1.27.2018

Travel with Kids: New York City - Day 1

Back in September, the girls and I tagged along to New York with daddy on one of his work trips! It was mid September, beautiful weather, and although we didn't really need a break right after school started back up, we were ready for an adventure.

During one of my previous New York trips, I came across the Children's Museum of Arts (CMA) while walking around in lower Manhattan. The place looked like a creative wonderland for the littles. I looked it up online and had been wanting to bring the girls since then. This mini trip was our perfect opportunity to do so. 


CMA has a ton of skill-based art classes, fine art activities, media lab, clay bar, special exhibits in a 10,000 square-foot space. The kids (and adults!) can basically let their imagination run wild, work together on various art projects, and can easily spend a few solid hours there. 


If I remember correctly, there was no cafe within CMA and food is not allowed beyond the lobby area. So if you are planning to visit, keep that in mind and eat beforehand or carry snacks with you! On non-busy days, they do give you a sticker to come back in if you need to step outside to grab food. We went there on a weekday and the girls and I ended up stepping outside to take a food break. We found an amazing Mexican food truck right around the block and we brought our food back inside the museum to enjoy in the little seating area by the front lobby.


I don't always carry my 'real' camera with me so enjoy some quick cell phone snapshots of our day at the museum!


The girls started the day off at the Fine Arts Studio.



We then enjoyed dressing the mannequins and making dolls with open-ended art materials. Daily projects and activities keep changing so there is something different to look forward to if you are a local and visit often.


We then spent some time in the Media Lab learning to create a short animated movie while we waited for our turn at the Clay Bar. This was our favorite part! The girls were asked about their favorite food and were then taught how to make sushi and cupcakes with clay. Such a fun hands-on activity!


Up next was the Swirl Studio with Spun Chairs designed by Herman Miller.



Our final stop was the WEE Studio. This studio is appropriate for kids 5 and under. There weren't any activities going on here at the time so it was a quick stop mainly to check it out before we headed out for the day!



We spent more than three hours at the museum and it was a perfect creative escape. After this, the girls and I were ready for some chocolate at Jacques Torres. After we satisfied our cravings, we took a cab to Bryant Park.

A walk around Bryant Park's lush gardens and city views is always enjoyable, no matter what season. I have been taking the girls for two summers now. I grab myself an iced coffee while the girls enjoy the Le Carrousel and the outdoor mini library. It's a good 30-40 minute pit stop to recharge before heading on to the next adventure in the city! (Psst - fake smile alert!)



It was a long and eventful day so we were ready to head back to the hotel and wait for daddy to take us to Pippali for a delicious biryani dinner. After eating to our hearts' content, we were ready to turn in for the night and get some rest before the next day's adventures.


P.S. Check out our NYC High Line experience!

No comments:

Post a Comment