CHAPTER 1 - Welcome Aboard!

New Friends

Look around. Depending on the size of the ship, there may be 300 or more kids on board. Don't be shy. Here's your chance to make some new friends-fast. The best way is to go to some of the organized kids' activities the first night and next day on board. The counselors will help you get to know other kids-and have a lot of fun playing games, going on a scavenger hunt, singing in karaoke party and just hanging out in the kids' clubs - where you can play computer games, listen to music, make hemp bracelets, or watch movies, among other things. The good news: Once you make a few friends, you won't be bored even for a minute because there will be so much to do on board together, even at night. Here's your chance to get your mom and dad to let you stay up late. It's vacation, after all! The counselors are really cool too. So what are you doing hanging around your stateroom?

Life Boat Drill

One of the first things you do after boarding the ship is a "lifeboat drill." The captain will instruct you and your family to put on a life vest from your cabin and report to a "muster station." There you'll be instructed to follow a leader during the drill. You won't get to climb into the lifeboats, but you'll know where they are just in case. Don't worry - the odds of ever having to use a lifeboat are very, very small.

Did you know?

• 4,800 hamburgers and 22,300 cans of pop are used on one big ship in one week. Those same 2,100 passengers eat 32,000 eggs and 5,320 bananas!
• Kids in NYC public schools speak more than 160 languages.
• New York is called the Big Apple because in the 1920s, a New York sportswriter named John Fitzgerald overheard stable hands in New Orleans refer to NYC's racetracks as "the Big Apple." He named his newspaper column "Around the Big Apple." A decade later, jazz musicians started using The Big Apple to refer to NYC, and especially Harlem, as the jazz capital of the world. There are many apples on the trees of success, they said, but when you pick New York City, you pick the big apple. The nickname has stuck ever since.
• About 8 million people live in New York City's five boroughs, and about 1.5 million of them live on Manhattan Island, even though it is only 22 square miles. The other four boroughs are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.. www.nycvisit.com can help you plan your time in The Big Apple.

Cruising Kids Say:

• Go up and talk to people and ask their name. The best way to make friends on the ship is to talk to people and get to know them - Emilie, 10, Detroit, Michigan
• Swimming is the most fun thing to do on the ship. The pool is a good place to meet new friends. - Jessica, 11, New Jersey
• The thing that surprised me the most on the ship was that food was free - Luke, 11, Madison, Wisconsin

Finally! You're here... On board the ship!

All those months of planning... that long plane ride... and now you're really here! Get ready to be treated like a VIP. It seems like the whole crew-and there are a lot of them-are smiling at you as you board the ship. Everyone wants you to have a good time! The ship is big! Think of it like a floating hotel or even a small town. There are restaurants and swimming pools, movie theaters and libraries, Internet cafes, musical theaters. The difference: People on board are from all over the world. It's not uncommon for the crew to come from 20 different countries-Canada and England, the Philippines and Jamaica. Some of them don't get to see their families for months at a time. Ask them to show you pictures of their kids.

You'll see a lot of people in white uniforms. They have all different jobs, from mopping the deck to serving drinks to figuring out the ship's route. The CAPTAIN is the boss. You'll probably hear him on the loud speakers giving announcements. The first thing you need to do is figure out where your stateroom is. It's probably smaller than your room at home but it's so cozy! Does your bed fold down from the wall at night? If you're lucky, you'll discover a towel-animal when you go to bed. Ask your Steward-the person who takes car of your cabin if he or she will show how to make a monkey or a duck.

Every night, your Steward will leave you a schedule of the next day's activities special for your age group - at the kid's club. You can be busy from morning until late at night! Take your pick: ice painting, Lego-building, making friendship bracelets, scavenger hunts, game night, dinners, karaoke, talent shows, the latest computer and arcade games. The counselors will also plan things to help you learn more about Alaska.

They'll also help you to meet some kids especially if you're shy. They're really good at that. The Kids Club is probably the second place you want to find on board after your stateroom. A lot of times it's on one of the top decks, near the pool. And the counselors usually have an "open house" the first afternoon or night of the cruise. There's also a lot to do with your family shows at night, karaoke, basketball and shuffleboard, ping pong and the hot tubs. Now's the time to get your grandpa to teach you to play poker. Some ships even have climbing walls, mini golf and inline skating.

You'll be just as busy off the ship with your family exploring little towns, shopping, kayaking or fishing, riding trains, and helicopters, maybe even dog sledding. Hopefully, everyone in your family will be able to pick what you do off the ship. Go along with what the rest of the family wants to do and they'll be more willing to do what you like!

The other good news on board is you should never be hungry. You can order whatever you want in the dining room even three deserts (if your mom lets you) or four burgers! And there's food somewhere all day and all evening pizza, ice cream, cookies, sandwiches, fruit... You can order room service for free too. Some kids like to order a snack when they get back from exploring the ports with their families. Some ships have a giant late-night buffet. Stay up and go...just to see all the ice sculptures.A lot of kids like to go to the Kids' Clubs just so they can hang out with their friends and without their moms and dads. The clubs are open at night so you can eat dinner with your family and then meet up with your friends. Even though the ship is big, you'll have it figured out in a day or so. Quick tip: A lot of times it's faster to go up and down the stairs than to wait for the elevators.
Another tip: If you're really hungry in the morning, go to the buffet where you can get a lot of different food fast. Waffles anybody?

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2 - Hello Big Apple

Did you know?

• Manhattan is an island just over 12 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. It's surrounded by the Hudson River on the east, the Harlem River on the north and the East River (which is technically not a river but part of Long Island Sound). Its shape is kind of like a fish and to get on or off it, you've got to use either a bridge or a tunnel. www.nycvisit.com is the website where you'll find everything you need to know about visiting NYC.
• The Dutch bought Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626 for about $24 worth of tools and necklaces. See what you can buy in NYC today for $24.
• New York City is made up of five different boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The city has at least four different area codes and is home to more than 8 million people!

HUNGER PANGS

New York is one place you can always find something to eat - and you don't have to go to a restaurant either. New York kids love hot dogs from the street vendors you'll see everywhere (eat one New York-style with sauerkraut and mustard.) Big soft hot pretzels also get thumbs up. Try roasted chestnuts or nuts. You'll also see vendors selling kabobs, ice cream and Italian ice. Take your pick...

TAXIS, SUBWAYS and BUSES

Got comfy shoes? The best way to get around NYC is on foot - or on public transportation. Subways are the quickest but you can see where you're going on the bus. To hail a taxi, tell your parents to stand next to the curb and wave really hard. Don't forget to buckle your seatbelt when you get inside and ask the cabbie where he's from. Chances are it's some far away country. Check out the big subway maps that are posted in every train station. Grab a pocket map (you can get them at any train station or check out www.mta.info) so you can figure out how to get from Ground Zero to Central Park and a yellow MetroCard so you and your parents can hop on and off the buses and subways all day The first subway car is always the most fun. Check out the tile walls along some of the platforms - they've often been done by local artists. The musicians playing in the subway stations are a New York tradition.

