Halloween Events for Kids Near Me: Ascarium at the New York Aquarium

Ascarium, the New York Aquarium's Halloween festival, runs on Saturdays and Sundays through October 31, 2026, from 11am to 4pm at 602 Surf Avenue in Coney Island, and every activity is included with a regular aquarium ticket. The remaining dates are October 17 and 18, October 24 and 25, and Halloween itself. For Brooklyn parents looking up halloween events for kids near me, it is the rare costume outing that is mostly indoors, steps from the boardwalk, and built for children who think sharks are cooler than ghosts.

The aquarium is older than most New Yorkers guess. It opened in 1896 inside Castle Clinton at the southern tip of Manhattan, and in 1902 the New York Zoological Society, now the Wildlife Conservation Society, took ownership. After a stretch at the Bronx Zoo, it moved to its current home on Coney Island in 1957. Today it covers 14 acres and holds more than 500 marine species.

Hurricane Sandy flooded the site in 2012, and the comeback centerpiece, Ocean Wonders: Sharks!, opened in the summer of 2018 with 18 kinds of sharks and rays. That building is where most families start Ascarium, because the costumed kids pressed against the glass while a shark glides overhead is the photo everyone wants. Go there first, before the 1pm parade crowd arrives.

The costume parade happens three times a day, at 1pm, 2pm and 3:30pm, with costumed performers and aquatic puppets leading kids around the grounds. Before the first lap, stop at the Halloween crafts table, open 11am to 4pm, where children decorate a marine life puppet to carry in the parade. Face painting runs the same hours and is free for children ages three and up.

Marine-themed magic shows start at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm. The storyteller reads not-so-scary undersea stories at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 2pm and 3pm in the Discovery Room inside Playquarium, which makes a calm reset for toddlers who have had enough noise. The Wildlife Theater show, Augusta's New Age of Ascarium, has ringleader Augusta C. Lion auditioning acts at noon and 3pm.

New this year are life-sized shark and octopus sculptures carved from pumpkins, on view from 10am to 5pm. They sit outdoors, so the light is best before noon, when the line for photos is also shortest. Nearby, a costumed performer leads interactive bubble play from 10am to 4pm, a reliable hit with children under five who are not ready for magic tricks.

Inside, the Sea Change exhibit has been turned into the Sea of Illusions, an immersive walk-through about animals that hide, camouflage and change form. In the 4D Theater, Spookley the Square Pumpkin hosts a sing-along called Spookley's 4D Jamboree, running continuously through the day. Admission already covers one 4-D Theater visit, so you do not need to buy anything extra for it.

Ascarium expanded the keeper chats this year, and they are the part older kids remember. Penguin chats are at 10:15am and 3pm at Sea Cliffs, the octopus chat is at 11:15am in Spineless, and sea lion and harbor seal feedings are at 11:30am and 2:30pm, also at Sea Cliffs. On Saturdays only, eels are fed at 2:15pm at Glover's Reef.

The Aquatheater sea lion show runs at 11am, 1:30pm and 4pm. A Spooky Scavenger Hunt sends families to the piranhas, wolf eels, blood sea stars and spider crabs to learn why they are less frightening than they look. Nine-year-olds tend to race through it, while preschoolers do better with the sand-table Natural Treasures dig and the Mystery Wall touch station.

Ascarium works best for children from about three to ten. Toddlers get the bubble play, face painting and Playquarium stories, while school-age kids can take on the scavenger hunt and the carnival games, where they learn and play to win a prize. Teenagers will probably find the parade young, though the shark building and the sea lion show still hold up for them.

An honest take: the 4:30pm magic show is the one to skip with small children. It starts half an hour before the park closes, after a full day of sugar and walking, and the same show runs three earlier times. The aquarium's Halloween overnight, Sharks After Dark, already took place on October 3 and 4, so this weekend festival is the remaining option.

Admission has off-peak and peak prices. Adults 13 and over pay $29.95 off-peak and $32.95 at peak, seniors pay $27.95 off-peak, children 3 to 12 pay $25.95 off-peak, and kids two and under are free. Every visitor needs a date-specific ticket, and the aquarium says tickets are rain or shine and all sales are final, so pick your weekend after looking at the forecast.

Skip the parking lot if you can. It costs $18 for up to three hours, $25 for three to four hours and $40 for longer, and Surf Avenue traffic is restricted to a left turn into the lot. The cheaper Wednesday afternoon tickets, released at 3pm the Monday before with a limit of four per order, do not include Ascarium, which is a weekend-only program.

Take the F or Q train to West 8th Street, which lets you out almost at the gate. The N and D stop at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue, two blocks west along Surf Avenue, and that station is accessible on the F, Q, N and D lines. The B36 bus stops at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street, and the B68 stops at Neptune Avenue and West 8th Street.

Grounds admit visitors from 10am to 4pm through October 31, and the park itself closes at 5pm, so families can stay through the 4pm sea lion show. Afterward, the beach and boardwalk are right outside, and a late-October stroll along the water is a good way to let costumed kids burn off the sugar before the train ride home. Bring a layer, since the wind off the Atlantic is cold.

Address: New York Aquarium, 602 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224. Ascarium dates: October 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31, 2026, from 11am to 4pm. Admission from $29.95 adults and $25.95 children 3 to 12 off-peak, with all Ascarium activities included. Members do not need a reservation for regular daytime visits.

Best plan for a Saturday: arrive at 10:15am for the penguin chat, see the sharks, catch the 11:30am feeding, eat lunch, then join the 1pm parade and the 1:30pm Aquatheater show. Some activities are weather permitting, so on a rainy day focus on Playquarium storytelling, the Sea of Illusions and the 4D Jamboree, all indoors.