Things to Do with Kids

February vacation week brings a whole line-up of winter fun to the mountain. Visits from Princess Elsa, winter crafts, themed spirit days, and more!

Wachusett Mountain Ski Area

499 Mountain Rd

Princeton MA 01541

Connect with amazing wildlife and spend a memorable school vacay week with family and friends exploring all the Zoo has to offer. And don’t miss Orchid Adventure, featuring an exquisite display of tropical blooms in the balmy Tropical Forest pavilion!

Schedule of Events 🌸

All activities take place in the Tropical Forest near the sloth habitat

Saturday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day at the Zoo! 💕
Show some love to your favorite Tropical Forest animals! Create or bring a Valentine for animals like the gorilla, lemur, clouded leopard, pygmy hippo, anteater, Baird’s tapir, crocodile and sloth! Then drop your card into their animal Valentine boxes.

Sunday, February 15
In honor of World Hippo Day, they’re hosting a full day of hippo fun for fans of all ages!

Monday, February 16
Celebrate the 33rd birthday of Little Joe, western lowland gorilla, with a day full of discovery, hands-on crafts, snacks, storytime, educator chats, and more!

Tuesday, February 17

• 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Face painting and orchid-inspired crafts

Wednesday, February 18

• Storytime: 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. & 12:00 - 12:30 p.m.
• Orchid Crafts: 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. & 12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 19

• 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Orchid crafts and lemur education station
• 11:00 a.m: Lemur enrichment (lemur habitat)

Friday, February 20

• 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.: Face painting and orchid-inspired crafts

Saturday, February 21

• 11:00 a.m.: Horticulture-led orchid tour through the Tropical Forest
• 12:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Orchid Mounting Workshop (pre-registration and additional fee required)

Sunday, February 22‍

Orchid Adventure Scavenger Hunt

Get tickets here!

1 Franklin Park Rd.

Boston, MA 02121

‍Get Directions

Looking for fun winter activities during February school vacation? Have a wild winter adventure at Stone Zoo!

Stone Zoo’s education team offers daily programming and keeper chats featuring animals from across the globe. Visit the flamingos in the Caribbean Coast aviary, discover how the arctic fox blends into snowy habitats, and learn how reindeer are adapted for cold-weather living. Ask questions, connect with Zoo staff, and learn how you can help protect wildlife.

Catch these keeper chats during the week!

• 10:00 a.m.: Red Panda
• 11:00 a.m.: Sloth
• 1:30 p.m.: Reindeer Chat
• 2:30 p.m.: Cougar

Get tickets here!

149 Pond Street

Stoneham, MA 02180

‍Get Directions

Brooklyn’s boldest celebration of Black imagination, invention, and joy, shaped by Black creators!

Make art, learn dances, create music, and envision the future that celebrates Black culture and the African Diaspora.

Presented with Kendra J. Ross and STooPS.

Tickets are $15, get them starting on the first day here!

Brooklyn Children’s Museum‍

145 Brooklyn Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11213

Scrambling for childcare during President's Day week? The Bay Area Discovery Museum has got camps that fit your needs, whether you need coverage for just Presidents’ Day or the entire Mid-Winter Break! Pick Monday only or the full week to keep kids happily busy (and learning!) while you keep life moving.

Presidents' Day Camp (February 16)

• ‍Ages: 4 – 6 year-olds‍
• Price: $135‍
• Aftercare: $30‍

A frosty wonder-lab of crafts, games, and discovery. Kids build pretend snowmen, design icy art, test materials to keep ice from melting the longest, and create a jar-sized blizzard to see how liquids layer and swirl. Perfect for the kid who loves animals of every kind. Register here!

Full Week Camps (February 16 – 20)

All Aboard Adventures

• Ages: 4 Year-Olds‍
• Price: $675‍
• Aftercare: $150

Curious minds go from here to there as they explore how the Bay Area moves, including trains, ferries and other methods of transportation. Kids design custom Clipper cards and map a BART adventure, then engineer a float-ready ferry to test what sinks and what floats. Perfect for the child who asks how things get from here to there. Register here!

