Find great books recommendations for all ages in all sorts of diverse & inclusive categories, from Harlem Renaissance picture books to graphic novels talking about race. Includes themed collections like Halloween, Weddings,, Kids with Disabilities and RBG. Find links to buy at bookshop.org, an alternative to amazon that supports independent bookstores.

Hear sound- and music-rich radio plays based on folktales from around the world. Explore important issues like kindness, persistence and generosity with guest stage and screen stars. Each episode ends with an activity that inspires a deeper conversation between children and grown-ups. My daughter's favorite at bedtime.

Make cheerful cards for isolated seniors. Use big print (not cursive) so the card is easy to read. Provide stickers and stencils to help the younger kids. Adults can make cards too. Join the NYC-based Caring By Card Nursing Home Project, donate through DOROT and Meals on Wheels NYC or check with local nursing…

Humanitarians Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi Brazilian are depicted facing each other in street artist Eduardo Kobra’s colorful harlequin-pattern mural.

Albert Einstein is a NY-loving graffitist in street artist Eduardo Kobra’s colorful harlequin-pattern mural.

Join hosts Guy Raz and the hilarious Mindy Thomas on a journey into the wonders of the world. Go inside brains, out into space and deep into the coolest new stories in science and technology - with lots of wacky fun along the way. One of our family's faves.  

Solve puzzles, perform experiments, play state-of-the-art computer simulations and find out how corn is like a dog in this interactive, family-friendly space. Explore scientific principles behind Native innovations and technologies that are so ingenious, many remain a part of our daily lives.

Watch short, well-written animated films on a variety of topics including antiracism & Black history, STEM, arts, math and much more starring a very funny robot. Take quizzes and play games to test what you learned. Two editions, for ages K-3 or 4th -12th Grade (which can thoughtfully address some weighty topics, so monitor…

Contact your local soup kitchen to ask if they accept donations of home cooked meals or desserts. Find easy recipes that include stirring, scooping, and other kid-friendly steps. Here are tips for cooking for crowds (you may need to borrow extra pots etc. from friends); we’ve found baked ziti, roasted baby carrots and brownies all scale well.…

Follow along step by step as a professional artist and his kid draw animals, emojis, people, vehicles and more. Clear, simple steps turn anyone into an illustrator.

Listen to hundreds of audio books handpicked by Audible editors, including original exclusive content (we love The Mystwick School of Musicraft). Choose from a mix of stories to entertain, engage, and inform young people, ages 0–18. Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Italian selections also available. Free 30-day-trials available.  

Watch curated educated videos on the from Jazz at Lincoln Center's educational programs and learn about it's roots in African-American traditions and communities.  WeBop instructors demonstrate fun activities to get families swinging and singing, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra share performance secrets,  and Middle School Jazz Academy instructors break down jazz techniques.…

Learn about the "Ologies" - anthropology, astronomy, microbiology etc. through animated and live videos, games, stories, and suggestions for hands-on activities on this award-winning website/app from the American Museum of Natural History. Other online features include virtual museum tours, video trips through the universe, science quizzes and more.  

Engage with the vast CMS archive of concerts and lectures including the Meet the Music family programs, short videos with the wacky Inspector Pulse and Digging Downbeats with Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry (who has his own web series). Weekly themed classical music playlists include fun assignments and activities.

This fascinating historic  museum (now partially open for visits) hosts engaging live educational programs for all ages, audio and video resources (including the inspirational We Rise) and interactive 360 degree tours drawing on its world-renowned collections. Excellent educator resources including videos,  remote lesson plans, and media-rich curriculum website Women…

Join a former Disney duo on a musical adventure for the whole family. A cast of quirky characters navigate timely challenges to help kids save the world. Explore topics like honeybees and pollinators, plastic in the oceans, germs and our immune system, inclusion and kindness vs. bullying (as expressed by a T-Rex!) and…

Learn about musical culture and tradition around the world - African-American Freedom Songs, South African Zulu songs and many more - with lessons plans, music and video featuring global artists. The well-designed site features a world map to explore. Also Learn about symphony orchestras in an animated adventure in Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures.

Explore music in an interactive podcast and video series born from the brain of a music education teacher and his goofball kids. Each approx. 10 minute episode features inventive sing-alongs and activities. Geared for kids 3-9 years old but all ages get into it.

This absurdist sketch comedy show based on stories written by kids features original music and celebrity special guests. Young listeners are invited to submit their own stories that might be brought to live in the podcast or a future live show. Find comprehensive activity guides for each episode online with recipes, poetry lessons, and more.…

Kindie musicians Andrew & Polly and their friends consider music, science, art and culture in a fun-filled family-friendly podcast enjoyable for kids and grown-ups. Developmentally appropriate & absurdist but never untrue.

Learn about extraordinary, inspiring women women in a podcast based on global best-selling book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (a great purchase for all ages). Features famous leaders like Harriet Tubman and RBG as well as lesser known heroes from around the world.