A NYC Kid Says:

• I've got friends who are Chinese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Mexican African American, Jewish, Indian... and a lot of others too. - REGAN, 11, NYC.
• You can see the bridge and boats and water from my house. When it's dark outside, the bridge lights up too. It's super cool! - Jenna, 9, NYC
• The best part about growing up in NYC is that it's so busy with people running around. It's never quiet! - Lisa, 9, NYC
• My dad plays softball in the park and we go and watch him play. I like how you can see the buildings when you're standing in the grass. - Molly, 9, NYC

A Visiting Kid Says:

• Buy an I LOVE NY sticker and put it on your bedroom door when you get home. - Melanie, 12, from Connecticut.
• My favorite thing to do in NYC is travel around the city and window shop. Brendan, 13, Maine

Get ready to take a big bite out of the Big Apple!

The city is so big that whatever you like - baseball or basketball, theater or art museums, dinosaurs or lions, play grounds or stores, Chinese food or pizza - you'll find it here. And it will be great.

That's why New York is always tops on kids' lists of places they want to visit. You're lucky to be here. But New York is also home to millions of parents and kids. Many of them have come from around the world to live here. You probably haven't seen so many different kinds of people speak so many languages anywhere - the experts say 160 different ones, everything from Arabic to Spanish to Chinese. How many do you recognize?

Good thing most everybody speaks English! Don't be afraid to ask New Yorkers a question or how to get someplace. They may seem like they're in a hurry, but they're really nice. New Yorkers love their city and they want you to love it too. Especially since the World Trade Center towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, it seems, everyone here has been going out of their way to be nice to visitors.

Ask a New York kid on his way to school or in a museum to point you to the nearest playground or place to get a bagel.

Check out all the big buildings. This is one place you won't get bored. In fact, there's so much to do it's impossible to do it all, no matter how long you stay.

New York is a great place to people-watch too. No matter what they wear or what language they speak, they're all still New Yorkers. The Algonquin Indians and other tribes were the first New Yorkers, here when Henry Hudson showed up in 1609. He was actually looking for a passageway to the Orient when he stumbled into New York harbor. Fifteen years later, the Dutch had settled here and named it New Amsterdam. But by 1674, the English were in charge and they renamed the busy settlement New York after James, Duke of York.

New York was always a happening place - especially during the American Revolution. Did you know New York was the first capital of the United States? George Washington was inaugurated here!

Where do you want to go first? This book will help you have the most fun, whatever you want to see. We've asked New York City kids to help too. You'll see their ideas in every chapter.

Most important, leave lots of time to explore the city's neighborhoods as well as museums! That's where you'll discover the real New York - from coffee shops and delis to playgrounds, toy stores and firehouses. Stop by a firehouse when you're walking by. New York firefighters will be glad to show you around - if they're not off fighting a fire!

Got a map? Manhattan is split by Fifth Avenue into the East Side and the West Side. You'll hear people talk about the Upper East Side and Upper West Side (where a lot of New Yorkers live) as if they were different countries! It's easy to understand New York if you think of it as a lot of little neighborhoods. Some New Yorkers hardly ever leave their own neighborhoods. You'll also hear some other funny names of neighborhoods and if you know what they mean, you're on your way to becoming a New Yorker:

• Harlem is north of 110th street and has been home to New York's African American community. President Clinton has his offices here now.
• Midtown is just what it sounds like - the middle of town where there are lots of skyscrapers, restaurants, businesses and stores.
• Times Square at 42nd Street and Broadway is the heart of the theater district - and the newest, hottest tourist area in the city - especially for kids.
• SoHo is short for "South of Houston Street", a neighborhood in lower Manhattan that first attracted artists because they could find cheap studios but now has become one of the fanciest parts of Manhattan.
• TriBeCa, the lower west side, is short for "Triangle Below Canal (Street)".
• Chinatown and Little Italy are lower Manhattan neighborhoods where Chinese and Italian immigrants settled and still live.
• Greenwich Village started out as a 17th-century suburb, a green village. Today it's full of people, cafes, clubs shops and New York University.
• The Lower East Side, once the center of Jewish life in New York, now is known for its stores and deals. This is one part of New York where you can still bargain!
• Ground Zero is the area of Lower Manhattan destroyed when the terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center towers. Plans are in the works for a memorial and for new buildings.

Here's a tip from local kids: pick places in one neighborhood to explore at a time. (Take turns with your brothers and sisters choosing.) Your feet won't get nearly so tired.

Here we go. Got your camera handy?

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3 - Time Square

A NYC KID SAYS:

• Make sure you've got a Metrocard to use on the subways and buses. You can get one at any subway station and then you just swipe it every time you ride. Paris, 18, Bronx, NY
• Don't leave Times Square without an "I Love New York" T Shirt. We're the greatest city in the world! - Shawn, 16, Queens, New York

Did you know?

• The Toys R Us Times Square has the biggest indoor Ferris wheel anywhere - 60 feet high - and it's the world's largest toy store!
• Broadway's nickname is THE GREAT WHITE WAY. Some people think that started when electric street lamps were installed on the street in the 1880s. Broadway is New York's oldest and longest street.
• More than 1.5 million people walk through Times Square every day. You can get there from anywhere in Manhattan and the outer boroughs by taking one of the 11 different subway trains that come here. How many different languages can you hear?
• Happy New Year! The first New Year's Ball dropped on Times Square on Dec 31, 1907. Today, the celebration draws a billion TV viewers and at least a half million people in Times Square. In 2008, a new ball was used (as well as be on year-round display). The new ball is a 12-foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. It is covered in 2,688 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 light emitting diodes (LEDs). It is capable of changing into more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns, producing a spectacular kaleidoscope. The ball drops down a pole at One Times Square.

TKTS

You'll see lots of New Yorkers waiting on line for tickets to Broadway shows in line at the TKTS Booth at 47th Street and Broadway. That's because they can get expensive seats for half price. The catch: You can only get tickets on the day of the performance and you've got to pay cash. TKTS has given out more than 43 million tickets since it opened in 1973. There's another TKTS booth at South Street Seaport (at the corner of Front and John Streets). At South Street Seaport you can get matinee tickets the day before. Both booths sell seats to the same shows.

SAFETY SMARTS:

New York is proud that crime is down. But you're still in a big city so be careful! Keep your wallet in an inside pocket. Write down the name and address of where you're staying and keep it in your pocket. If you don't know your mom and dad's cell phone numbers, write those down too. Should you get lost or separated from your family, don't panic! Immediately look for a police officer in uniform and explain what happened. If you're in a store, and don't see a police officer, tell a sales person who is behind a counter and wearing a badge. They'll make sure you get back to your family safely. Don't wander off by yourself!

Quick! Think of a place in New York City where you can see a gigantic dinosaur roar, ride an indoor Ferris wheel, buy souvenirs or catch the latest news.

New York City kids like to come here because there's so much to do and see in just a few blocks.

You can go to a Broadway show or a movie. Bring your candy with you to save some money. You can go to Madame Tussauds New York where you can "meet" The Hulk, Jennifer Lopez or Michael Jordan - along with nearly 200 of their friends made of wax. It's not easy to pose for a wax portrait. Madame Tussauds sculptors have to take more than 250 measurements of your body - and pictures. The sculptor models a clay portrait, and then the clay is molded in plaster. From that mold, the body is cast in fiberglass and the head from wax. Each pair of eyes is made individually - with hand painted eyeballs to match the real ones. Hair color is perfectly matched to a sample the famous person gave and each strand is inserted one by one. The same goes with teeth. It takes five weeks just to make a head - six months to create the portrait. And every day, two teams inspect each figure to see if they need any "help" before the museum opens. They regularly get their hair washed and make up fixed! The celebrities often donate their own clothes and shoes so they'll look more real. Got your camera? You can pose for a picture with your favorite star. They look real. Tip: IF you whisper in J-Lo's ear, she blushes!

