Weekend Fun for NJ Kids: Great Pumpkin Festival, Nature Quest, Sept 26-27

9/23/15 - By Sasha Muzzarelli

Fall is officially here and you can savor the first weekend of the season with some awesome fresh-air activities: get a head start picking out an orange beauty during Heaven Hill Farm’s Great Pumpkin Festival, sample local eats and let the kids get their faces painted at Hoboken’s annual Fall Arts & Music Festival or test your outdoor knowledge during The Great Nature Quest at Echo Hill Park. And if you need a few more ways to keep the kiddos entertained, check out Open Cockpit Weekend at the Aviation Museum, Insect Insanity at Cora Hartshorn Arboretum or Batman Day Storytime at Watchung Booksellers. Whatever you decide to do this weekend, we hope you enjoy it with family and friends. For even more activity options, check out our Event Calendar .

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Open Cockpit Weekend (Teterboro, NJ)
Have a kid who's crazy for planes? The Aviation Museum only opens the cockpits of their planes and helicopters a few times a year, so don't miss out. Visitors experience real 'hands on' cockpit understanding, learn more about how pilots fly and what the controls and instrumentations do, from real pilots and guides.

Great Pumpkin Festival (Vernon, NJ)
Don't miss Heaven Hill Farm's Great Pumpkin Festival, the largest fall festival in Northern Jersey. Enjoy an old-fashioned hayride to the Pumpkin Patch and pick your own pumpkins. Make a day of it and check out the other autumn farm fun such as the hay crawl, Lincoln Log cabin builder, bee barn, corn maze, petting zoo and more!

Saturday, September 26th

Middletown Day (Leonardo, NJ)
This FREE fall festival has activities for all ages including a craft fair, live local music, fire department demos, hay rides and a flea market. Children's activities include a petting zoo, pony rides, arts and crafts, carnival games and bouncy houses.

Batman Day Storytime (Montclair, NJ)
Calling all Super Kids! Families are invited to Watchung Booksellers for a special Batman storytime event in honor of the Caped Crusader's 75th anniversary. Come dressed up in your favorite Batman costume!

National Free Museum Day at Monmouth Museum (Lincroft, NJ)
Enjoy FREE admission at Monmouth Museum during National Free Museum Day. This event will feature family-oriented games, activities, arts and crafts, refreshments and more. All gallery spaces will be open.

The Great Nature Quest (Flemington, NJ)
Test your knowledge of nature with an interactive scavenger hunt at Echo Hill Park. Teams will be challenged with questions and tasks that expand their understanding of the natural world around us. This event is designed to encourage children to learn about and protect NJ parks and wildlife.

Sunday, September 27th

The Wiggles Rock & Roll Preschool Tour (Englewood, NJ)
The Wiggles return to the U.S. this fall for the “Rock & Roll Preschool” tour. Kids will dance and sing along to classic favorites and catchy new tunes at the Bergen Performing Arts Center.

Insect Insanity! (Short Hills, NJ)
Kids are invited to Cora Hartshorn Arboretum for a cool program all about bugs! Take part in fun discussions, games, storytime and a guided hike with a naturalist to learn all about the interesting insects that are found at the Arboretum.

Hoboken Fall Arts & Music Festival (Hoboken, NJ)                       The city of Hoboken presents the 22nd annual Fall Arts & Music Festival featuring over 300 artists, crafters, photographers, sculptors, food vendors and local businesses. Children's activities will be set up in a special section on 3rd Street with rides, games, face painting and sand art to keep everyone entertained.

Check out our NJ GoList featuring our top picks for the entire month of September. And don't forget: We have additional activity listings in our Event Calendar.

And if you are heading into NYC for the weekend, make sure you check out the New York City Mommy Poppins Event Calendar to get the latest on all the fun to be had Big Apple-style.