‘Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween Adventure’

This pair already know how to deal with a witch, and they have encounters with many more fantastical creatures in this puppet musical at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. Geared to ages 3 through 9 (and appropriately tame), the show is a sequel to the theater’s original “Hansel and Gretel,” introducing characters like mermaids, cute monsters, charming vampires and valiant pirates.

‘Go Fish!’

Fishing can be a lot of fun, unless you happen to be a fish. These free events from the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy turn the experience into a win-win situation. Master anglers will help children cast lines with barbless hooks into New York Bay, and all fish will be placed in tanks and identified and observed before heading back to their homes. The day will also include a  bird-watching walk; a performance by the band Shine & the Moonbeams; and an art project to make musical instruments, based on a tour of Tony Cragg’s outdoor sculpture installation “Resonating Bodies.”

‘Moo at the Zoo’

It’s great to see exotic creatures at the zoo, but let’s face it: Most New York City children are about as likely to own a cow or a sheep as they are a tiger or a rhino. At this themed weekend, the Queens Zoo will let urban kids meet and learn about domestic animals they won’t find in their high-rises, including horses, chickens and Flemish giant rabbits. In addition to encountering the residents of the zoo’s farm, young visitors can churn butter, make cow masks and puppets, play farm-related games and watch cheese-making demonstrations.

‘LARD: Life’s a Real Dream’

This show about LARD, the concept, has nothing to do with lard, the substance. An acronym for “Life’s a Real Dream,” “LARD” is the title of a rollicking musical production starring Lard Dog, who also happens not to be a dog. The alter ego of the multimedia artist Steven Erdman, Lard is a gregarious out-of-this-world character who has flown in from the planet Belopio on a giant pretzel. He and his Band of Shy perform this hourlong entertainment, which includes cartoon graphics and a pretzel toss.

Raptor Fest

Eager birdwatchers can see hawks, falcons, owls and ravens in New York City parks, but this event makes the viewing considerably easier: The birds are coming to the humans, rather than vice versa. In this free festival presented by the Urban Park Rangers, children will be introduced to a variety of birds of prey, learn about their habitats and adaptations and watch them in flight demonstrations provided by the organization Skyhunters in Flight.

‘The Gazillion Bubble Show: The Next Generation’

Children love bubbles, and this interactive show promises not just a gazillion but also some of the largest ever blown, along with light effects and lasers. The stars are the members of the Yang family: Fan and Ana Yang and their son Deni and others, who rotate as M.C.s for the production. Audience members may even find themselves in bubbles of their own.

‘Flight School, the Musical’

If you want to fly, and you’re a bird, you should be all set, right? Well, not if you happen to be a penguin. That’s the challenge confronting the little hero of this new musical from Vital Theater Company, adapted from “Flight School,” a  picture book by Lita Judge. With a script by Cara Lustik, lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen and a score by David Mallamud, the show, recommended for ages 2 through 7, chronicles Penguin’s determination to remove the technical obstacles between him and the sky.

‘He Named Me Malala’: Special Preview Screening

Girls in the United States don’t risk their lives by going to school. But Malala Yousafzai didn’t have that security. She was only 15 when the Taliban in Pakistan tried to kill her in 2012 for her outspoken support for women’s education. Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) directed this documentary about Ms. Yousafzai, who in 2014 became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Although the movie is rated PG-13 — it has images of blood and gunshots — the New York International Children’s Film Festival, which is presenting this advance screening, recommends it for viewers 11 and older. Mr. Guggenheim himself will introduce the film, which will be released commercially next Friday. 

2015 Internet Cat Video Festival

This viral phenomenon of viral phenomena is back for its fourth iteration. Started by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and Open Field, a platform of crowdsourced material, this program gathers the best of online cat videos, whether your favorite star is the adorable Maru or the sourpuss Grumpy Cat. This New York showing is presented by the Museum of Arts and Design as part of its Remember Film? series, whose title is a bit of a misnomer, since it showcases the best of the digital revolution. And who are some of the biggest fans of cats and YouTube? Children.

Edible Academy Family Garden Picnic

Children can dig into the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden — and its succulent harvests — in this special event at the New York Botanical Garden, which draws on the talents of the chef Carla Hall and the chefs working in Mario Batali’s restaurants. In addition to a hearty meal, activities for young visitors will include a garden bed scavenger hunt, cooking workshops, pickle making, basil planting and making corn husk dolls and seed sculptures, along with other crafts. The festivities will raise funds for the Edible Academy, a new learning center at the Family Garden.

‘If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home’

Maps present facts, but they can also engage the imagination. This new exhibition at the Children’s Museum of the Arts explores the intersection of cartography and art, showing work that expands upon. redefines or simply refers to maps. Among the eight artists represented are Matthew Cusik, who makes collages from map fragments; Joyce Kosloff, who layers images and textured paint onto maps; Loren Munk, who adds plaques of color and information to street maps; and Nikki Rosato, who subtracts from maps, cutting away all but roads and rivers.

‘Superbunny’s Pirate Vacation’

And you thought only parrots hung out with pirates. In this new musical, based on a book series by Amber L. Spradlin, Superbunny encounters the buccaneers while he’s trying to save the polluted and trash-filled waters off a tropical island. (He’s a bit of an eco-warrior as well as a superhero.) This busy bunny’s adventures — which also involve the audience — are brought to the stage by the appropriately named Rabbit Hole Theatricks, whose production has a book and lyrics by Michael MacKenzie Wills and music by Alastair William King.