While you're on 42nd street, peek inside Disney's New Amsterdam Theater (214 W. 42nd Street). It's the city's oldest Broadway theater. It first opened in 1903, before a lot of your grandparents were born!

You can shop till you drop at Toys R Us Times Square. Welcome to the biggest Toys R Us anywhere. Here's where you'll see the giant T-Rex roar, visit a three-story Barbie house, ride the indoor Ferris wheel or try out the latest video games.

New York kids also love the Virgin Megastore, the ESPN Zone, as well as all the little shops and street vendors selling I LOVE NY t-shirts, NYPD and NYFD hats and mini statue of liberties and key chains. What Souvenir will you want to take home?

If you're lucky, you'll get to go to a Broadway play. Kids often appear in Broadway productions. They go to school too and do their homework sometimes in between their scenes. Sometimes they'll move to New York with their mom or dad temporarily to appear in a play. A lot of young people come to New York to try to win roles on Broadway. They might be your waiter or waitress at the restaurant. Ask them if they're trying to get acting jobs!

You might also go to an Off Broadway play. That means it's a smaller, less glitzy production. Tickets usually are cheaper too.

Make sure to eat something before you head to the theater. Otherwise, plays can seem awfully long (though you can buy some expensive snacks inside). You can eat your way across Times Square - hot salty pretzels, candied nuts and hot dogs from the street vendors. Find any kind of food you could want at the endless string of restaurants.

Mostly, it's just fun to watch the people. They are speaking so many different languages. Some are wearing really crazy outfits. Watch out! It seems like everyone's in a big hurry!

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4 - East Side West Side

Did you know?

• The ferry to Staten Island is free and is a great way to take in the view of the NYC skyline.
• Kids in NYC public schools speak more than 160 languages.
• About 8 million people live in New York City's five boroughs, and about 1.5 million of them live on Manhattan Island, even though it is only 22 square miles. The other four boroughs are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.
• The name Manhattan comes from a Native American word which means "the place of hills."
• You can walk or bike from Manhattan to Brooklyn across the Brooklyn Bridge. It's about a mile. The bridge took 16 years to build in the late 1800s. The Bronx is the only one of the boroughs connected to the mainland.

Stories Everywhere

There are libraries and bookstores all over New York and in them - you'll find many stories that take place in New York. Do you have a favorite? Here are some that NYC librarians think you'd like:

• The Adventures of Taxi Dog by Debra and Sal Barracca
• Eloise by Kay Thompson, the story of a 6 year old who grows up in the Plaza Hotel
• The House on East 88th Street by Bernard Waber is about a NYC family who find a crocodile named Lyle in their bathtub!
• The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden follows the adventures of a cricket who ends up in Times Square
• Stuart Little by E.B. White is the story of a NYC family's little mouse all around Central Park.
• All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor gives a glimpse into what it was like for a n immigrant family at the turn of the century.
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh follows the adventures of a 6th grader who lives in Manhattan.
• From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E.L. Konigsburg tells the story of two Connecticut kids who camp out in the Metropolitan Museum and solve a mystery while they're there.

What's your favorite book set in New York?

TAXI SMARTS

You want to take official yellow New York City taxis. Watch for cabs that have the light on the roof. If the light is on, the taxi is available. Raise your arm and wave it until the driver stops - hopefully!

A Visiting Kid Says:

• People are a lot nicer here than I thought they'd be. - Nicholas, 13, Toronto, Canada
• Eat hot, roasted nuts from a vendor. They're really good! - Alex, 9, New Jersey.
• The subway is fun because it's so fast! - Daniel, 8, New Jersey.

A NYC Kid Says:

• There are lots of places where you can do all the things you like to do at home, like roller blade, play tennis, go to the playground or the movies... - Alexa, 8, NYC.
• My favorite thing to do in NY is play soccer in Riverside Park. - Regan, 11, NYC

Get your sneakers on!

The best way to see the way kids live in New York is to walk around the city's neighborhoods. And you'll want to wear your most comfortable shoes.

You can start wherever you're staying. You might see some kids out heading to school, shopping with their parents or walking their dogs. Some kids spend all of their time in their own neighborhood, even though they live in such a big city. Ask some kids you see to point you to their favorite playground or pizza place in the neighborhood. They'll know - just like you would at home.

Most NYC neighborhoods are only about 10 square blocks. And just like your neighborhood at home, they've got ice cream shops, pizza parlors, parks, schools, and lots of families and pets. For some kids, their apartment building is like your block at home. They play with kids in their building and make friends with the doorman whose job it is to keep track of who goes in and out. They trick or treat in the building on Halloween.

Got a map?

Even if you get to stroll through just one or two city neighborhoods, you'll realize New York is a lot more than skyscrapers, restaurants and big stores: It's home to lots of families from all over the world. Some of the neighborhoods have funny names, like:

• Tribeca, which is now known for fancy restaurants, is short for "The Triangle Below Canal (Street)."
• SOHO means South of Houston Street. It has some 250 art galleries and 100 stores - all within a quarter of a square mile. You might want to stop in at the New York Fire Museum (278 Spring Street 212-691-1303) while you're in the neighborhood to see how New York firemen have always done their jobs and the old hand-pulled and horse-drawn engines they used in the old days.
• Nolita (means "North of Little Italy").
• Chelsea was named after a fancy neighborhood in London.
• Little Italy is home to many Italian Americans - and Italian Restaurants
• Chinatown has become the biggest Asian community in North America.
• The Flatiron District is named after the building on Broadway whose top looks like an old fashioned iron.
• Alphabet City is named for avenues A, B, C, and D.

What name do you think is the funniest?

And that's not even counting the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island or Queens where many families live.

In Manhattan, a lot of families live on the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. How do you tell them apart? Everything East of Central Park is on the East Side. Everything West is on the West Side.

More than a third of the length of Manhattan is north of 110th Street and that includes Harlem. First settled in the 1600s by Dutch tobacco farmers, Harlem in the 1920s was the most famous black community in the country, maybe in the world. Many African Americans still live there and it's fast becoming a hot neighborhood again with new stores, restaurants and attractions. This is where former President Clinton has his office.

Think you want to be a star? The Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem has started to hold "amateur nights" to find new stars (for more information, visit www.apollotheater.com). If you're a dancer, you might want to see a performance at the Dance Theater of Harlem (466 West 152nd Street, 212/690-2800).

A lot of kids who visit New York also like to head downtown, especially to eat, shop and people watch. Many families live downtown too.

Greenwich Village - a lot of people just call it "The Village" - has lots of little stores, cafes, parks and New York University. You'll see a lot of students in Washington Square Park and parents with kids who live in the neighborhood.

Head south of the Village for more shopping and eating in Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side, once the biggest Jewish community in the world.

Older kids like the Lower East Side because they can bargain with vendors on Orchard Street for better prices on everything from purses to t-shirts to sunglasses. Stop in at The Lower East Side Tenement Museum (97 Orchard St, 212-431-0402) while you're in the neighborhood to see how kids lived when they were part of immigrant families 100 years ago. The museum is housed in an old tenement apartment building so you can see what it was like for families who lived and worked here. Life was hard!

It's still hard for all the kids who move to New York every year from other countries with their families - from Asia, Africa, India, the Caribbean Islands and Central America, among other places. We're all really glad they've come. They're part of what makes New York so great.