Hear kid-friendly retelling of classic ancient Greek myths as featured in the Nat Geo Kids book Zeus the Mighty. Zippy and fun retellings with all the inappropriate parts glossed over.

Find family-friendly content from Radiolab, one of the most beloved podcasts in the world.  From “What do dogs see when they look at the rainbow?” to “Do animals laugh?” the topics are squeaky clean (mostly) and all about science and curiosity.

Easily donate high-quality, gently used clothing with Giving Factory Direct's digital clothing donation program. Donors are matched to a child in need and can ship new or gently-used clothing directly to that child using a provided pre-paid shipping label. Packs include two complete outfits, a pair of pajamas, and a sweater/sweatshirt, all in the same…

Explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art's vast collection from home. Take a virtual time machine to explore great works of art from Prehistoric Egyptian tombs to Warhols Campbell Soup dresses. Each work has a short related video, interesting information and suggestions for imagining and creating works at home. Also watch videos on who protects the…

Get hot, fresh addictively delicious doughnuts 24/7 at Krispy Kreme's Times Square Flagship store. The 4,500 square-foot shop features a doughnut-making theater, a Glazed Waterfall with digital projection, a giant conveyor belt that runs throughout the store and and a doughnut themed seating area. Choose from a variety of flavors, including an exclusive Big Apple…

Visit a unique memorial to the British rock musician and peace activist John Lennon, across from the ornate Dakota building where he lived. His wife, artist Yoko Ono, invited countries from all over the world to  contribute plants as well as stones to create an international garden of peace with small meadows lined with trees…

Everything is baked on-site throughout the day at this legendary bakery, from an array of rustic breads to the world-famous, super-gooey, six-ounce cookies in five flavors: Two Chip Chocolate Chip, Walnut Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip & Oatmeal Raisin (plus a gluten-free chocolate chip option). Other options include sour…

The 40,000 square feet  outpost of Italian marketplace Eataly is focused on bread, but you can also find delizioso pizza, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, pasta, rotisserie chicken, chocolate, gelato and (post-pandemic) weekend kids cooking classes. Choose from five restaurants, nine take-away counters (including gelato), two caffès, and one wine bar. Shop more than 10,000 high-quality…

Enter the magnificent 1894 Vanderbilt Gate to Central Park’s only formal garden, a six-acre oasis within an oasis with European charm. Climb onto the wisteria pergola in the Italianate Center Garden overlooking a yew hedges-bordered large lawn and 12-foot jet fountain. To the north, the French-style garden offers spectacular seasonal displays of tulips and Korean…

This bright, friendly French-Moroccan is known for its tasty avocado toast and couscous but we always get the all-day waffles. Table-service, expect waits during peak hours.

Travel to Belle Epoque France at an outpost of  an iconic Parisian tea room and dessert café founded in 1903. Get pastries, macarons, the iconic Angelina hot chocolate and the signature Mont-Blanc (meringue, light whipped cream, chestnut cream vermicelli) to go, or sit in the gorgeous dining room for brunch (served all day), afternoon tea,…

Enjoy scones in rotating flavors as magical as the decor, sandwiches, salads and treats with optional fairy wings and glitter at a whimsical tea house inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Choose from hundreds of teas served in charming mismatching pots and cups. Gets crowded on weekends; reservations recommended. Go early to beat the crowds (or…

Get the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate, a creamy secret blend of 14 exotic cocoas, and other decadent, over-sized desserts at this legendary restaurant and store with whimsical antique-store-meets-ice-cream-parlor decor. Heraty burgers, foot long hot dogs, mac ‘n’ cheese variations, salads and sandwiches are also available. A favorite of actors, artists and tourists for the last…

Select from nine hot chocolates - Italian Thick, Oreo, Peanut Butter and more - at this huge cafe and store that feels like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, with tubes of liquid chocolate criss crossing the space. Choose from a variety of creative, high-quality chocolate concoctions to fo, gift or to eat on site. Salads, paninis,…

Indulge in Venezuelan fried yumminess (and passion fruit sangria) at the casual Arepas Cafe, small and friendly with wooden tables, string lights on the windows, flags and masks adorning the walls, and soccer playing on the tv by the bar. We recommend the tasting platter.

The myriad of details in this colorful 97 by 40-foot mural by famed street artist Tristan Eaton on the side of a residential building on Fifth Avenue in reference the rich history of the NoMad neighborhood from the Gilded Age onward. The woman’s face is based on early 20th-century model, chorus girl and catalyst for…

Explore Jim Henson’s groundbreaking work for film and television and his transformative impact on popular culture and learn how Henson and his team of builders, performers, and writers brought to life the enduringly popular worlds of The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. Among the nearly 300 objects on view…

This modern American restaurant atop the Museum of Arts and Design has breathtaking views of Central Park and Columbus Circle with chic, colorful decor. Kid-friendly options (at adult prices) include pasta, burgers & house-made ice cream. Tue–Fri 12 pm–8 pm Sat-Sun 11 am–9 pm