What to do with boys (4 and 8) on a weekend

verucasalt

Where should i take them?
Where would be fun for them to eat?

In the Slope or in the City is fine.

I am babysitting my brother's kids and have no idea what i should do for entertaining these kids.

whynot_31

Halloween. ...they could go to the aSCAREium (at the aquarium)

superclam

I was just at the Transit Museum in downtown Brooklyn with my young 'uns and we had a good time. Very kid friendly, and only $5 a head.

vegemite

You can't go wrong at the Museum of Natural History!

stacey

In addition to those above I suggest:

Brooklyn Children's Museum
Prospect Park Zoo or Bronx Zoo
Ride on the SI Ferry or for some extra $ you can take a ride on the Circle Line's Shark Speed Boat (there is a height requirement for this one).
Bowling at Melody Lane
Batting cages on 3rd and (38th?)
Planetarium
Adventures Park (the old Nelly Bly on Bay Parkway have not been there since they renovated so not sure what rides are still there)
There is also the Court Street festival coming up (this weekend or the next)

homeowner

Dave & Buster's at 42nd Street

MOD

Brownstone Billiards on Flatbush. I think it's called Ocean's now.. or some dumb name.

Good part is there's ping pong, air hocky, pool etc... plus food, PLUS BEER!! (for you of course, how else will you deal with hyper young boys)

sadarami

Two Boots is always a good place to take kids to eat, and I second the beer recommendation, it will also help you deal with the food at Two Boots

ringrunner

New York Hall of Science in Queens. Stop by the Ice King of Corona. The "Science Park" is way fun.

1st_streeter

Brooklyn Children's Museum is very cool with tons of interactive stuff.

testiculon

Second the Hall of Science - bit of a schlep, but really fun for the kids.

georgeappo

Subway adventure:

F Train to Rock Ctr.
Got Money to spend? go to top of the rock
Limited funds? walk the plaza, show the rink, and head over to the nintendo store for some free Wii action.
Food break: Pizza - there's a pizza joint on 49th between 6th and Broadway. good slices and close to the plaza and cheap
Walk to Toys R Us times square to browse and maybe make a photo puzzle of the 3 of you on the lower level
Take some shots by the T-Rex, Star wars display and giant Optimus Prime.
If not too tired and you are brave enough to deal with the tourists, walk around time square point out the highlights and get moving.
Jump back on the train and head back to park slope.
Stop at Colson's, ply them with ice cream or pastry and get yourself a coffee or beer or wine or any combination. sit outside and watch the world go by.
Go home and pray for bedtime to get here.

opossumqueen

Do they do stuff in NYC much (like the museums)? If so, something like a trip to a candy store and the famous toy store (FAO Schwarz) might be plenty.

The 4 year old is going to tire easily and the 8 year old might as well, so you may not need tons of out of the house activities (having a kids dvd on hand might be wise once they are crashing).

The Prospect Park Zoo is aimed at kids so if they like animals that would be fun (take quarters for food to feed fish and petting zoo animals). The Central Park Zoo is overall nicer, but doesn't have the kid-specific stuff. And of course the Bronx Zoo is awesome but a bit of a trip from here and might be pricey for all the stuff and the kids will be exhausted.

squindar

I can't believe nobody brought up Chuck E Cheese at the Atlantic Center mall.

I would suggest you take a hip flask, though (for yourself, of course).

You may want to watch this video before you go:
http://www.gearfuse.com/more-hacked-chuck-e-cheese-robots/

it will make it all a little more entertaining

jschneier

Oooh, yuck Chuck E Cheese.

Hall of Science is great but may be a little over the head of the 4 year old.

I would recommend the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Children's Museum of Manhattan, Central Park zoo...

Don't go the Empire State Building, you will regret it.

8thandprez

The High Line is a fantastic kids option. Basically the entire park is a play area... super cool.

squindar

jschneier wrote: Oooh, yuck Chuck E Cheese.

oh it's vile, that's for sure, but the kiddies luv luv luv it.

homeowner

Also, try Sony Wonder in the city. Its not free, but its relatively inexpensive (less than $10) and the 40-50 minute psuedo-educational interactive tour ends in a giant room full of Sony Playstation 3's where kids can stay and play as long as they want. Its in the 50's between Madison and 5th.

booklaw

The Sony building is at 55th Street and Madison.