Tell them that if you meet them.

How many languages did you hear on your neighborhood walk?

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5 - Museums

Did You Know?

• The American Museum of Natural History has a special website just for kids with activities and fun facts about science and the exhibits you can see at the museum. To find out about fossils, share discoveries with the scientists who made them, and more, visit: http://ology.amnh.org. The Metropolitan Museum has special family guides to the museum that you can download from its website www.metmuseum.org or you can pick them up at the information desk when you arrive.
• The Brooklyn Children's Museum (145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, NY 718-735-4400) was the first museum created just for kids. That was in 1899 and since then, hundreds of children's museums have opened around the world.. There is also a Children's Museum of Manhattan (212 W 83d street 212-721-1234).
• The American Museum of Natural History has more than 30 million objects and specimens. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has more than 2 million objects in its collections. But not everything is on view at once. Both museums are on every family's top to-do list when they visit NYC. That's why there are more visitors from out of town here than New Yorkers. More people visit the two museums than live in most American cities!
• The largest framed painting in the Metropolitan Museum is Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. It was painted in 1851 and is 12 feet, 5 inches high and 21 feet, 3 inches wide. You can find it in gallery 223 of the American Wing.

Calling All Kids Who Love Running Around, and Airplanes:

The Guggenheim Museum (1071 5th Ave, New York - (212) 355-4965) is one museum where you can run. That's because the building was designed as a spiral by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, with the art hung on the walls alongside the ramp. Take the elevator to the top and look at the art as you head down. You may think some of these paintings are weird. A lot of people thought the building was weird too when it was built. They said it looked like a doughnut and a snail.

The Cloisters (Fort Tryon Park at 193d Street, 212-923-3700) was put together from parts of buildings that date back to 15th Century! They were brought from Europe. Kids like to come to this branch of the Metropolitan Museum overlooking the Hudson River because they can play in the gardens and check out the brave knights and ferocious dragons on view. Don't miss the seven gigantic Unicorn Tapestries that were woven around 1500.

Come aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid - it's 900 feet long! This World War II era fighting ship is permanently anchored with the submarine Growler and the destroyer Edson at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum (Pier 86 12th Avenue and 46th Street, 877-957-SHIP (7447). The USS Intrepid was launched in 1943 and sailed around the world for more than 30 years. The big ship recently reopened following 18-month refurbishment.

Museum Smarts:

Museums can be lots of fun or very boring. To guarantee a good time:

• Go after you've had a snack. Don't go into a museum when you're tired and hungry.
• Wear comfortable shoes.
• Look on the museum website or ask when you arrive to see if there are special family activities that day or if there's a special area of the museum just for kids. If you're lucky, you'll also get to meet some NYC kids.
• Because some museums are too big to see in a few hours, zero in on a few exhibits you want to see. Don't worry about not seeing everything.
• Get some postcards at the gift shop when you arrive and have a scavenger hunt to see how many "treasures" you can find. The Metropolitan Museum sells 1.4 MILLION post cards a year!
• If you're willing to see some exhibits your parents (or siblings) want to see, they'll be more willing to spend time in the area that interests you the most.
• Leave time at the end for the gift shop. Museums usually have cool stuff for kids and in some cases, have special kids' shops.

A Visiting Kid Says:

• Don't miss the Museum of Natural History. It's got lots of cool stuff. - Rachel, 12, NJ.
• I really loved the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. And take one of the guided tours of the Metropolitan Museum. It was really good. - Isabel, 14, Massachusetts.

A NYC Kid Says:

• Travel to the different boroughs to see what New York is really like. - Jessica, 16, Brooklyn.

Name the place in New York where you can time travel from ancient Egypt to Japan, from Europe hundreds of years ago to the United States today.

Stumped? The answer is The Metropolitan Museum of Art(Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, 212-535-7710). It's so big that from end to end, the Museum stretches four New York City blocks, a quarter of a mile! There are more than 90 bathrooms.

The Met, as New Yorkers call it, has been around for more than 130 years. When you walk in the big front doors, you're entering one of the biggest and best art museums in the world. And even if you hate museums, this one can be fun as long as you know where to go. See if you can take one of the Museum Highlights Tours that are offered several times a day. And don't forget to pick up some special family guides from the information desk. Of course you can't possibly see everything in one visit!

And when you get tired, you can run and play all you want in Central Park just outside.

A lot of kids head for the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur first. In fact, it's one of the most popular exhibits in the entire museum. The Temple, built in 15 BC, was taken apart in Egypt and transported by ship to New York. Engineers had to make detailed drawings so they would know how to put it back together as it appeared on the banks of the Nile River. If it had not been moved, it would have been covered by waters rising behind a new dam that was being built. The government Egypt was very happy the temple could be brought here and gave it to our government as a present. The Metropolitan built an entire area to house the Temple.

Kids also like to see the mummies that are in galleries in the main building near the Temple of Dendur. Thirteen of the mummies contain bodies, 12 of them adults and one child. We know that because Museum experts did scans  similar to x-rays of the mummies. They discovered that one of the mummies probably died from some kind of accident because he had broken bones. Of course there are 35,000 objects here from Egypt besides the mummies. Take time to look at some of them - especially William the little blue Egyptian hippopotamus. Can you find him?

Have you ever wanted to be a Knight in Shining Armor fighting battles with a big sword? You might not want to after you stop to see the Met's collection of Arms and Armor. Those suits were heavy! So were the weapons!

Girls especially like the Costume Institute. You can find see the kind of clothes people wore in different countries and a long time ago by stopping in at the north end of the Museum on the ground floor.

Of course you're not going to leave without seeing some paintings and sculptures. Take your pick - Impressionist art from France, sculptures from the United States, African masks or Chinese porcelain. What part of the world do you want to visit today? Stop at any painting and imagine that you could step inside it. Where would you be?

The Roof Garden overlooking Central Park is a good place to take a break - and see giant sculptures that change every year.

Don't forget to stop at the Children's Shop on the second floor. You'll find more than 1,200 kids books as well as hundreds of toys, games, puzzles and videos. No chance you'll leave without a souvenir!

The American Museum of Natural History

Think Dinosaurs. Lots of them. The American Museum of Natural History is home to one of the largest collections of vertebrate fossils - nearly 1 million in all!

This museum is the first one that many New York kids come to and they return again and again. It's been here for more than 130 years and like the Met, it's so huge you can't possibly see everything at once. There are 25 buildings and 45 exhibition halls. More than 200 scientists work here, traveling around the world on expeditions.

Head to the fourth floor to see the dinosaurs. Did you know this museum has more dinosaur fossils than anywhere else in the world? Say "hi" to the T. Rex, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Stop at some of the computers to find out more about the dinos. Make sure to see the dinosaur nest.

Kids also like to see the huge dioramas in the mammal halls on the second floor and first floors that show you the animals in their native habitats - Alaska brown bear, African elephants, water buffaloes from Asia.

Don't miss the giant totem poles in the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians on the first floor, the museum's oldest hall. It opened in 1896!

You'll probably also want to see the giant 94-foot model of a blue whale. She weighs 21,000 pounds! You can find it on the first floor in the newly renovated Milstein Hall of Ocean Life and when you find it, you'll be staring at the biggest model of the biggest creature that ever lived on earth.

For ocean lovers, there are lots of other dioramas  of sea lions, dolphin, flying fish, among others.

