Staten Island Children's Museum (front)
When I was creating my list of activities for my “camp,” I carefully included a visit to all the children’s museums that New York has to offer. We are working our way through the extensive list, but Staten Island’s Children’s Museum has to be one of my favorites. The museum is located in Snug Harbor (a truly beautiful setting!) and has great exhibits that I hadn’t seen in many other places. My favorites include a kid-sized stage with a control booth for sound and lights (which are all touchable!), a fire engine with appropriate dress up clothes, a nautical outdoor play space and a construction area with hands-on tools.
The Snug Harbor gardens- gorgeous!
Tips:
- The museum is located at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, an 83 acre property that is a Smithsonian Affiliate. It has gardens and galleries plus a calendar of events. Check out this link for a map and more information: http://www.snug-harbor.org/visit.html
- The children’s museum has multiple levels but does have elevators. A lightweight stroller came in handy to get from the parking lot to the museum and held our bag and lunch.
- The museum has a small café open during the week only with limited hours. We brought our lunch one time and the second time enjoyed the food at the café. It’s not fancy but all very fresh and very inexpensive. The menu was small but included kid favorites like PB&J or grilled cheese. They also offered a few specials. Be prepared that service is friendly but slow. If you don’t buy lunch, the museum still allows you to picnic at either the inside or outside tables.
- The museum offers a preschool program called Tot’s Time Plus. It’s an additional $5 on top of the museum admission but offers an informal preschool experience with arts and crafts, story time and snack. It’s on a drop-in basis so no need to make a reservation. My kids enjoyed the first hour but the timing was a bit tricky for us, and we only lasted for an hour before we had to go out seek out lunch.
- The museum honored our Globetrotter Family Membership from Brooklyn Children’s Museum. (BCM has different membership levels; we were glad we went with the level that lets us into other children’s museums around the country.)
One kid got swallowed up by the bug costumes! (my kid)
Equipment: Don’t forget your camera. Lots of cute pictures to be had on the field trip! Also, pack sunscreen if you go on a sunny day; the outdoor play space has very little shade.
Facilities: Free parking! I feel like this is a huge rarity in New York and balances out the cost of the toll on the Verrazano Bridge for me.
Extra: If you are up for a big day, combining a visit to the museum with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry would make for a blockbuster day. The bus from the ferry on the Staten Island side drops you at the entrance to Snug Harbor.
Transportation: We drove on both our visits, using the Verrazano Bridge. However the museum is easily accessible using the Staten Island Ferry and catching the S40 bus to the Snug Harbor Road stop.
Staten Island Children’s Museum
1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
Ph: 718-273-2060
Website: http://statenislandkids.org/
Link to Map
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Carolyn Pravda is a stay-at-home mom in Brooklyn, NY. After having two kids in quick succession, she found the slippery slope to frumpy housewife was getting steeper. It was just too easy for her to pull the same jeans and cotton t-shirts out of the closet each day. With laptop in hand and a firm nap schedule, she set to work creating a site that would help mommies everywhere get dressed in the morning, ready for life with kids and looking good. Her suggestions are budget conscious, washable and wearable at the playground.
Carolyn blogs at www.mamathreads.com with fashion suggestions as well as Mama Thread Thoughts on parenting. She is a member of the Yahoo! Mother Board and is a moderator for the lively and helpful online parenting group Bococa Parents. Finally, she contributes to AChildGrowsInBrooklyn.com with a column on fun things to do this summer in New York for an adventurous mom of two preschoolers who didn’t sign up for any camps!