Top Family Friendly Indoor Fun On Long Island

We have your guide for family-friendly indoor fun on long island- check out these amazing museums, science centers and more for great ways for getting out (and even learning a thing or too!). 

The National Endowment for the arts give these 3 reasons to visit museums

1. "Museums offer a dynamic opportunity to expose children to experiences and explore new things in a rich and educational environment."

2. "Art gives us an experience like nothing else can, a chance to connect, understand, and explore perceptions, feelings, and innovative thoughts. Museums provide a space for reflection, experimentation, inspiration, creativity, enjoyment and allow for authentic learning experiences and play."

3. Bringing children to museums opens their eyes to different ideas and perspectives that are relevant to their lives. This kind of exposure can help develop higher critical and creative thinking skills, which are integral to future success.

With these reasons behind you (and most likely a ton of bored at home) get out and HAVE FUN! 

Town of Hempstead

Cradle of Aviation Museum - Explore over 150,000 square feet featuring 75 air and spacecraft from a hot air balloon to an actual Apollo Lunar Module and learn about Long Island's role. IMAX Screenings & Nunley's Carousel also on site. Charles Lindbergh Blvd, Garden City, NY 11530 516-572-4111 photo courtesy of Cradle of Aviation

Long Island Children's Museum - The Long Island Children's Museum offers 14 interactive exhibits plus live theater, art spaces and daily activities to provide hours of discovery for children of all ages. 11 Davis Ave, Garden City, NY 11530 516-224-5800 photo courtesy @DanielFamilyMatters

Town of North Hempstead

Nassau County Museum of Art- enjoy changing art exhibits. There are art classes for kids and teens during the week with expanded options of the weekend including Family Sundays. The museum also provides various maps, a kids' sculpture adventure and an architecture scavenger hunt. One Museum Drive, Roslyn Harbor, NY 11576 516-484-9338 photo courtesy of @rayzwocker

Town of Oyster Bay

Raynham Hall Museum- Home of George Washington’s intelligence operative Robert Townsend, Raynham Hall is a time capsule of Long Island life in the 18th and 19th centuries. Robert Townsend was a member of the Culper Sky Ring.  20 West Main Street, Oyster Bay, NY 11771 516-922-808 photo courtesy of @pillarsofdesignnewyork

Sagamore Hill - Sagamore Hill was the home of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, from 1885 until his death in 1919. During Roosevelt's time in office, his "Summer White House" was the focus of international attention.  The home and its contents have been preserved to ensure that the legacy of the Theodore Roosevelt exists to inspire future generations. Guided tours are given of the mansion. 12 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, NY 11771 516-922-4788 photo courtesy of @rileyrecommends

City of Glen Cove

Garvies Point Museum & Preserve- The museum's exhibits offer Long Island and New York State geology and Long Island  Native American culture and archaeology. 50 Barry Drive, Glen Cove, NY 11542 516-571-8010/11 photo courtesy of @themintchipmama

Town of Brookhaven

Long Island Explorium- Visitors to the Explorium will enjoy fun and interactive hands-on exhibits all aimed at fostering the understanding and love of STEM. 101 East Broadway, Port Jefferson, NY 11777 631-331-3277 photo courtesy of @jessguinan

Long Island Museum of Art, History & Carriages- the Long Island museum is composed of several buildings including the Art Museum and the Dorothy & Ward Melville Carriage House which has ten galleries which display more than 100 horse-drawn carriages. 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook, NY 631-751-0066 photo courtesy of @sarahmaclean

Town of Huntington

Vanderbilt Museum-  a unique combination of mansion, marine and natural history museum, planetarium and park — is dedicated to the education and enjoyment of the people of Long Island. 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY 11721 631-854-5579 photo courtesy of @fekifairycreations

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery- Visitors can tour two aquarium buildings and eight outdoor ponds, feed the hungry trout, and try our “Catch & Keep” fishing. 1660 Route 25A, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 516-692-6768 photo courtesy of @florajansson_aupaircare

DNA Learning Center- Their mission is to prepare students and families to thrive in the gene age. Understand principles of genetics and disease risk; conduct hands-on experiments with DNA; and when all families have access to genetic information they need to make informed health care choices. Explore two exhibits - Otzi the Iceman & Bold The Barcode of Life. photo courtesy of @pendulumlife

Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum- The Museum’s object and archival holdings of 6,000 artifacts, document the whaling and general maritime history of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, and general US whaling history.  The star of the Museum’s permanent exhibits is a historic whaleboat, the only fully-equipped whaling vessel with its original gear on display in New York. 279 Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 631-367-3418 photo courtesy of @cshwhalingmuseum

Heckscher Museum of Art-  The Heckscher Museum of Art is located in scenic Heckscher Park, in Huntington, New York, within walking distance of downtown shops and award-winning restaurants. The Museum provides a dynamic schedule of changing exhibitions on American art. Family activity guides, "create your own" activity station and digital action painting available daily. 2 Prime Ave, Huntington, NY 11743 631.423.2145 photo courtesy @heckschermuseum

Town of Islip

Long Island Maritime Museum- Founded in 1966, the Long Island Maritime Museum is located on fourteen beautiful waterfront acres. The Museum's newest interactive exhibit, located in the North Gallery, enables visitors to learn about Long Island's maritime past. By using this interactive display visitors can access historic information about lighthouses, more than two hundred and fifty ship wrecks and the many heroic acts of the U.S. Life-Saving Service. There is also the Frank F. Penney Boat Shop, the William Rudolph Oyster House and more. 88 West Avenue, West Sayville, NY 11796 631-854-4974 photo courtesy @mackidpasadena

Town of Riverhead

Long Island Science Center - the museum's mission is to ignite curiosity, fuel creativity and unlock the passion for problem-solving and discovery with STEM curricula, programs and interactive museum experiences designed to cultivate future leaders and engaged citizens. 40 Peconic Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901 631-208-8000 photo courtesy of @sciencecenterli

Long Island Aquarium- FINtastic destination features one of the largest all-living coral reef displays in this hemisphere, a 120,000-gallon shark tank, year-round sea lion shows, African Penguins, Marmosets, numerous touch tanks and more than 100 exhibits including the lavish indoor gardens of our Butterflies, Bugs & Birds Exhibit!   431 East Main Street, Riverhead 631-208-9200 photo courtesy of @longislandaquarium

Town of Southampton

Children's Museum of the East End- There's lots to explore at CMEE! Sit down for a read along under an upside-down library book, help run the CMEE Diner and Food Truck, sail the seas on our seafaring ship and so much more! 376 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehamton, NY 11932 631-537-8250 photo courtesy of @snvb

South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center- SOFO is a family-friendly natural history museum of exploration and discovery for children and adults of all ages. Visitors are accompanied by the museum’s expert environmental educators as they experience the museum’s scientifically accurate galleries, featuring live and recreated natural habitat exhibits; colorful floor-to-ceiling photo murals of forests, ponds, and ocean landscapes; a Marine Touch Tank where visitors can, in the water, hold sea stars, crabs, urchins, and whelks; and terrariums and aquariums featuring local wildlife, all of which engage the senses and bring the outdoors in. 377 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY 11932 631-537-9735

Parrish Art Museum- Inspired by the natural setting and artistic life of Long Island's East End, the Parrish Art Museum illuminates the creative process and how art and artists transform our experiences and understanding of the world and how we live in it. Families can take part in The Open Studio on Saturday or pick up a Family Kit which gets everyone hunting for details and clues to learn at how to look at art.  279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, NY 11976 631-283-2118