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Free Activities for Kids in February 2025: 36 Best Things To Do in NYC

Ring the Year of the Snake at Lincoln Center with a daylong celebration on Josie Robertson Plaza. Photo by Sachyn Mital
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1/28/25 - By Drew Kristofik

February is short and sweet and full of free things to do in NYC with kids. Our top picks for the best free activities for kids this February include the big Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown, the annual Ice Sculpture Show on Governors Island, and we're kicking off the month with our own summer camp fair, CAMPTOPIA this Sunday in Brooklyn.

Families can celebrate Yoko Ono's birthday at the Park Avenue Armory with a forest of Wish Trees, and we've got free Midwinter Break activities covered, too, with some help from the Urban Park Rangers.

Read on for our top free activity picks all month long and bookmark our Family Activity Calendar and NYC Kids' Guide to Winter Activities for more seasonal picks.

Be sure to click through to each listing for all the details, including location, time, and recommended ages.

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OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Free Things To Do in NYC from Saturday, February 1-Sunday, February 9, 2025

Lunar New Year Family Celebration at Lincoln Center

Upper West Side
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Ring the Year of the Snake with self-discovery, transformation, and connection, including a beloved lion dance performance on Josie Robertson Plaza and story time with Ashley and Jeff Chang of The ABC Digest. READ MORE

Lunar New Year Celebration at City Point

Downtown Brooklyn
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Celebrate Year of the Snake at City Point with traditional lion dances, Lunar New Year-inspired crafts, and more! Families are encouraged to come dressed in red. Stroller parking is available. READ MORE

Hands-on Black History: Oysters! at King Manor

Jamaica, Queens
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Dive into the history of Black oystermen and the legacy of Thomas Downing, the oyster King of NY! Participants create crowns that befit a free Black business owner and stop on the underground railroad, practice oyster filtration, and even investigate the habitats of oysters. READ MORE

Groundhog Day Hibernation Hike at Clove Lakes Park

Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Did Staten Island Chuck see his shadow this morning? Find out on this hike while learning more about how other animal species spend their winters in New York City parks. Learn how birds, groundhogs, squirrels, chipmunks, and others survive the cold and the snow, and participate in games and activities. READ MORE

Wildlife Viewing: Groundhogs in Fort Totten Park

Bay Terrace, Queens
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Learn more about groundhogs and the origins of the holiday that honors them. Groundhogs can be elusive but participants might just get the chance to see one. READ MORE

CAMPTOPIA Brooklyn - NYC's Most Fun Camp Fair

Downtown Brooklyn
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Arts and crafts, robotics, filmmaking, s'mores, slime, soccer skills, a photo booth, gymnastics, an obstacle course...it sounds like an amazing day at summer camp or what you'll find at CAMPTOPIA, the most amazing camp fair ever! Plus, a bounce house, face painting, DJ, and more—all FREE! Don't just read about summer camps, come to CAMPTOPIA and play with them! READ MORE

Kindie Rock

Battery Park
Wednesdays February 5, 12, 19, and 26, 2025
Shake all those wiggles out at Battery Park City's weekly kid concerts. Attendance is first-come, first-served, so arrive early for one of the two sessions. READ MORE

Lunar New Year at the Queens Botanical Garden

Flushing, Queens
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Celebrate the Year of the Snake at the Queens Botanical Garden with a lion dance, tai chi, kung fu, face changing, folk dance, crafts, story time, and more. READ MORE

Fourth Annual Winter Ice Sculpture Show on Governors Island

Governors Island
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Ten artists team up with a professional ice carver from Okamoto Studio for this live ice carving demonstration on Governors Island. Visitors can witness real-time ice carving and vote for their favorite sculpture for the People's Choice Award.  READ MORE

Greencycle Post-Holiday Swap

Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Town Square's popular Greencycle Swap is back, just in time for you to quietly give away those "unexpected" holiday gifts and get a fresh start with your closets. READ MORE

Take Two Film Workshop: In Camera Effects

Midtown West
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Don't have that big Hollywood budget for special effects? Learn how to create fun and funky looks with just your camera and household materials. Master the whip pan and make DIY filters. Kids get to take home their creations and a link to a video from the workshop. READ MORE

StoryTime on Ice in Bryant Park

Midtown West
Saturdays February 8, 15, and 22, 2025
Start your day with enchanting tales and favorite tunes during Bryant Park's story time held on the Overlook. This program is followed by a StoryTime on Ice performance of The Three Little Pigs by the Bryant Parkettes. This performance can be viewed from around the rink deck or from the Overlook.    READ MORE

Valentine Making Workshop in Battery Park City

Battery Park City
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Create something special for your valentine using dried flowers, lace, ribbon, and an assortment of papers.  READ MORE

92NY Countdown to Camp Open House

Upper East Side
Sunday, February 9, 2025
Get your campers excited for the summer camp season with a day of sports, arts and crafts, and other classic campy activities. READ MORE

Free Things To Do in NYC from Monday, February 10-Sunday, February 16,2025

Miss Sara and the Bodega Cats at Brooklyn Public Library

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Joined by her puppet friend Max and her band, The Bodega Cats, Miss Sara creates a magical, hands-on experience that inspires kiddos and grownups to sing, dance, and connect. READ MORE

Drop-In Program: After-School Gallery Explorers at the Jewish Museum

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Preschoolers and elementary school-aged children are invited to explore and create during drop-in Tuesday afternoon sessions at the museum. READ MORE

Valentine's Day Craft at Kwame Ture Recreation Center

Morris Heights, the Bronx
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Make unique and heartfelt projects, from handmade cards to sweet decorations. READ MORE

