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Don't let the winter doldrums can keep you and your crew inside all season. There are tons of places to go and things to see with your under-five set this February.
Chill out at the Frosty Ball
Frozen fans won’t want to miss the Garden State Discovery Museum’s Frosty Ball, where they can sing, dance, craft and more with their fave royals on Feb. 9.
Flex your STEM skills at Kids Week
Hang out or spend a week exploring the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in NYC for Star Stories Feb. 10-11 or during Kids Week Feb. 18-24.
Hit a museum
Take your mini-archaeologists to the Rutgers Geology Museum in New Brunswick on Feb. 7 to explore mummies, learn about ancient Egyptian culture and craft. Hit the Princeton University Art Museum Feb. 1-2 for interactive tours and art projects relating to Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Ancient Greece and Egypt. Show the kids art created by other budding artists at the Environmental Education Center in Basking Ridge on Feb. 4. Head to the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick on Feb. 4 for interactive workshops that help families spend quality creative time together. Illuminate their imaginations at SPARK! with stories about the creation of light at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts in Madison. Check out the Morris Museum’s Illustration Creations exhibit and see some of your favorite illustrations on display, then create your own masterpiece on Feb. 16.
Spend some time in the City
Museums are full of endless activities. The kids can make Winter Olympic medals at the Staten Island Children’s Museum this President’s Day, then tour the museum, thanks to free admission. Families can drop by the Rubin Museum of Art in NYC on Sundays to participate in family-friendly activities designed for kids ages 3 and up.
Take your bookworms to the library
Enjoy a variety of activities with your little ones, from celebrating Mo Willem’s birthday on Feb. 1 at the Mary Jacobs Library in Rocky Hill to spending time with the Pokémon Club on Feb. 20 at the Warren County Library in Hackettstown. Your little loves can celebrate Valentine’s day at the Warren County Library in Hackettstown on Feb. 2 with carnival games, bowling, pin the tail on the donkey and more. Your preschooler can rock her favorite pajamas for the Berenstain Bears PJ Story Time at Warren County Library in Hackettstown on Feb. 26. Or, she can practice her reading skills with a therapy dog at the Morris County Library in Whippany at Paws for Reading on Feb. 26.
Get your theater on
Check out this theatrical version of Eric Carle’s classic story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, at the DR2 Theatre at Union Square in NYC before it ends Feb. 4. Head to the Packanack Community Church in Wayne for a taste of Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. on Feb. 1-2. If you’ve got lil’ Dr. Seuss fans at home, grab tickets to The Cat in the Hat at MPAC in Morristown on Feb. 5. SOPAC will be hosting The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales on Feb. 10, a show that’ll reshape your view of classic stories and fairy tale characters. Venture to a musical adaptation of classic kids book The Gruffalo at The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg on Feb. 25.
Discover something new at these Exploration Stations
Hit the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City and visit Thomas and Friends to learn science, technology, engineering and math through fun activities and play. Bring your little zoologists ages 4-5 to the Turtle Back Zoo Explorers in West Orange for stories, games and crafts at the zoo’s interactive, science-based lessons about animals, which is open until Feb. 12. Don’t miss the star-themed Storybooks in Space at the Raritan Valley Community College Planetarium in Branchburg on Feb. 24.
Take it outside
You don’t want to miss Skyland Stadium’s Frozen in Ice: Wild West, which has 100 tons of ice sculptures, a 50-foot ice slide, ice maze and more fun. Join Terhune Orchards in Princeton on Feb. 3 for a program on animal tracks that includes a bird feeder craft. Venture to Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in Morris Twp. on Feb. 4 for an adventure into traditional farm life: enjoy a tractor ride, meet farm animals and help with daily chores. Don your best fairy getup and explore the Watershed Center’s outdoor Winter Fairy Land on Feb. 24, where you can dance, play games and make a craft.
Get crafty
The Warren County Library in Hackettstown wants you to be their guest and decorate your own enchanted mirror at their free Beauty and the Beast-inspired craft day on Feb. 24.
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