active parents · Around Town · family friendly museum exhibits · what to do in NYC ·Feb 11, 2026

On the Agenda: This Month's NY Picks For Family Fun

February is a short and sweet month, with Valentine's Day smack dab in the middle. Show your love for the city by getting out of your apartment and exploring what it has to offer, even on the coldest days!

For a relaxingly hands-free afternoon, grab your carrier (the Harmony by Baby Bjorn works well for pretty much any carry-able child), your OMY card, and your sense of adventure!

Image courtesy of NYC parks

Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival for Lunar New Year, Chinatown

We're welcoming in the year of the Horse which means optimism and opportunity are about to abound (YAY!). Start off the Lunar New Year with a bang at the Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival, which is an annual celebration in Sara D Roosevelt Park. It features firecrackers (to scare away bad spirits), cultural performances, and more. Don't forget the noise cancelling headphones for your little one. February 17, 2026, 11-3:30pm.

Image courtesy of NYC parks

The Orchid Show: Mr. Flower Fantastic's Concrete Jungle at New York Botanical Gardens

The Orchid Show: Mr. Flower Fantastic’s Concrete Jungle

When world-renowned floral artist Mr. Flower Fantastic remixes his favorite blossoms at the New York Botanical Garden for the 23rd annual Orchid Show, the result is a vivid dreamscape that pulls from art, culture and the city itself. Mr. Fantastic's 'Concrete Jungle' reimagines the city through the lens of the orchid and is a must-visit for any New Yorker, big or little.

Mr. Fantastic is a self-taught artist (who incidentally has an allergy to flowers) known for his collabs with the likes of Serena Williams, Nike, Netflix, Louis Vuitton, and ESPN, to name a few.

Running until April 26, this show is a celebration of NYC and "the beauty that booms in even the most unexpected places," from stoops to slice shops to the subway itself.

"High Wire: Calder's Circus at 100" at Whitney Museum of American Art

Alexander Calder, Lion Tamer, Lion and Cage from Calder's Circus, 1926-31. Wire, yarn, cloth, buttons, painted metal, wood, metal, leather and string, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half of the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T.M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the De Witt Wallace Fund, Incorporated; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.34.1a-f. © 2025 Calder Foundation, New
York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Jens Mortensen

This month shouldn't go by without a visit to the Whitney, to spy their captivating exhibit, High Wire: Calder's Circus at 100. This miniature assortment of circus figures created by art star Alexander Calder has long been considered one of the most beloved works in the museum's collection, and formative of his art.

With these ringleaders, sword swallowers, clowns, acrobats and animals, Calder enacted Big Top thrills for live audiences including artist-friends like Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miro, Piet Mondrian, and Isamu Noguchi.

To build these fanciful characters, Calder used everything-drawer favorites like wire, fabric, cork, wood, and string, to magical effect. Through these characters he explored themes of movement, balance, suspense and ephemerality, concepts that reappeared later in his iconic mobiles.

After enjoying the exhibit and a spin around the Whitney, go home and challenge your littles to try a Calder-inspired art project, giving new, magnificent life everyday objects.

Alexander Calder, Calder's Circus (detail), 1926-31 (installation view, High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 18, 2025–March 9, 2026). Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper,
cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.1-72. © 2025 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Gus Powell

Gumby Adventures: Restored Animated Classics from the Gumby Show: Museum of the Moving Image

Courtesy of Museum of the Moving Image

At the Museum of the Moving Image, try to catch Gumby Adventures: Restored Animated Classics from The Gumby Show. We're super excited to get reacquainted with this Claymation character in all his stretchy green glory, alongside Pokey the pony, his loyal sidekick. And it's a perfect time to introduce a new generation to the simple world of Gumby as a nice counterpoint to the CGI-burdened filmscape of today.

Watch as Gumby travels to the moon, save dinosaur eggs, and more. Created in 1955 by animation pioneer Art Clokey, Gumby delighted audiences from 1956-1968 (and then again in the 80s). The 50-minute series of classic shorts plays on repeat throughout the day.

When you get back home, your little one can make their own Gumby-esque character with Play-Doh, and you can download a stop-frame animation app and film their bespoke modern-day adventure.

Gumby cartoons are screening inside an artwork called Tut's Fever Movie Palace, created by Red Grooms and Lysiane Luong until March 1, 2026.

Brad Farwell for Museum of the City of New York

Songs of New York: 100 Years of Imagining the City Through Music at the Museum of The City of New York

"Songs of New York: 100 Years of Imagining the City Through Music" the latest exhibition at Museum of the City of New York (MCNY), is a ballad to the city we all love. This engaging, and interactive experience was designed by DOME Collective, and celebrates the city's vibrant musical legacy.

If it sounds familiar, it's a redux of an MVP exhibition during the museum's centennial, but who can get enough of city-centric music , representing all boroughs --- from Frank Sinatra's "The Brooklyn Bridge" (Brooklyn) and Wu Tang clan's C.R.E.A.M. (Staten Island); to Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" (Manhattan), J-Lo's "Jenny From the Block" (Bronx) and The Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" (Queens). Those are just a few examples.

Along with music, look forward to archival photos from the MCNY collection and don't forget to add their curated Spotify Playlist to your rotation as you leave. Give it a quick looksie for kid-friendliness, and then make it your go-to for playtime at home.

Opens February 14 and runs through August 2, 2026.