If you like rocks, you'll love the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites, the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Minerals. There are more than 100,000 rocks here. Make sure to stop and look at the Star of India. It's the world's biggest blue star sapphire. The topaz crystal from Brazil weighs 596 pounds. Check out the Cape York Meteorite. It weighs 34 tons!

The Hayden Planetarium at the museum is really cool too. Did you know there are more than 100 billion stars in our galaxy? You'll feel like you're in a space ship at the Space Theater! It's all part of the big seven-floor Rose Center for Earth and Space. Follow the Cosmic Pathway through 13 billion years, don't miss the chance to see the latest news from space, and see rock samples and models from around the world.

The Museum's Hall of Biodiversity is the place to go to see why we should all care about the environment and how to protect all different kinds of life. This is where you can visit a diorama of a rain forest from Central Africa. It stretches for 90 feet and you can step inside to see what happens to a rain forest when people don't take care of it. See all the leaves? There are more than 500,000 here, each made by hand! How about all the bugs?

If you're visiting around the holidays, you'll love the Origami Holiday Tree decorated with fanciful Japanese origami ornaments.

Make sure to allow plenty of time for the museum's Discovery Room on the first floor. Kids and their parents can get up close and personal with specimens, make their own exhibits, be part of a dinosaur "dig", solve puzzles and even take apart and put together a big fossil.

There are some 150 museums in New York City and many have free evenings and special activities for kids and families. After you book your NCL cruise, check museum websites before you go to see if there are any special any particular exhibits you want to catch.

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 6 - Sporting Scene - Play Ball!

Sports In The Park

Take your pick. You can roller blade, ice skate, ride horses, play tennis, basketball or soccer, sail model boats, even play chess in Central Park and you can borrow or rent what you need to do it.

• Rent in-line and roller skate s at Wollman Rink on the East side between 62nd and 63rd Streets, where you can also rent ice skates and skate in the winter.
• Rent bicycles, even two-seater tandems, at the Loeb Boathouse parking lot at East 74th Street, daily from March through October.
• Borrow a basketball to play at the North Meadow Recreation Center, mid park at 97th Street.
• Fish at the Harlem Meer, stocked with a wide variety of fish, and located at the northeast corner of the Park. The Meer is stocked with a wide variety of fish.
• Rent a rowboat April through October at the Loeb Boathouse (East Side between 74th and 75th Streets) to take out on Central Park's 22-acre lake.
• Play Chess or Checkers at the special tables inside the Park at 65th Street just west of the Dairy where you can borrow chess or checker pieces.
• Sail your own model sailboat at Conservatory Water, (East Side between 72nd and 75th Streets or call Central Park Sailboats at 917-796-1382 You can also snooze under a tree, climb some rocks or chase your sister, play Frisbee.

Chelsea Piers - Come and Play!

If you're in New York, and you're looking for a great place to take part in some sports, instead of just watching them, Chelsea Piers is the perfect place to head! Located between 17th and 23rd streets along the Hudson River, Chelsea Piers contains a Golf Club, a Sports Center, a Sky Rink (ice rink), a Field House, a Roller Rink and a Bowling Alley. If you head on over to Chelsea Piers, you can take part in about any sport you can imagine, such as Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Dancing, Golf, Gymnastics, Ice Hockey, Ice Skating, In-Line Skating, Rock Climbing, Roller Hockey, Skateboarding and B.M.X., and Soccer. It's definitely a great place to meet other kids just like you and to have lots of fun!

A NYC Kid says:

• Go to a Yankees game definitely. It's fun. They sell soft ice cream in little baseball caps. The fans are really energetic and noisy and the music is good. At the 7th inning, the guys who sweep the field do the YMCA dance. Knicks and Rangers games are also really fun because Madison Square Garden is exciting. You don't need expensive seats because it's easy to see everything on the big TV screens. The food is also really good. - Regan, 11, NYC
• You get a great view if you sit at the seats at the top of Yankee Stadium! - Francesca, 9, NYC

A Visiting Kid Says:

• It's really exciting to go see games at Madison Square Garden, especially if you get put up on the big screen TV! - Melanie, 12, CT

Did you know?

• In 2009, The New York Yankees www.yankees.mlb.com and The New York Mets www.mets.mlb.com will be playing in brand-new stadiums. So will the Giants www.giants.com and the Jets www.newyorkjets.com of the National Football League  they'll be sharing a new stadium in the Meadowlands of New Jersey. All of these new stadiums are located next door to their predecessors (Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium and Giants Stadium, respectively)
• The walkway leading into the arena at Madison Square Garden is now known as the "Walk of Fame," and recognizes performers, athletes, announcers and coaches who have all demonstrated amazing things throughout their career. Certain New York athletes who are recognized on the "Walk of Fame" are Patrick Ewing (who played for the Knicks), and Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier (who both played for the Rangers), plus more!
• Madison Square Garden www.thegarden.com wasn't always the building that it is now. In fact, the Garden had gone through three other buildings before it made 7th Avenue and 31st Street its home. The first Garden was built in 1879, and it was only 29 feet tall! The current Garden was built in 1968 and is now one of the greatest places in New York to watch a show, concert, or any sort of sporting event.

New York City is filled with die-hard sports fans. This is probably because the city is a home to so many great sports teams. Anywhere you go in the city, you're bound to see someone wearing a Yankees or Mets hat, a Knicks t-shirt, or maybe a Jets or Giants jersey. You can even join in! NYC has plenty of souvenir shops, just pick your favorite team, and you can be a big fan too!

New York City probably is home to more sports team than any other city in the country. There are a whole bunch of arenas, stadiums, and coliseums all over the city, and outside the city too, where you can catch any of the teams playing or practicing. You can also watch special sporting events such as College Basketball tournaments, Track and Field Championships, Professional Ice Skating and even dog shows!

If you want to see a New York sporting event, Madison Square Garden is a great place to go. Located on Seventh Avenue between 31st and 32nd Street, Madison Square Garden is the home of the New York Nicks, Rangers, and Liberty. The Garden also has a theatre, an expo center, a "play-by-play" restaurant, and a garden terrace. And, you can watch other events, such as Track and Field, Boxing, circuses, wrestling, dog or horse shows, or competitive ice shows in the huge arena.

The New Jersey Nets of the NBA play across the Hudson River in Newark but are planning a move to a new arena in Brooklyn in 2010 or later.

The Nassau Veterans memorial Coliseum out in Uniondale, Long Island, is the home to the professional hockey team the New York Islanders, If you decide to head to the Nassau Coliseum, you definitely do not want to be caught wearing a Rangers jersey there, because the Islanders fans will not be happy. You have to remember that every New York sports fan is usually die-hard for only one team, or the other.

Over in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is the East Meadowlands sports complex. Here you will find the Continental Airlines arena, Giants Stadium, and the Meadowlands Racetrack. In 2009, Giants Stadium will be replaced by a new stadium named the two famous New York Football teams, the Giants and the Jets.

In 2009, New York City also will have two new baseball stadiums, home to two great teams, The New York Mets in Queens and the New York Yankees in the Bronx. You have to try a stadium hot dog, or stadium ice cream. Who knows, maybe you'll catch a fly ball out in the stands! And, your face may even be put up on the big screen TV where everyone can see you! If you want this to happen, one hint is to wear plenty of gear for the team you are seeing. Usually it's the biggest and most spirited fans that get put up on the big screen, but it could be you!

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 7 - Grab the Camera

Did You Know?