Artful Scientist

• Ages: 5-6 Year-Olds‍
• Price: $675‍
• Aftercare: $150

Color, light, and curiosity take center stage as campers test ideas and create. They make leaf-powered paintings and sun prints from found objects, learning how energy and nature team up to make color happen. Perfect for the child who asks a million questions and loves the good kind of mess. Register here!

557 McReynolds Rd

Sausalito, CA 94965

Discovery Adventures are immersive day programs that give kids a chance to step back in time and experience life in the 1830s at Old Sturbridge Village!

Every session offers kids the opportunity to explore an aspect of 19th-century history and daily life. All programs include an afternoon snack, hands-on crafts, and the chance to learn something new while making lasting friends and memories.

For FAQs and further details, see their informational packet.

Slots fill up quickly, so pre-registration is highly recommended and must be done at least 2 weeks prior! Begin registration here and complete this form, also. Cost is $205/3 days.

Old Sturbridge Village

1 Old Sturbridge Village Road

Sturbridge, MA 01566

Join the Staten Island Children's Museum & Marcia Greene, DDS, as she teaches children about healthy dental habits and leads a creative art project inspired by teeth.

Tickets are $10, get them here!

Staten Island Children’s Museum

1000 Richmond Terrace, Building M
Staten Island, NY 10301

CALLING PARENTS, THIS ONE IS FOR YOU! (Ages 21+)

Carnival at the Museum is a high-energy celebration of Caribbean culture, from the Bahamas to Trinidad to Manhattan, brought to life through the electrifying spirit of a Carnival Fete! This after-hours program blends music, movement, costume, food, and climate storytelling to honor the Caribbean legacy of resilience, resistance, and joy.

As extreme weather is transforming daily existence across the Caribbean and locally in New York, rising temperatures, rapid development, and disappearing green space are forging a shared climate reality across the diaspora. Together, explore how culture, environment, and identity can coalesce to build sustainable futures for every island we call home.

At this event, you’ll:

• Feel the energy as reggae, reggaeton, and soca rhythms fill the Museum and transform the space into a living expression of Caribbean pride.
• Savor bold flavors with tastings from Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean that root global traditions in local community.
• Engage with a panel conversation that will examine how extreme weather and intensifying heat island effect are reshaping life across Caribbean islands and across New York City while spotlighting resilience, adaptation, and community-led innovation from Dominica, Jamaica, and local Caribbean neighborhoods.

Cost is $25, get your tickets here.

American Museum of Natural History

200 Central Park West

New York, NY 10024-5102

Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation

Enter at 79th Street and Columbus Avenue

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From pioneers to dreamers, we honor the people who lead, inspire, and shape our world as we celebrate Black History Month!

• Performance and Read Aloud: “A Black Girl and Her Braids”
  Sunday, February 22 | 10:30 am – 11:10 am & 11:30 am – 12:10 pm | All ages
  Join a special morning with author and performer, Jaylene Clark Owens. Based off Jaylene’s viral poem of the same name, “A Black Girl and Her Braids” champions braids of all lengths, looks, parts, and styles, in a vibrant picture book celebrating the versatility of Black hair. Join a read aloud and spoken word poetry performance you won’t forget!
• Gratitude Gallery
  Friday, February 20 & Sunday, February 22 | 2:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Ages 5+
  Saturday, February 21 | 10:30 am – 12:30 pm | Ages 5+
  Tuesday – Friday, February 24 – 27 | 2:00 pm – 4:15 pm | Ages 5+
  Sculpt a clay portrait inspired by Black women creatives and beautifully frame it on a gold paper frame!
• Oge Mora Inspired Paper Collage
  Friday, February 20 | 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm | Ages 4 & younger
  Saturday & Sunday, February 21 – 22; | 11:15 am – 12:15 pm & 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm | Ages 4 & younger
  Tuesday – Friday, February 24 – 27 | 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm | Ages 4 & younger
  Oge Mora is an illustrator and author. She wrote and illustrated books such as Saturday and Thank You, Omu! Explore different colors, textures, and shapes of paper. Glue the pieces down to create people and places inspired by Mora’s vibrant illustrations.

