Museums in NYC

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Encyclopedic Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often referred to as The Met, is a world class institution, and for good reason: last year, it was the third most visited museum in the world with more than 6.5 million guests. The Met's doors first opened in 1872, and, since then, the museum has grown to own an impressive collection with more than two million pieces.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

• Temple of Dendur
• Washington Crossing the Delaware
• Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028

The Rubin Museum of Art

Art Museum

The Rubin Museum of Art is a neat art museum in NYC with a focus on works that celebrate the cultures from the Himalayas, India, and Tibet. The on-site museum cafe, Cafe Serai, offers top notch dining, making it easy to decide where to eat after visiting the collection. On K2 Friday nights, the Rubin offers free admission.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Rubin Museum of Art.

• The Wish Fulfilling Tree
• Mount Meru
• Model of the Mahabodhi Temple

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $19 per person
• 📍 150 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Art Museum

The Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan is one of the city's famous art museums. Considered one of the largest modern art museums in the world, MoMA is home to close to 200,000 works that cover the last 150 years of art history. MoMA's collection includes famed pieces like Paul Cézanne's The Bather, Salvador Dalí's The Persistence of Memory, Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait With Cropped Hair, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

• Water Lillies
• The Starry Night
• Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

The 9/11 Memorial Museum

History Museum

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is a space dedicated to remembering the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 2,977 people. It also honors the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The memorial is located at the original site where the Twin Towers stood. The 9/11 Memorial Museum opened its doors to the public on May 21, 2014 after a ceremony with President Barack Obama.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The 9/11 Memorial Museum.

• The Last Column, the last piece of steel to leave the Twin Towers site
• The North and South pools
• The Survivors' Staircase

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $26 per person
• 📍 180 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration

History Museum

With its doors first opening in 1892, Ellis Island was America's biggest site of immigration until 1924. More than 12 million people came through Ellis Island's doors looking to make the United States their new home until the facility closed in 1954. About 40 percent of today's population in America is thought to have ancestors who came through Ellis Island. The Ellis Island Museum opened in 1990 and tells the stories of the immigrants who sought a new life in America.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration.

• The Ellis Island documentary: Island of Hope, Island of Tears
• The interactive World Migration Globe
• Combine your visit to Ellis Island with a ferry trip to the Statue of Liberty

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $18.50 per person
• 📍 Upper New York Bay

The Whitney Museum of American Art

Art Museum

The Whitney Museum of American Art opened its doors in 1930 thanks to the museum's namesake, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. The Whitney, as it's known in many circles, contains more than 23,000 works of art completed by more than 3,400 different artists. The Whitney is famous for hosting its Annual and Biennial exhibits as a means to highlight the work of artists who are just getting established in the industry.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Whitney Museum of American Art.

• Laughing Child
• Armistice Night
• Etude

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 99 Gansevoort St, New York, NY 10014

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum

History Museum

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a designated historic site in New York City. Between 1863 and 2011, the buildings housed about 15,000 people from more than 20 different countries. The Tenement Museum has appeared in various films, including The Definition of Insanity and Crossing Delancey. The museum's mission focuses on exploring the historical plight of immigrants.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

• Under One Roof
• Shop Life
• Building on the Lower East Side

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $20-29 per person
• 📍 103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

War Museum

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a military and history museum in NYC. The museum is hosted on the U.S.S. Intrepid, a retired aircraft carrier, that is docked in the Hudson River. The Intrepid Museum contains cool things to see, including an Exploreum, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the flight deck where planes would take off and land during times of war, flight simulators, a submarine, and the British Airways Concorde. The Intrepid often hosts kids programming weeks so be sure to check to see if they have any specials going on when you visit.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

• Space Shuttle Enterprise
• U.S.S. Growler Submarine
• The British Airways Concorde

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $33 per person
• 📍 Pier 86, W 46th St, New York, NY 10036

The New Museum

Art Museum

The New Museum of Contemporary Art rests on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The New Museum was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker, who had a clear vision for the museum's mission: showcase the works of artists who had yet to achieve recognition or exposure. To date, the New Museum has displayed art from artists who represent more than 14 different countries.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The New Museum.

• Hans Haacke: All Connected
• Carmen Argote: As Above, So Below

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $18 per person
• 📍 235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002

Poster House

Specialty Museum

Poster House is the first and only museum in the United States dedicated to the art, history, and impact of the poster. Covering the 1860s to the present day, this museum touches on posters from all time periods and cultures. Exhibitions change approximately every six months and have covered everything from hand-painted movie posters from Ghana to the gorgeous Art Nouveau designs of Alphonse Mucha.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Poster House.

• Turn yourself into a classic poster in the interactive photobooth
• Stand in front of a vintage billboard
• Design your own advertising poster

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $12 per person
• 📍 119 W. 23rd St. (between 6th & 7th Avenues

The Jewish Museum

Religious Museum

The Jewish Museum, located on Manhattan's Museum Mile, is the oldest Jewish museum in the world. The museum has more than 30,000 objects on display and runs multiple temporary exhibits throughout the year. Some of the better known artists with pieces housed in the collection are Marc Chagall, George Segal, Eleanor Antin, and Deborah Kass.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Jewish Museum.