• The Empire State building has 10 million bricks and 200,000 cubic feet of limestone in its walls, floors and ceilings. The building is 1,453 feet, 8 9/16 inches tall. When it was being built, 3,000 men worked on it at one time. It took just over one year to build what was for many years the World's Tallest Building.
• Nearly 11 million visitors coming to New York each year are traveling with their families.
• The Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center on 5th Avenue and 50th Street (212-332-7654) attracts more than a quarter-million people each day during the season from October to April. But only 150 skaters can skate at once. That's why, especially around the holidays, there are long lines to skate. You can also skate in Central Park or at the new rink at the American Museum of Natural History.
• The pair of marble lions that stand outside the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street have been welcoming New Yorkers since the library opened in 1911. First they were called Leo Astor and Leo Lenox, after the New York Public Library founders John Jacob Astor and James Lenox. But during the 1930s, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia dubbed them Patience and Fortitude, for the qualities he thought New Yorkers needed to survive the Great Depression. And these names have stuck. Patience is on the south side of the steps and Fortitude to the north. If you visit at holiday time, they might have giant wreaths around their necks.
• The Radio City Rockettes have been kicking up their heels in their world-famous chorus lines at Radio city Music Hall for more than 70 years. Since then, more than 3,000 women have been Rockettes. The women all look like they're the same height but it's an illusion. The tallest women are at the center with the shortest at either end. Besides performing in the Radio City Christmas spectacular, the Rockettes perform at the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center, during Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and even the presidential inauguration.

A Visiting Kid Says:

• In the winter, it's really fun to go ice-skating at Rockefeller Center -- Shelby, 9, New Jersey.
• The view from the top of the Empire State Building was my favorite thing in New York. - Phillip, 17, Sweden.
• You see pictures of the Empire State Building and all of these other places but when you see the real thing, it's cool! Bring Binoculars to the Empire State Building! - Scott, 11, Scottsdale, AZ.
• I ride my bike a lot but it's smart to lock it up if you go inside. When kids came to visit me from out of town they were always surprised my school had nine floors and an elevator." - REGAN, 12, Manhattan.

Holiday Gutter

You've probably seen it on TV. There's been a big Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center since 1931! A special team goes all around the East Coast looking for the perfect tree. They spotted the 2003 tree in Connecticut while flying in a helicopter. The Rockefeller Center Tree starts in someone's backyard where it's been growing for years and years. When asked, families donate the tree, which is then carefully brought into NYC with a police escort on a custom-made trailer. It takes at least 15 people and a 280-ton crane to handle the tree. More than 26,000 light emitting diodes and five miles of wire decorate the tree. The same star has been used on top for more than 50 years. It's five feet wide! Of course the tree can be 100 feet tall. After the holidays, the tree is ground into mulch and used in the city's parks.

Circus!

New York kids love the circus as much as kids everywhere. If you're visiting in the fall or winter, you might want to see the BIG APPLE CIRCUS, the one-ring circus under a Big Top tent that's become a holiday tradition for New York Families. (Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center at 62nd Street (800) 922-3772). There are acrobats, jugglers, dogs, clowns flying trapeze artists and more.

Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to New York City in the spring. Check to see if the circus will be here when you are. A tip: Go early and you might be able to talk to the animals.

Sightseeing Smarts

New York is so big and there's so much to do! You can't see it all. Here's how to have fun sightseeing:

• Wear comfortable shoes.
• Look at a map so you know where you're going. (You can get one at your hotel.)
• Stash some snacks and a disposable camera in your pocket.
• Alternate sites you want to see like a museum or the Empire State Building with some people-watching, time in the park or time out for a meal. That way you won't get so tired!
• When you get really tired, take a break, Go to a playground (there are more than 200 in the city!). Get something to eat, or go back to the hotel and chill.
• Alternate what you want to do and what your parents want you to see. That way everybody gets to lead the pack - some of the time.
• Buy postcards of all of your favorite sites, jot down something about what you did there and send it to yourself at home. The cards will be waiting when you get home!

The Today Show

You see them every day rain or shine waiting outside the studio at Rockefeller Center with their funny hats and crazy signs. Here's your chance to be on TV. Visit the Today Show at 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza early in the morning (get there before 7 a.m.!) and you may have a chance to be on national television. Don't forget to bring a big, funny sign. You can also watch Good Morning America outside its studio at Times Square. You can also take an NBC Studio tour to get a behind the scenes look at how shows are produced.

Where can you go in the middle of New York City and see five states?

The Empire State Building of course. On a clear day from the Observatory on the 86th floor you can see New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts as well as New York. There's another observatory on the 102nd floor but it's closed to the public.

New Yorkers look forward to seeing the colored lights on the Empire State Building from far away too - Green for St. Patrick's Day, Red, White and Blue for Independence Day, Red and Green for the Holiday Season, among others. No wonder so many people make the Empire State Building (350 Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Streets) one of their first must-see stops in New York. More than 100 million people have visited the top of the building. Some people even get married here.

When you ride the elevator, you're going pretty fast, up to 1200 feet a minute Look around the elevator. You'll probably see parents and kids from lots of different countries.

In case you're wondering, the Empire State Building does get hit by lightning, about 100 times a year. It was designed to serve as a lightning rod for the surrounding area. When lightning strikes the tip of the Empire State Building, it travels directly  and harmlessly  down a metal conduit into the ground.Need some exercise? You can race up the 1,575 steps from the lobby to the 86th floor. Some runners have done it in just 10 minutes.

It's amazing that the Empire State Building was built in just one year, winning the race (with the Chrysler Building) to be the world's tallest building. It was designed to be 86 stories high but 204 feet ultimately were added to transmit radio and TV signals. In fact, the top of the building was built to serve as a docking port for Dirigibles, the big gas-filled airships that were famous in the 1930s  until the Hindenburg disaster in nearby New Jersey ended that form of travel.

Besides being famous for being so tall, the Empire State Building is a movie star. Remember King Kong? The Finale of Sleepless in Seattle also took place here.

Ready for some more cool buildings?

Stop in at the Chrysler Building (405 Lexington Avenue.) The old-fashioned, art deco lobby is worth a stop because there aren't many like it. When Walter Chrysler built his skyscraper in 1930, he wanted the company's headquarters to make people think about his cars. The spire on top looks like a car radiator grill. There are decorations throughout that look like old-fashioned hood ornaments, wheels and cars. Don't miss all the weird gargoyles on the building. There are even transportation scenes on the painted ceiling.

The Chrysler Building briefly was the world's tallest building until the Empire State Building was finished.

Stop in at Grand Central Terminal while you're nearby (42nd Street at Park Avenue). It's been a landmark since 1913. Half a million commuters use this terminal every day. It's a "terminal," not a "station," because every train begins or ends its journey here). See the clock at the central information area? It's got four faces. A lot of kids like to stop in Grand Central to get a snack (head downstairs to the big food court) and then look at the blue ceiling upstairs. It's a painting of over 2,500 stars.

On to the United Nations Building - which towers over the East River and is another must-see site. Your parents definitely will think so. (First Avenue between 42nd and 46th Streets). The U.N, of course, is the voluntary organization that countries around the world have joined to help keep peace, develop friendlier relations among different countries, and to help poor people live better. Maybe you've collected pennies for UNICEF at Halloween time. That is a United Nations effort. Certainly you've heard about U.N peacekeeping troops being sent to different countries around the world. Take a guided tour. You'll learn a lot about the work the delegates and staff do here as well as about the building. Have you ever seen so many people from so many different countries in one building?