‘Stand Clear of the Closing Doors, Please’

When a toy is lost on the subway, it’s usually gone for good. But in this interactive play for preschoolers, the toy, Catbear, finds its own way home. Presented by Spellbound Theater, Catbear’s journey involves a miniature New York landscape and six subway lines, each with its own tale. The 35-minute performance is preceded by 15 minutes of craft activities for small theatergoers.

‘Peg + Cat’ Book Signing

In the Emmy-winning PBS children’s series “Peg + Cat,” Peg is a little girl; Cat is, well, a cat; and together they equal a lot of fun for preschool viewers. Not coincidentally, they also add up to a simple lesson in early math. Now the series has spawned a new book, “Peg + Cat: The Race Car Problem,” and this celebratory reading will feature appearances by the authors and TV show’s creators, Jennifer Oxley and Billy Aronson, as well as costumed actors portraying the main characters.

Film Forum Jr.: ‘The Cameraman’

The title character in this 1928 film is played by Buster Keaton, but he gets a lot of competition for the spotlight from a monkey named Jocko. Part of a series developed to introduce classic cinema to children, the movie features Keaton as a greenhorn news photographer bumbling his way through the streets of New York. The picture is silent, but Steve Sterner will perform live piano accompaniment.

‘From Mash to Class: Decorate Free School Supplies’

A lot of school supplies are pretty plain and utilitarian, but they don’t have to be. This workshop at the Museum of the City of New York invites children 6 to 12 to decorate pencil pouches, which the museum will provide. They will draw inspiration from the show “Hip-Hop Revolution,” which includes work by the photographer Janette Beckman, who worked with graffiti artists to layer words and drawings on top of her images documenting hip-hop culture.

Special Day for Special Kids

This special day comes courtesy of the New York Transit Museum, which will offer two hours of free programs specifically for children with disabilities, starting at 10 a.m., when their families will have exclusive use of the museum until it opens to the general public at 11. The plans include an art workshop to make subway posters, presented with Extreme Kids & Crew, an organization offering activities and support for special-needs families. The museum will also offer live music, refreshments and lots of opportunities to investigate historical subway cars and exhibits, including a chance to sit in a bus driver’s seat and a scavenger hunt focused on vintage advertisements.

Family Art Lab: ‘Celebrate Ganesh’

Babar, Dumbo, Horton — children’s tales are full of interesting elephants. But this program at the Rubin Museum of Art, an institution devoted to the cultures of the Himalayas, will introduce one elephant figure young New Yorkers may not have heard of: Ganesh, the Hindu deity. God of wisdom, wealth and all beginnings, Ganesh has the head of an elephant and the body of a man. This lab, for ages 5 and older, will include stories about Ganesh, a hunt through the galleries for his likeness and a chance to make sculptures of his image in clay.

Second Sunday Family Tour: ‘There’s No Place Like Home’

Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” wasn’t the only person to make that observation; artists have felt that way, too. In this tour for children 5 and older and accompanying adults, the Guggenheim Museum will explore works in the galleries that are inspired by the artists’ personal environments. The event will include discussion and hands-on projects.

Brooke Jackman Foundation Read-a-Thon

Reading was Brooke Jackman’s passion. At 23, she was planning to leave her job in finance to get a graduate degree in social work and help underprivileged children, but she was killed in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center before she could realize her dreams. This annual event, held by a foundation that her family established to support her goals, gathers a variety of participants — this year they include Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro, firefighters, the children’s author Stephanie Calmenson and Broadway performers — to read from children’s books.

Prospect Park Audubon Center Nature Programs

There is a whole woodland of wildlife to be discovered in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and the park’s Audubon Center has increased its Pop-Up Audubon programs, weekends from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., to include two tents with themed nature investigations in different parts of the park. At the Zucker Natural Exploration Area, whose September theme is “Radical Raptors,” children can learn about migrating birds of prey, including an opportunity to dissect an owl pellet; at the tent in the Nethermead, whose theme is “Climate Clues,” they can explore how environmental change affects the park’s ecosystems. Both tents feature nature walks and opportunities to help the environment. At the Audubon Center itself on Labor Day, from noon to 4 p.m., the fun includes nature games, a science project and an animal encounter.

Film Forum Jr.: ‘On the Town’

What better way to spend part of Labor Day weekend than on the town — especially if you can do it with the likes of Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Ann Miller? This screening, featuring a new restoration of the 1949 movie, inaugurates a new season of Film Forum Jr., the series introducing classic cinema to children. While the faces and material may be unfamiliar, young film fans can have fun identifying the New York locations, which include Rockefeller Center, the Brooklyn Bridge and the American Museum of Natural History.

Children’s Museum of the Arts Free Art Island Outpost

This island fun doesn’t require a flight to distant shores. The Children’s Museum of the Arts is offering another summer of free weekend workshops on Governors Island, exploring a variety of crafts and materials. This season’s programs will be devoted to making works that reflect the importance of nature and parks, and the human role in both. Children will also recycle and reuse something that often blights nature — trash — by turning it into art.

‘A Taste of Magic’

Would you like a side of sleight of hand with that burger? This show, developed by Magnets, a collective of local magicians, brings wizardry to the dinner table. Taking place at various restaurants, the presentation includes acts like mind reading and card tricks, which professionals perform close-up for guests in between courses; there’s also a cabaret-style show. And the admission price includes a full meal.