Great Backyard Bird Count

Citywide
Friday, February 14-Monday, February 17, 2025
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are. READ MORE

Wish Tree at the Park Avenue Armory

Upper East Side
Friday, February 14-Monday, February 17, 2025
Yoko Ono's largest installation to date, Wish Tree, fills the Wade Thompson Drill Hall with a grove of 92 trees, in honor of the influential artist’s 92nd birthday. Visitors are invited to contribute by tying personal wishes to the trees, creating a large-scale, yet intimate activation of her social practice work.   READ MORE

Invoke at Lincoln Center

Upper West Side
Saturday, February 15, 2025
The multi-instrumental quartet, Invoke, encompasses traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism. READ MORE

Baby Dunk All-Star Weekend at Hunts Point Rec

Hunts Point, the Bronx
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Hunts Point Recreation Center hosts a day of games, dunk and shootout contests, and more. READ MORE

Celebration of Blackness at Harlem School of the Arts

Harlem
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Celebrate Black Excellence at a powerful showcase honoring the impact of Black artists who have shaped and inspired generations. This multi-disciplinary collection of performances features HSA students from dance, music, theater, and visual arts.  READ MORE

Winter StoryTime with Cali Co Cat in Bryant Park

Midtown West
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Cali Co Cat brings meow-sic and purr-cussion to Winter StoryTime in the park! Bring your imagination and storytelling skills to enjoy some tales with your favorite feline.  READ MORE

27th Annual New York City Lunar New Year Parade & Festival in Chinatown

Chinatown
Sunday, February 16, 2025
A half-million spectators line the streets of Chinatown for this colorful pan-Asian procession, which includes Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and even Hispanic floats and cultural performances.  READ MORE

Free Things To Do in NYC from Monday, February 17-Friday, February 28, 2025

Mid-Winter Family Fun Hike in Van Cortlandt Park

Fieldston, the Bronx
Monday, February 17, 2025
Start your family's midwinter recess off with a walk through Van Cortlandt Park. In this free guided hike, families hit the trails to learn about amazing local plants and animals, and how the park changes in the colder weather. READ MORE

Midwinter Recess in Prospect Park

Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Monday, February 17-Friday, February 21, 2025
The Prospect Park Alliance offers family-friendly programming every day during midwinter recess. READ MORE

Free Kids Week Programming in NYC Parks

Citywide
Monday, February 17-Friday, February 21, 2025
Spend spring break exploring NYC Parks with the help of the Urban Park Rangers FREE programming series. READ MORE

Arctic Architecture at the Skyscraper Museum

Battery Park City
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
From the Russian izba to the Alaskan Inuit igloos, learn how Arctic homes are built. Then create mini-models of houses built for the frigid north. READ MORE

Freezin' Season Winter Break Workshops for Kids at King Manor

Jamaica, Queens
Tuesday, February 18-February 21, 2025
King Manor invites kids inside for Freezin’ Season, an activity series to help keep kids busy during winter break that includes creating snow globes, solving Black History puzzles, standing on the shoulders of Black inventors to create a new invention, and completing challenges related to designing a plane. READ MORE

Family Fridays: King Kong Rearranges the Skyline at the Museum of Mathematics

Gramercy
Friday, February 21, 2025
King Kong looks at a collection of buildings and rearranges them by swiping the bottom floor out of each one and stacking them up into a new building. He enjoys that so much that he decides to do it again, and again, and again. What happens to the heights of the buildings in the long run? Join mathemagician Josh Zucker for a night of interactive fun and explore the math of directed graphs. READ MORE

Winter Carnival in Soundview Park

Soundview, the Bronx
Friday, February 21, 2025
Soundview Park's Winter Carnival promises games, winter sports, and more. READ MORE

Black History Month Celebration: Architecture of the Harlem Renaissance at the Skyscraper Museum

Battery Park City
Saturday, February 22, 2025
The Harlem Renaissance gave rise to literary, artistic, and social movements that advocated for challenging segregation and adopting Civil Rights. Learn how these developments, including jazz, poetry, and musical theater, were reflected by Harlem’s architecture then and now. Then, create collages using cutouts of New York buildings, art pieces, and literature from the renaissance. READ MORE

90-Second Newbery Film Festival 2025 at the Dweck Center BPL

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Check out the 14th annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival—a yearly video contest in which kid filmmakers create weird, short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery award-winning books in about 90 seconds. READ MORE

Lenfest Kids: Big and Small

Columbia
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Thinking about small perspectives isn’t just a way of understanding cinema. It’s a way of understanding the world. Shrink down and journey inside the human body in Fantastic Voyage and Osmosis Jones. Follow the adventures of mice (Stuart Little), frogs (The Princess and the Frog), miniature people (Secret World of Arrietty), and even shells (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). READ MORE

Create-athon: Gong Ensembles at Lincoln Center

Upper West Side
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Creative duo elekhlekha, made up of Lincoln Center Collider Fellow Kengchakaj Kengkarnka and interdisciplinary artist Nitcha Tothong, lead the first spring Create-athon, guiding participants in making their own gong instruments.    READ MORE

Stomp, Clap and Sing with Conroy at Brooklyn Public Library

Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
With his djembe and his guitar, Conroy Warren sings and plasy calypso, reggae, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and children's favorites. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Overlook at Bank of America Winter Village in Bryant Park
Brooklyn Central Library - Dweck Center
Kwame Ture Recreation Center
Hunts Point Recreation Center
Overlook at Bank of America Winter Village in Bryant Park
Brooklyn Central Library - Dweck Center
Brooklyn Central Library - Dweck Center