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8 - Lady Liberty

A Visiting Kid Says:

• Get a Statue of Liberty Foam Crown. -- John, Greensboro, NC.
• My grandpa came through Ellis Island. It was really cool to see it. -- Scott, 11, Scottsdale, AZ.

A NYC Kid Says:

• Going on the boat to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty is really fun. -- Richard, 9, NYC.
• South Street Seaport is cool because you get to go on the old boats. Taxis are pretty expensive in New York so you're better off taking a bus or a subway. -- Jesse, 10, NYC.
• There are a lot of souvenirs at The Statue of Liberty and it's a lot of fun. -- Sarah, 9, NYC.

Did You Know?

• People in New York City come from 188 different countries and nearly half speak a second language at home. Kids speak 140 Languages in New York City Public Schools.
• Every year, close to 3 million people visit the Statue of Liberty.
• Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island. Each one had to pass a six-second medical exam in the Great Hall before they could enter the United States to see if they had 60 different diseases like diphtheria, measles or any other contagious illness or disability that would keep them from being able to earn a living. Ninety-eight percent passed.
• When you're visiting The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, you're visiting a national park.
• You've probably heard some of these words: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."They're part of a very famous poem written in 1883 by Emma Lazarus. You can read the entire poem on a plaque in the Statue museum.
• It's 354 steps from the entrance to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.

Grab a tape measure!

The height from the foot of the Statue of Liberty to the tip of the flame is 151 feet, one inch. (From the ground, 305 feet, one inch) She weighs 225 tons (445,000 pounds).She's one big lady!

• Her Index finger: 8 feet.
• Her Head: 17 feet, 3 inches.
• Nose: 4 feet.
• Right Arm: 42 feet.
• Mouth: 3 feet wide (when she's not smiling).

South Street Seaport

Welcome to the "Street of Ships." You can travel back in time at South Street Seaport (For more than 300 years, the Seaport was one of the city's commercial centers, handling all of the goods that were coming in and out of the port by ship - China clippers, Atlantic packets, Caribbean schooners, grain barges from the Midwest. But by the mid 20th Century, the port's activity had moved elsewhere in the city. Almost a century passed before the city focused on South Street Seaport again. It has been redeveloped as a place to shop, eat and learn a little history at the Maritime Museum. You can visit one of the country's largest fleets of historic ships here! Go on board one of the ships. Check and see if there's a special family activity for parents and kids. They have a lot of them on weekends. You might see woodcarvers at work on models and ship carvings at the Maritime Crafts Center. Come watch a Regatta or a concert in the summer. There's plenty of shopping too, especially at Pier 17. There has been a market here since 1822! And now there are more than 100 stores and 35 restaurants. You can also walk on the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge - the biggest suspension bridge in the world when it was built. Bring your camera. The views of New York City are great.

The Statue of Liberty

She was a thank you gift from France that took more than 20 years to arrive.

And when she did come, she was packed in 214 crates, like a giant jigsaw puzzle that had to be put together. Good thing they sent directions along.

But what a present the Statue of Liberty www.nps.gov/stli turned out to be! Originally planned as a gift of the people of France to the people of the United States to commemorate their long friendship, she stands in New York Harbor the most famous symbol of liberty and freedom in the world. She's also the biggest metal statue ever constructed.

Congress decided to put the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor on what was then called Bedloe's Island, at the center of an old fort.

Immigrants cried when they saw her because they knew their long sea voyage was over. Today, a lot of people get choked up when they see Lady Liberty all lit up for the first time.

To get to the Statue of Liberty, you take a ferry across New York Harbor to Liberty Island. It takes about 15 minutes and then you can take the same ferry on to visit Ellis Island. You'll see the original torch right in the lobby. It was replaced in 1986 when Lady Liberty got a $100 million face-lift. The fireworks to celebrate were the biggest the country had ever seen.

The original idea was that the French people would build the statue and transport it to the U.S. The Americans were supposed to build the pedestal on which she would stand. The French raised the money they needed. But in the United States, no one seemed to want to give any money to help. Finally, the New York World, a 19th Century newspaper, launched a big campaign to raise the needed money. Even school kids contributed. People all around the country started to send money and just before the statue arrived in 1885, enough money had been raised to build the pedestal. She was unveiled the next year, in October 1886.

The sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi used his mom as the model for the Statue of Liberty's face. He spent more than 20 years on the project and put a lot of symbols into her. For example, the seven rays of her crown are supposed to represent the seven seas and the seven continents. The tablet she holds is engraved with the date of American independence, July IV, 1776, and her torch means she's lighting the way to freedom and liberty.

On the second floor of the Statue Pedestal, you can see replicas of the statue's face and foot. They are big! And see the work it took to create this colossal statue.

She's made of copper sheets with an iron framework. It wasn't easy. The framework was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel, the great French engineer who later built the Eiffel Tower Look. At her feet are chains to symbolize her escaping the chains of tyranny.

Ever wonder why the Statue is Green? It's because the statue is made of Copper and copper oxidizes when exposed to the air. It took 30 years for the Statue to turn green!

Since 9/11, tourists haven't been permitted to climb up in the statue. That's not always a bad thing. It means you won't have to wait on line for hours to get in. The inside of the statue is very narrow, crowded and cramped.

Ellis Island is north of Liberty Island, about a 10 to 15 minute ferry ride on the Circle Line-Statue of Liberty Ferry from Battery Park (Maybe someone in your family arrived in the United States here. A lot of the immigrants were kids traveling with their parents or older brothers and sisters. The very first person to be processed on Ellis Island was a 15-year-old girl, Annie Moore, who was traveling with her two brothers on January 2, 1892.

Before then, individual states oversaw immigration but as the numbers of immigrants increased, it got to be too big a job. The Great Hall, where the immigrants waited when they arrived on Ellis Island, is part of the museum. Look around. Do you think you would have been scared, not speaking the language, wearing clothes that looked different? Probably you would have been hungry and possibly sick after two weeks on a rocking boat.

It's important to remember that everyone who came to the United States in those days didn't have to come thru Ellis Island - not of they had more money. First and second-class passengers didn't. The idea was that if they could afford a more expensive ticket, they were less likely to need public assistance in America. They only went to Ellis Island if they were sick or had legal problems. "Steerage" or third-class passengers were the ones who landed here after upwards of two weeks on crowded ships where they faced rough seas without much chance to get any fresh air. Sometimes teens came alone, to meet an older relative.

When you visit Ellis Island, you can watch a movie about the immigrants who came here. Sometimes, professional actors bring to life the stories that immigrants have told over the years -- check when you arrive to see what time these plays start.
You might also get to see the reenactment of an immigrant hearing, just as it would have been conducted to determine whether the immigrant can stay in the United States.

You'll get to visit the Treasures from Home Collection and see what the immigrants brought with them. How many toys and dolls do you see? You'll see the baggage room where thousands of immigrants checked their bags while they waited to be "inspected."
If you come from a family of immigrants, you might want to take the chance to learn how to trace your family roots or look up a relative on the huge electronic database at the American Family Immigration History Center. There are ship's passenger records of more than 22 million people from 1892-1924, when immigration processing was at its peak at Ellis Island. If you find your relative's name, you can get reproductions of the original lists of passengers and photos of the ships.

