DiMenna Children's History Museum

The "museum within a museum," occupying 4,000 square feet on the Historical Society's lower level, offers kids the opportunity to learn NYC history through the eyes of children. Young historical detectives—with magnifying glasses in hand—visit seven pavilions centered around New Yorkers both famous (Alexander Hamilton, who came to New York as a teenage orphan) and anonymous (boys and girls who hawked newspapers on city streets a century ago). Touch screens are ubiquitous, but it is the decidedly low-tech activities (think practicing penmanship or sewing a cross stitch) that truly inspire curiosity.