Things to Do in Long Island City

An unassuming building on the Upper East Side hosts a colorful kids' paradise that pairs a pet farm with fun and enriching classes. Chinchillas, hamsters, geckos, and hermit crabs scuttle around their enclosures or out on the floor, where visitors pet them and even learn to care for them in a class for ages 4–7. Other classes unlock inner artists as students paint seascapes and sculpt with clay, or develop culinary chops in a mini-chef class focused on tasty, nutritious foods. Kids can even claim a part-time pet hosted by the farm, such as a bunny or a dove, that brings youngsters the fuzzy joy of companionship while sparing a parent from having to walk their child's hermit crab around the block. Inside, themed rooms enhance imaginative adventures, whether in the music/party room painted with a mural of a lake or in the preschool/play group room that boasts a motif of gigantic sunflowers. Playful stuffed snakes coil around the ceiling beams of the indoor petting zoo, where rocking horses and plastic flowers wrapped around a pillar accent the open- or closed-habitat areas.

Inflated structures, slides, and games fill the climate-controlled environs of the numerous BounceU locations that speckle the nation. At each site, staff members closely monitor all activities as little ones traverse obstacle courses or pull on oversized inflatable boxing gloves. The crew also invites parents to join in on the fun, letting them bounce alongside their kids or make sweeping edicts from atop a bouncy-castle throne.

In addition to open sessions, the indoor-play haven sets the stage for the Preschool Playdate program, where instructors lead games and activities. Special events include family-bounce night, which lets parents join in the bouncing or relax in the party room and do grownup things, such as eat marshmallows with a knife and fork.

Brimming with colorful bolts of fabric, carefully looped skeins of yarn, and rows of sewing provisions, Save A Thon Stores have been supplying New Yorkers with quality crafting necessities since 1973. With fabrics ranging from basic denim to upscale jacquard upholstery cloth from around the world, the shop showcases a range of patterned designs that can be crafted into cozy quilts or a signal to a passing ship that it would have looked better in plaid. Coils of lace ribbons and tubs of colorful beads add a decorative finishing touch to projects, which can be undertaken at home or under the tutelage of the shop’s expert crafters during regular sewing classes. The teachers are also experts in the Wilton method of cake decorating and can help students artfully embellish cakes and cupcakes with fondant, tiny decorations, and tiny brides and grooms on a dessert destination wedding.

Although buying pottery pieces in a store is easier than making your own, it isn’t nearly as satisfying. At Supermud Pottery Studio, it’s this impending satisfaction that leads students aged 3 to adult toward creating their own mugs, vases, and bowls during interactive classes and children's summer camp. Pupils learn the basics, such as hand building or wheel throwing, from experienced teachers as they shape blocks of lifeless clay into utilitarian pieces or sculptures with actual heartbeats. Finished artwork may even reside in the studio's gallery, which displays inimitable ceramic works by both renowned artists and Supermud alumni.

The white walls, paper lanterns, and polished hardwood floors make up most of Studio Maya's austere space. During the week, lifelong dancer Maya Jocelyn hosts fitness classes for women and men, drawing on the conditioning techniques used by dancers and the modern science of sports medicine to draw up the blueprints of her own signature exercise routines. On weekends, when she's not sculpting bodies, she transforms the space into an artists' haven, inviting actors to rehearse, painters and photographers to exhibit their work, and mimes to overcome creative hurdles and learn to think outside the box.

When she isn’t busy knitting the kinds of garments that appear in collections by Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein, Berta Karapetyan shares her skills with fellow crafters at School Products Yarn. Located in an historic Manhattan yarn shop, the store stays true to its building’s past by stocking its shelves with a vast supply of yarns, needles, and woolly Civil War–era mutton chops.

The store’s ample fiber selection ranges from affordable wool blends to skeins of luxurious cashmere. Needles come in a variety of sizes, and a collection of handy tools and accessories keeps projects running along smoothly. Berta’s 15 years of industry experience serve her well when she’s advising purchases or overseeing students as they craft socks or snuggies for their pet anacondas during knitting classes.