Make sure to stop at the American Immigrant Wall of Honor, just outside the "peopling of America" exhibit. The wall is inscribed with over 600,000 names of those who came through Ellis Island. Families have paid to have their immigrant relative's names engraved.
You can really understand looking at all those different names from all those different countries and cultures why they call this country a Melting Pot. Your own family probably is one too. How many different countries do your relatives come from?

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9 - Eats and Bargains

A Visiting Kid Says:

• If you want the best candy shop ever and some pretty good ice cream too go to Dylan's Candy Bar www.dylanscandybar.com which is across the street from Bloomingdale's at Third Avenue and 60th Street. - Sam, 16, Connecticut.
• Save some of your money because in New York you always find something else you want. - Katie, 14, Philadelphia.

A NYC Kid Says:

• I love eating in Chinatown. Try the pork or the crab and if you pay attention, you can even learn how to use chopsticks! - Laurel, 11, Queens, NY.
• Bloomingdale's is a big store with a lot of different things. It's fun to just look around. If you visit and don't know where to find something, just ask someone who works here. The store is very organized. - Sarah, 11, New York City.
• When you come to Little Italy, you should look around at all the restaurants, the decorations in the streets and the buildings. But what you have to do most is Eat! Most of the foods I like come from Italy- pizza, lasagna pasta - it's my background too so I love it here. -- Nicholas, 9, New York.
• Take the subway when you're in a hurry. They're the quickest and buses are slower. - Sarah, 9, NYC.
• If you go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, wear a lot of layers. It gets freezing! - Ronni, 9, NYC.

Did You Know?

• Bloomingdales (1000 Third Avenue at 59th Street, 212-705-2000) started in the late 1800s on the Lower East side by two brothers, Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale, selling hoop skirts. They moved uptown to Lexington Avenue and 59th street in 1886. There you'll still find the big department store.
• The average NYC taxi travels 64,000 miles a year carrying 650,000 passengers each day, according to the New York Times. There are 12,187 licensed Taxis in New York.
• There are 8,453 subway cars and 4,930 buses in New York. Nearly 8 million people ride the city's subways and buses each day. You pay your fare by swiping a METROCARD that you can buy at a subway station. Don't lose your card!
• FAO Schwarz, the giant toy store on Fifth Avenue and 58th Street 212-644-9400) was started in the 1880s by four brothers who had emigrated to the United States from Germany and brought toys from Europe to American children - stuffed animals, doll houses, tricycles and sleds. A lot of the toys in those days couldn't be found elsewhere. Even G.I Joe and Barbie got their start at FAO.
• You can watch people furiously playing Chinese chess every day in Columbus Park in Chinatown. It's like American chess but the characters are round chips with Chinese characters. There might be more than 100 people playing. Early in the morning, join in tai chi or get your fortune told.

Calling All Bargain Lovers

Every Sunday Orchard Street is closed to traffic from Delancey Street to E. Houston Street so merchants can put their merchandise out onto the street like in the old days. (By the way, Houston Street is pronounced, "how-stun street" by New Yorkers).

More than 100 years ago, when immigrant families lived in the tall tenements in Lower Manhattan, peddlers hit the streets selling their wares out of potato sacks. They expanded to pushcarts and eventually store fronts selling everything from pots and pans to underwear to vegetables.

New Yorkers have always come to Orchard Street and the surrounding neighborhood looking for bargains. Today, they also come for cutting-edge fashion and great food, like dill pickles, deli sandwiches, knishes and more. Stop in at Katz's Delicatessen, the city's oldest. It's been dishing out pastrami sandwiches since 1888! (205 E Houston St, (212) 254-2246)

You'll still find great bargains on everything from leather jackets to purses to jewelry, perfume and shoes. Don't be afraid to bargain: The storeowners expect it! Stop in at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. (91 Orchard StNew York, (212) 431-0233)

No worries if you're hungry either - not with the Essex Street Market nearby. Smoothie anybody?

Food Smarts

A lot of kids who come to NYC try food they haven't eaten at home. Check off what you've tried:

• A hot dog from a street vendor.
• A hot salted pretzel or roasted nuts from a street vendor.
• A slice of NYC Pizza folded in half (that's the way New Yorkers eat it).
• A Pastrami sandwich.
• A fresh bagel with a shmear (of cream cheese).
• Chinatown noodles or rice with chopsticks.

Vendor Alert

You'll see them all over the city. They sell everything from CDs, DVDs and books; hats, scarves, jewelry, watches and sunglasses. Many sell their own artwork around the museums. Maybe a photo or watercolor would make a good souvenir. Just be skeptical if they tell you they've got the hottest brands. Chances are, you're getting a "deal" because they're offering you a knock-off, not the real thing. Don't buy anything without bargaining. And assume you're not getting the real deal. It may last but it also may fall apart tomorrow.

Grab your chopsticks!

Everyone who comes to New York for the first time should have dinner in Chinatown. With the Chinese lanterns and telephone booths, everyone speaking Chinese, it's like stepping into a Chinese city right in downtown New York. It's the biggest Chinatown in the United States with more than 400 restaurants! You'll hear more Chinese spoken than English here in Lower Manhattan just south of Canal Street and a short walk from the Lower East Side. Even the street signs are in Chinese. If you want to learn more about the history of Chinatown and the people who settled here, stop in at the Museum of Chinese in America. In early 2009, MOCA will move into a new, larger space on 211-215 Centre Street.

You can browse in stores along Mott Street that sell Chinese toys, herbs and all kinds of strange-looking foods.

Of course you're going to eat. The restaurants here are big - and tiny. Sometimes, the waiters don't speak English but the menus often are printed in Chinese and English. Any kind of noodle dish is a good bet, New York kids say. They also like to come here on weekends for Chinese brunch called Dim Sum. You pick all kinds of little dumplings from carts the waiters roll around the restaurant.

Little Italy

Little Italy is another old-fashioned neighborhood that's a favorite with kids and parents. It's just north of Canal Street and Chinatown. You'll find lots of little restaurants here too where you can have pizza, pasta, lasagna and yummy Italian pastries and ice cream. Some families like to go to Chinatown for dinner and wander over to Little Italy for Desert. If you're visiting in September, all of Mulberry Street becomes a huge outdoor restaurant at the Festival of San Genarro.

More Kinds of Food

Of course you can get any kind of food you want in New York from an omelet in Greenwich Village to burgers in midtown to soul food in Harlem to the fanciest food you've ever seen. Some of the country's most famous chefs live and work here. You might have fun scouting out a restaurant in Greenwich Village or Soho where there are so many.

Girls like the café at the American Girl Place (609 5th Avenue at 49th Street 877-AG_PLACE) because their dolls get VIP treatment too, down to doll-sized China and seats. And everyone likes the loud, funky Ruby Foo's (1626 Broadway at 49th Street, 212-489-5600).

You're bound to find a lot of what you're looking for at big New York City department stores. It seems like they've got everything! Bloomingdale's has two entire floors of kids' stuff. Macy's Herald Square is still the world's biggest department store with 10 floors. If you get hungry in Macy's, there's even a McDonald's in the children's department on the fourth floor.

Kids think these stores are fun because they're like being in a giant treasure chest. Girls can try make up and perfume: Boys can sample food and check out the latest electronics. There's lots of special NYC gear too.There are lots of other stores in NYC too - big ones and small ones, stores you know like the GAP and Old Navy and tiny spots you've never heard of. Even museums have great stores in New York. It's fun to just window shopand people watch everywhere.

Don't forget your birthday money!

CHAPTER 1

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