three themes across the five days – Space & Science, Music & Arts, and Safari & Nature. Partners.

Presenters and programs include partner museums from around the NYC region and around the USA, including American Museum of Natural History, NASA, American Society of Civil Engineers, Billion Oyster Project, The Radio City Rockettes , the Climate Museum, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, Curious-on-Hudson, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kerbal Space Academy, Ballet Hispanico School of Dance, U.S. Space Force, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Robofun, Rube Goldberg, Two by Two Zoo, Meet the Creators with Brigette Barrager, Rachel Ignotofsky, Laura Knetzger, Lauren Castillo, and Judd Winick, Meet the Authors with Theanne Griffith, Bill Doyle, Jennifer L. Holm and John Rocco, Mindfulness Expert for Children: Kira Willey, Wildlife Conservation Society featuring the Bronx Zoo, and more.

Registration is required for each day.  Registration includes links to watch online.

Monday schedule of events and registration

• Includes a workshop with Climate Museum educators, who  invite kids to create climate art, use their drawings as conversation-starters about the climate impacts that matter most to them, and share their art with others.

Tuesday schedule of events and registration

• Includes a special Black History Month program on the role of African-Americans in the space program.

Wednesday schedule of events and registration

• Includes a session with illustrators Laura Knetzger (Bug Boys), Lauren Castillo (Our Friend Hedgehog), and Judd Winick (Hilo series). Tune in for their live drawings.

Thursday schedule of events and registration

• Includes Space Time with a Space Guardian: a STEM education program aimed at 2nd – 6th grade students. The program teaches kids about how space is part of their daily lives, and covers exciting topics like space launches, satellites, space debris, the history of the US in space, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) and the importance of a solid STEM education if they are interested working in any sector of the space enterprise

Friday schedule of events and registration

• Includes learning  the basics of designing and launching a rocket using a physics simulation game from the Kerbal Space Program.

Kids Week in Bryant Park

These are in-person events, all FREE, including special skate sessions for kids.  So bundle up for the weather, including facemasks, and enjoy.

Feb. 16-19

Historic Fun and Games and Secret Codes

Several NYC history museums have bonded together for four FREE sessions of old-fashioned gaming, to show today’s kids what Revolutionary War-era kids did to pass the time in the days before Minecraft and TikTok.

Join the Morris-Jumel Mansion and sister sites Wyckoff House Museum, Old Stone House, Historic Richmond Town, and Lewis Latimer House Museum for a series of interactive virtual programs February 16th-19th.

During each session educators guide participants to create their own fun, historical hands-on activities and games from household materials. Travel though NYC, and the past, without leaving your home

Sessions are over Zoom and are free to attend with RSVP. Materials list will be sent upon registration.  The programs are designed for kids 8-12.  Younger children are welcome, but may need some assistance from older siblings or adults.

Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday, February 16th at 1pm:

Classic Board Games with Old Stone House & Historic Richmond Town–

• Learn how to make and play games of strategy that were played in early America, including Nine Man’s Morris and Rota.

Wednesday, February 17th at 1pm:

String Games with Wyckoff House Museum –

• Make whirligigs and other games from buttons and string.

Thursday, February 18th at 1pm:

Paper Creations with Lewis Latimer House Museum–

• Learn to create toys out of paper.

Friday, February 19th at 1pm:

Write in Secret Codes with Morris Jumel Mansion Museum-

• Train to be a Revolutionary War spy by exploring different ways to send secret messages to fellow spies.

Separate registration for each program is required.  Zoom link sent with registration.

• Daily, 1pm to 2pm

Exotic Animals at the Bronx Zoo 

Bronx Zoo is offering four animal meet-and-greets during mid-winter break with an aardvark, penguin, fox, and porcupine.

In addition to the session’s featured animal, you’ll meet two surprise guests and be able to chat with a zookeeper. Not only does this give a budding animal lover the chance to see animals up close, but the fee goes to supporting all of the zoo’s 700+ species.

• $32.95 per device.  Get Zoom link with registration.
• NOTE that Kids Week sessions are sold out.  Register now for March events.

More events this week for kids and for grownups

Monday, February 15, 2021

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Friday, February 19, 2021

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Sunday, February 21, 2021