“I Want to Eat 1,000 Ice-Cream Cones”

Blake Morrison, 9
“I want to meet Eli Manning and play football with him and the New York Giants.” Make it happen:
Get face time with the football icon”or his wax figure, anyway”at Madame Tussauds (tickets from $26.80; 234 W. 42nd St., nr. Eighth Ave.; 866-841-3505), where you can also cozy up to new additions Will and Kate and all of the Avengers. As for the sport itself, from July 23 to 27, the New York Giants Youth Football Camp scrimmages at the Chelsea Waterside Park ($459; 877-226-9919; prosportsexperience.com/giants); children ages 6 to 14 can play noncontact football with tips from high-school coaches and ex-NFL players. Photo: Danny Kim

Mila Kapadia, 6
“I want to eat cookies for breakfast, ride a flying dinosaur, and go down a slide.” Make it happen:
Pick up red-velvet, sweet-corn, or classic chocolate-chip cookies at the recently opened Schmackary’s ($2.75 each; 362 W. 45th St., nr. Ninth Ave.; 646-801-9866) before boarding a train at Penn Station bound for Field Station: Dinosaurs (from $18.50; 1 Dinosaur Way, Secaucus, N.J.; 855-999-9010), a new outdoor attraction featuring 31 animatronic dinos, including a pterodactyl. Back home, head to the playground at Silver Towers (42nd St. nr. Eleventh Ave.) to whoosh down a trio of tall slides that are actually the legs and one arm of a giant bronze figure designed by artist Tom Otterness. Photo: Danny Kim

Darius Anagnos, 7
“I’d go to a water playground and then a rifle-shooting range. Then I’d have a burger and milk shake and bring my pet snowy owl to the whole thing.” Make it happen:
Get doused in the water-filled Heckscher Playground (Seventh Ave. and Central Park South) and then hit Victorian Gardens (from $6.50 plus rides; 59th St. at Sixth Ave.; 212-982-2229) to play water-pistol game Rising Water”the closest a minor can legally get to a gun in this town. After a steakburger and shake at the recently opened Steak ’n’ Shake (1695 Broadway, nr. 53rd St.; 212-247-6584), head to Bryant Park (40th St. nr. Fifth Ave.) to meet exotic creatures from the Arcadia Bird Sanctuary (Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., weather permitting). Photo: Danny Kim

Nina Smith, 10
“I want to go swimming with dolphins and then become a mermaid like the girls on [the TeenNick TV show] H20.” Make it happen:
Coney Island is the best place to change into a mermaid”and not just during the annual Mermaid Parade (June 23 at 2 p.m.; begins at W. 22nd St. and Surf Ave.). Luna Park has an all-ages Mermaid Parade water ride, along with a new go-kart racetrack (1000 Surf Ave., nr. W. 10th St.; 718-373-5862; open daily through September 9). Aquatic creatures need to eat, so grab a flame-broiled burger from the opening-at-any-moment boardwalk outpost of Prospect Heights’ Tom’s Restaurant (nr. Stillwell Ave.) and then hit the New York Aquarium (from $10.95; Surf Ave. at W. 8th St.; 718-265-3474) to explore the new interactive exhibition “A-Maze-ing Water,” on view through September 9 and featuring a walk-through maze complete with zip-line ride. Photo: Danny Kim

Rosie Hsu, 8
“I want to fly a Pegasus all the way to my cousin’s house, then go for dim sum and swim next to a waterfall.” Make it happen:
After being closed for nearly four years, the Forest Park Carousel ($3 per ride; Woodhaven Blvd. at Forest Park Dr., Woodhaven; 718-788-2676) is spinning once again, and the 49 handmade horses move so quickly it’s easy to pretend you’re flying. After filling up on sweet sesame buns, pork dumplings, and other dim-sum delicacies at East Ocean Palace ($2 to $9; 113-09 Queens Blvd., at 75th Ave., Forest Hills; 718-268-1668), amble through Flushing Meadows”Corona Park, where the geysers around the Unisphere are practically waterfall-explosive. Photo: Danny Kim

Truman Rivera, 6
“I want to go to the Moon and build a robot! Then I want to fly back to Earth and introduce him to my friends and go to the store so he can eat metal and I can have chocolate.” Laurel Grace Rivera, 8
“I’d use my shrinking teleportation machine to go to a fantasy planet with my best friend. And then we’d become human size and the aliens would freak out because we are so big.” Make it happen:
The intergalactic journey starts at the American Museum of Natural History (suggested admission from $10.50; Central Park W. at 79th St., 212-769-5100), where families can cruise the “Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration” exhibition through August 12. Buy a Tin Can Robot kit at veteran toy shop West Side Kids ($15.99; 498 Amsterdam Ave., at 84th St.; 212-496-7282) and then customize your own chocolate-covered cookies and pretzels at the recently opened Chocolate Works (641 Amsterdam Ave., nr. 91st St.; 212-799-3630). After a quick air-conditioned subway ride to the High Line, kids can pretend to be giants at the new public-art installation Lilliput, located throughout the elevated park, on view through next April and featuring miniature sculptures that are tough but fun to find. Photo: Danny Kim

Ned Stimpson, 11
“I’d hop in my private speed jet and go to the San Diego Comic-Con, come back to New York and spend all my money at an arcade, and then go to Belgium for mussels.” Make it happen:
Geekdom rules at Montasy Comics Chapter 2 (431 Fifth Ave., nr. 38th St., second fl.; 212-683-2018), the new midtown outpost of the popular Forest Hills comic-book shop that regularly hosts Yu-Gi-Oh! and Magic: The Gathering tournaments as well as Dungeons & Dragons meets. Next, check out the recently overhauled Chinatown Fair Video Arcade (8 Mott St., nr. Chatham Sq.; 212-964-1001). The seedy consoles and violent games are gone; now you’ll find Skee-ball, touch-screen Fruit Ninja, and tickets redeemable for prizes. Afterward, stroll west to Petite Abeille (134 W. Broadway, nr. Duane St.; 212-791-1360) for Belgian comfort food; kids eat free on Sunday nights, and Wednesdays tout all-you-can-eat mussels for $25. Photo: Danny Kim

Navah Little, 12
“I want to go to the fabric district with Alicia Keys to make cool clothes, then wear them to the 40/40 Club and eat French fries all night.” Make it happen:
At the edge of the garment district, you’ll find the Fashion Class (21 W. 39th St., nr. Sixth Ave., fourth fl.; 646-329-6663), a sewing and design program for children ages 6 to 18. Throughout summer, Fashion Star wannabes can take two-week classes ($350 to $500; dates vary), complete with visits to designer showrooms and a climactic runway show. After graduation, wear your best homemade outfit to Sony Wonder Technology Lab (550 Madison Ave., nr. 56th St.; 212-833-8100); although Alicia Keys won’t be there, you can create a remix of her Grammy Award”winning song “Empire State of Mind (Part II)” at the interactive Music Mixer station, which debuted last year. For dinner, head to Serendipity 3 (225 E. 60th St., nr. Second Ave.; 212-838-3531). With its $1,000 Golden Opulence sundae and just-added $295 Wagyu hamburger, it’s as expensive as bottle service at Jay-Z’s nightclub. Advance orders required; no strollers allowed. Photo: Danny Kim

“I Want to Eat 1,000 Ice-Cream Cones”