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Best Halloween Activities for Kids on the Upper West Side

By Emily Frost | October 29, 2014 8:54am
 Find activities to celebrate Halloween, from dressing up to getting spooked, to joining a parade. 
UWS Halloween Activities for Kids
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UPPER WEST SIDE — The neighborhood will soon be bustling with mini-Maleficents and Captain Americas, so local museums and venues are readying to host spook-tacular Halloween parties, performances and activities.

For parents looking for something fun to add to their Halloween weekend, there are lots of options for every age.

DNAinfo found the best local Halloween activities to add to the trick-or-treating schedule. 

Hansel and Gretel's Halloween Adventure
Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park at West 79th Street
Friday, Oct. 31, 10:30 a.m., 12 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. 
$7 for children under 12, $10 for all others. Tickets can be bought at the door.

This marionette puppet show, appropriate for kids 3 to 9, is set in New York City and follows the escapades of Hansel and Gretel on one wild Halloween night. There's singing, dancing and adventures with a host of wild characters. 

PhilharMONSTER Show 
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at West 95th Street 
Sunday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m.
$15

Extend the weekend's Halloween fun with a concert featuring spooky music from pop culture and film played by a large orchestra of student performers. The musicians dress in costumes, and audience members are encouraged to as well. Special ghoulish guests will make appearances on stage. 

Frankenstein
Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at West 95th Street
Friday, Oct. 31, at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Sun., Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.
$23 per person; $21 for seniors and students; $19 members

Older kids and teens who want to catch a Halloween-themed film can watch a re-broadcast of the 2011 National Theater production of Frankenstein at Symphony Space, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Lee Miller. 

Halloween Crafts and Parade
Children's Museum of Manhattan, 212 W. 83rd St.
Children and adults $11; seniors $7; free for members and children under 12 months

The Children's Museum of Manhattan is hosting crafts for 4 and younger, as well as a Halloween parade for kids of all ages. 

The Moveable Mummies class guides children 4 and younger in making their own mummies out of recycled material. Parents and kids can drop in any time from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. and noon to 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30.

In the Batty Bat Puppets class, children 4 and younger make bat finger puppets. This session is also drop-in and meets from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. and at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31. 

Kids can also join in a Halloween costume parade around the museum on Friday, Oct. 31, from noon to 12:15 p.m. and from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m.

New York Haunted Society
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West at West 77th Street
Friday, Oct. 31, 5 to 7 p.m.
$10 per person in advance. Tickets will be sold at the door on Halloween for $12 ($10 for members)

"Zombie Founding Fathers" will roam the halls of the museum, while spirits pop out from the walls at this Halloween party. Kids can also participate in activities, from creating Victorian mourning jewelry to making their own furry bats. There will also be a fortune teller, and costumes are encouraged.

19th Annual Halloween Celebration
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park West at West 79th Street
Friday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 7 p.m.
$11 per person or $10 for members 

The museum will stay open late so kids in costumes can walk the halls and trick-or-treat. There are crafting activities as well as musical performances by David Grover and the Big Bear Band, Louie & Subanda, The Spectacular Magic of Robert Austin, and the Big Apple Circus' “Dr. Finklestein’s Zombie Show." Cartoon characters, including Clifford, Curious George, Miffy, and Cookie Mouse will also make appearances throughout the museum. 

Listen to Spooky Stories
Riverside Library, 127 Amsterdam Ave. at West 65th Street
Friday, Oct. 31, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Free

The librarian at the Riverside Library will read aloud from spooky stories to babies, toddlers and children. The stories are best suited for children 5 and younger. The group will also sing Halloween songs, trick-or-treat and do a coloring-book activity.