9 Fun Cheap Things to do with Kids on Long Island

6/8/10 - By Maria

Long Island boasts an abundance of cheap activity options for children and their caregivers.  Whether you have an only child or a group of three or more in tow, there are terrific, free and/or inexpensive places to take your children in Nassau and Suffolk counties.  Below is a sampling of some wonderful outings that are family-friendly.

 

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Holtsville Ecology Center & Animal Preserve
249 Buckley Road
Holtsville, N.Y. 11742
(631) 758-9664
Hours of Operation:
Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fee:  Free; Suggested donation of $2.00 Per Child

Features an exercise-trail fitness course, zoo and ecology center, children’s petting zoo, greenhouse, picnic area, playground
 
 


Long Island Science Center

11 West Main Street
Riverhead, N.Y. 11901
(631) 208-8000
Hours of Operation:
Open to Public Most Sundays 11:00 am- 4:00 pm.
Fee: $2 Adults; $5 Children

Hands-on science and technology museum with interactive exhibits of bubbles, magnets, structural engineering, archaeology, bats, mounted butterflies.
 



Sweetbriar Nature Center
62 Eckernkamp Drive
Smithtown, N.Y. 11787
(631) 979-6344
Hours of Operation:
Preserve: Open 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM everyday
Butterfly Vivarium: Open 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily (In Season)
Fee: Free; donations accepted;
Butterfly Vivarium $3; seniors & children $2

Best known for its butterfly house, which features 20 to 30 species of butterflies, including giant swallowtails, cabbage whites and monarchs, Sweetbriar also has an interpretive rain forest exhibit that includes iguana, a red-tail boa constrictor and parrots. You also can see native animals and birds - occasionally fox, squirrels and other small animals.  Critters in glass cases include Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks and a Chilean rose hair tarantula. Visitors can see fire-belly toads and newts, and red-eyed tree frogs. Reptiles are there, too, including leopard geckos, Western tiger salamanders and a ball python.

 

 

Long Island Live Steamers 
Southaven County Park
Victory Avenue
Brookhaven, N.Y. 11719
(631) 345-0499 
Hours: 2nd and last Sunday's of each month from May through October. 10:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Fee: Free; donations accepted.

Promoting the hobby of building steam engines of all kinds, our steam, diesel and electric trains accommodate passengers of all ages! Free with donations accepted.

LILS is located in Southaven County Park in eastern Long Island, NY. Our facilities include a souvenir shop, and snack bar, as well as shaded picnic areas with the best views of our operations areas and steaming bays. Visitors can arrive as early as 9:30 and watch our steamers "Steaming up," building their fires and the steam pressure needed to operate. It takes about an hour or so, and this is the perfect time to ask the builder/engineer/fireman the many questions that come to mind about that mystical era of steam power. We welcome the public on our Run Days. These are typically the second and last Sunday of the month but there can be exceptions!  Please be certain to check the calendar to make sure that you arrive on the correct day.

 

 

Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium
1660 Route 25A
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11724
(516) 692-6768
Hours: Open Daily: 10am-5pm; June, July & August: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm and Sat & Sun 10am-6pm. Closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Fee: $6, $4 seniors and children 3-12, free to members and children under 3

Founded in 1883 as a state facility, the Hatchery now serves as a non-profit organization dedicated to providing effective, relevant environmental education about the aquatic resources of New York.  This unique facility houses New York State's largest collection of native freshwater fish, reptiles, and amphibians. It offers many interesting exhibits, including forty Aquariums with over sixty species of New York freshwater fish, an outdoor Turtle Habitat and indoor Turtle Room with a complete collection of freshwater turtles, displays highlighting amphibians of New York State, an indoor stream exhibit that highlights the main Aquarium Building, and much more.  Thousands of trout are still hatched here every year, and visitors can witness the process through six outdoor rearing pools that hold the fish in various stages of development, from four-month old fingerlings to adult sized trout.  

 
 

Home Depot - Kids Workshop
Any Home Depot location
Hours: 1st Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. - 12 noon.
Fee: Free

Kids Workshops are FREE "How-To-Workshops" designed for children ages 5-12. However, younger children often enjoy it as well -they LOVE to hammer!! The hands-on sessions are offered on the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and noon at all Home Depot stores. The projects are always great and the kids love it, especially the home depot orange apron they receive!
 

 

Hoyt Farm Nature Preserve
P.O. Box 220
Commack, N.Y. 11725
(631) 543-7804 
Hours of Operation:
Open Memorial day to Labor day -7 days a week
1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Fee: Free

{This is a Town of Smithtown park for residents of Smithtown only. For admittance you need to arrive with a resident of Smithtown with a town sticker on their car.}

The Hoyt Farm Nature Center is an exciting and educational place. We have many live animals, including snakes, frogs, salamanders, turtles, and fish. Our educational displays describe life on Long island from the beaches to the trees and you can’t miss our Native American artifact collection.
The nature center is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 1-4 daily. While you’re there, take a short walk up to the restored Hoyt Playhouse (behind the nature center) and see where the Hoyt children played in the 1920’s. 

 
 

Nassau County Museum of Art's Sculpture Park
1 Museum Drive
Roslyn, N.Y. 11576
(516) 484-9338
Hours of Operation: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m.
Fee: Parking Fee: $2.00 per car on Saturdays and Sundays only  

Features over 50 sculptures by artistic luminaries like Botero, Calder and more, all displayed outdoors on the museum's sprawling property. The museum's 145 acres also include marked nature trails through the woods, so you can take a leisurely hike through the greenery. 

 
 

Wrong Island Railroad
679 Hawkins Avenue
Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779
(631) 467-1222
Hours of Operation:
Tues-Fri, 10am-6pm
Sat, 10am-4pm
Sun, noon-4pm
Mon, closed
Parking: Free lot
Antiques specialties: Lionel trains and O-gauge trains
Ticket information: For group tours, $50 per hour

This train store and museum has the biggest selection of Lionel trains in Suffolk County. The store also carries L.G.B., H.O., K-line and 'Thomas the Tank Engine' trains. Open since 1984, the shop offers tours of its toy train display.