Children's Museum of Manhattan

A few weeks ago (before Christmas) we went to the Children's Museum of Manhattan and it was awesome!!  It is a children's museum on the Upper West Side for toddlers that focuses on play learning. It had so many cool things!  There are 5 floors and we really only explored 2 of them! The different floors are designed for different age groups with the overall focus for kiddos ages 2-6. Little guy was a little We were too busy playing for me to capture a lot of pictures, but here are a few:

Walking up 83rd St.

We really bundled little guy up, it was a pretty chilly morning! This was his first trip into NYC!

Here is a photo from their "Eat Sleep Play: Building Health Every Day" exhibit.  It's really extravagant!

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This is the "Lite-Brite" wall.  It had solid cylinders of blue, yellow, green, red plastic pieces that you stuck through the foam holes.  Behind the foam holes there was a light which illuminated the translucent cylinders. The cylinders were just the right size for his hands. 

Little man loved this Sand Table. It was U-shaped and huge. At the back wall (not pictured) were a series of funnels and levers for pouring the sand into and watching it travel down.

There are signs posted all over that detail which skills they are learning.  This sign was for the Sand Table.  So cool!

Skill Sign

This was a peek-a-boo game that little man loved.  You couldn't see through the glass until you both placed your hand on the round circle.  As soon as you did the glass became clear and you could see your dad on the other side!  There were a bunch of different activities that used this type of sensor technology.  For example, one of them blew pom poms in the air when you put your hand over it.

Afterward we went across the street to Cafe Lalo for lunch. The food was nice and the atmosphere was very cozy.  This cafe was in the movie You've Got Mail. We had a really nice time exploring the city and thought the Upper West Side was really family friendly.