Children's Museum of Manhattan

The Tisch Building

212 West 83rd Street

New York, NY 10024

Looking for something fun to do over February break? Join the Waterworks Museum for some hands-on, family-friendly activities at their Winter Engineering: Catapults and Cotton Balls event.

Create a catapult out of popsicle sticks and a wooden spoon! Make a cotton ball launcher out of cardboard and try some target practice!

This program is FREE of charge (suggested donation $5). They ask that you help them monitor capacity by reserving your tickets ahead of time!

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Metropolitan Waterworks Museum

2450 Beacon Street

Boston, MA 02467

The MN Children's Museum is exhibiting Hands-On Hip Hop, a six-week museum-wide celebration of Hip Hop culture and history. As a part of their weekly ongoing exhibit activities, they will be hosting a Graffiti (Street Art) workshop!

Artist Jordan Hamilton leads this wildly creative art making experience using markers, paper, cutting and collage to develop graffiti style inspired artworks. Explore graffiti art references, examples, basic techniques and approaches to creative graffiti lettering while developing your own unique style.

Get your tickets online ahead of time and save $2! (income based tickets also avaialble!)

10 West Seventh Street

St. Paul, MN 55102

Kick off the Year of the Horse with culture, creativity, and connection!

Join the Exploratorium for a day of activities and crafts for the whole family. Hear real-life stories of rescue-to-hero horses. Make your own lion dance puppets, and discover the foundations of Chinese dance. Immerse yourself in traditions old and new, and maybe even create a few of your own!

Get tickets here ($40/adults, $30/students).

Pier 15 (Embarcadero at Green Street)
San Francisco, CA 94111

Get directions

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Join Sugar Plum Parties' two day extravaganza, with all things princess! ✨👑

‍Monday - Makeover with a Princess

‍Singing, dancing, and more! Elsa will do make-up (eyes and lip gloss), Moana will be doing fancy manicures, and Snow White will finish it all off with stunning hair accessories. Ticket includes take home 4x6 photos & pizza. $50/child, register here!

‍Tuesday - Party Time with a Princess

‍The next day, Rapunzel is doing face paint, Cinderella's on glitter tattoos, and Ariel's got fancy manicures covered! Ticket includes take home 4x6 photos & pizza. $50/child, register here!

Sugar Plum Parties

306 Boston Rd., Unit K (next to Belly Buster Diner)

Billerica, MA 01862

Asobouyo!

How do I write my name in Japanese? Do Japanese children play with the same toys as me? Join visiting student teachers from Showa University in Tokyo to explore classic Japanese children’s toys and games. You'll learn some simple Japanese words as you play together!

Included with admission, get your tickets at the door ($19 for children and adults, kids under 1 are free).

Acton Discovery Museum

177 Main Street (Route 27)

Acton, Massachusetts 01720

Free!

Enjoy nature story time in the SF Botanical Garden!  Arrive at the library terrace near the main gate in this timeframe and sink into an on-demand nature focused story.

Recommended age range of participants is 2-6 years.

1199 9th Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94122

Participants with physical and cognitive disabilities, along with their families, are welcome to enjoy time on the ski trails! Adaptive and standard ski equipment will be available. For ages 5+.

Cost is $15, register here!

Bunker Hills Campground

13101 County Parkway B

Coon Rapids, MN, 55433

Meet at the visitors center

Join all or one of these homeschool series sessions at the park!

Star Stories (10 - 11 am)

Learn about constellations, listen to the stories told about them from around the world and see the night sky during the day in the StarLab! Ages 5+. Cost is $6, register here!

Welcome to the Solar System (12:30 - 2 pm)

Explore the astronomical “neighborhood” that is the solar system. Learn how the planets move around the sun, visit the planets and discover other celestial objects we can see in our skies. Ages 8+. Cost is $6, register here!

A Calendar in the Stars – Seasonal Constellations (2:30 - 4 pm)

Throughout the seasons, the stars we see in the sky change. Learn why this is, hear constellation stories from around the world and see the night sky during the day in the StarLab. Ages 10+. Cost is $6, register here!

Mississippi Gateway Regional Park

Brooklyn Park, MN