• Self-Portrait with Camera
• Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century
• Old Man with Beard

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $18 per person
• 📍 1109 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128

The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Specialty Museum

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum on NYC's Miracle Mile. Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the country that focuses on current day and historic design dating back more than 240 years. The museum has been home to items like a chair that Abraham Lincoln once sat in and a Rolls Royce that had been owned by The Beatles.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

• The first metal chair made in the United States
• Views of the American War of Independence
• The Diva is Dismissed

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $16 per person
• 📍 2 E 91st St, New York, NY 10128

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)

Art Museum

Originally called The Museum of Contemporary Crafts, The Museum of Arts and Design opened in NYC in 1956. MAD is dedicated to collecting objects with a focus on contemporary and historic changes in art, design, and crafts. MAD is considered a celebration of all things creative and innovation. One of the museum's coolest additions in its new building on Columbus Circle is the Center for the Study of Jewelry.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD).

• David Webb's Monkey Brooch
• Patrick Jacobs' Dandelion Cluster #3
• Anni Albers' Meander Series

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $18 per person
• 📍 2 Columbus Cir, New York, NY 10019

The Staten Island Museum

Encyclopedic Museum

The Staten Island Museum is the oldest museum on the island. It's also considered the last general interest museum still operating in NYC. The Staten Island Museum, which was founded in the 1800s by folks who considered themselves the first environmentalists in New York City, has three main collections: Natural Sciences, Fine Arts, and History Archives. With more than half a million items to include animals, nests, eggs, fossils, insects, and maps, the Staten Island Museum is a treasure trove museum in NYC.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Staten Island Museum.

• The Wall of Insects
• Bill Higgins' Bayonne Bridge at Night
• Michael P. Zappalorti's Sr. Collection of Lepidoptera

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $8 per person
• 📍 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY 10301

Coney Island Museum

Specialty Museum

The Coney Island Museum on NYC's Coney Island is about commemorating and paying tribute to mass American culture in the style of dime museums, burlesque, the circus, vaudeville, and P.T. Barnum -- all things that have a special place in the history and traditions of Coney Island. The museum is a fun, weird experience with funhouse mirrors, special exhibits, and a 1950s thermos collection.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Coney Island Museum.

• Five Cents To Dreamland: A Trip to Coney Island
• Funhouse Mirrors Collection
• The 1950s Thermos Collection

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 1208 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224

Queens Museum

Archaeological Museum

The Queens Museum, which used to be known as the Queens Museum of Art, is an art museum in Queens that was founded in 1972. Its most famous exhibit is the Panorama of the City of New York, which is a room-sized scale model of the five boroughs. The model was originally built in 1964 for New York's World Fair. Other items among the museum's permanent collection of more than 10,000 objects include art by Salvador Dali, crime scene photographs, and a collection of Tiffany Glass.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Queens Museum .

• Panorama of the City of New York
• The Art of Rube Goldberg
• The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $8 per person
• 📍 New York City Building, Corona, NY 11368

The Met Cloisters

Archaeological Museum

The Met Cloisters is a museum in Fort Tryon Park in NYC with a focus on European medieval art, architecture, and sculpture. There is a particular emphasis on Gothic and Romanesque works. The museum got its name, as the buildings are centered around four cloisters that were acquired for the museum thanks to John D. Rockefeller Jr. The cloisters are the Cuxa, Trie, Bonnefont, and Saint-Guilhem.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Met Cloisters.

• The Cloisters
• 300+ stained glass panels
• Medieval Art: Temporalities and Meanings

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $25 per person
• 📍 99 Margaret Corbin Dr, New York, NY 10040

Madame Tussauds

Specialty Museum

Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in the heart of NYC's Times Square that has become a major tourist attraction. The museum houses an extensive collection of famous figures commemorated in wax. NYC's location includes sculptures of Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Derek Jeter, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Madame Tussauds.

• Marilyn Monroe
• Barack Obama
• King Kong

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $30 per person
• 📍 234 W 42nd St, New York, NY 10036

Toy Museum of New York

Archaeological Museum

The Toy Museum of New York is a museum that emphasizes theater and performance to talk about changes in society. Originally the Doll and Toy Museum of NYC, the Toy Museum adopted its current moniker in 2009. The museum has an extensive rare and original toy collection, to include Mr. Potato Head and G.I. Joe.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Toy Museum of New York.

• The original Frisbee pie pan
• The original Easy-Bake Oven
• The original Mr. Potato Head

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Brooklyn, NY

New York City Fire Museum

Specialty Museum

The New York City Fire Museum is a museum commemorating and celebrating the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) in Manhattan. The museum is located in Engine No. 30's former headquarters, a renovated firehouse from 1904. The museum has a collection of more than 10,000 objects, to include records and photographs along with uniforms, tools, and equipment.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at New York City Fire Museum.

• Firefighting on Parade
• Romance of Firefighting
• 9/11 Memorial

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 278 Spring St, New York, NY 10013

Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler

History Museum

The Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler is part of the SUNY Maritime College. The museum houses a number of artifacts and exhibits about maritime and sea life in the NYC area dating back hundreds of years. Guests can see intricate ship models, historic artifacts, and a slew of nautical photographs and prints. It is one of the country's biggest maritime collections.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler.

• Underwater Artifact Exhibit
• Hall of Maritime Training
• Evolution of Seafaring

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 6 Pennyfield Ave, The Bronx, NY 10465

American Folk Art Museum

Art Museum

The American Folk Art Museum on Manhattan's Upper West Side is the nation's top organization focused on folk art and self-taught artists from around the world. The museum has more than 8,000 items in its permanent collection, dating back to the 1700s. More than 130,000 guests visit the museum annually. Museum admission is free.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at American Folk Art Museum.

• Families and Folk Art: Pattern and Repetition
• Finding Form in Found Materials
• Southern Sounds: Listening Party with Dust-to-Digital

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023

Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Library

The Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library is housed on the sixth floor of Butler Library on the university campus. The collection dates back more than 4,000 years to Mesopotamian times. The library has cuneiform tables, ostraca, papyri, astronomical instruments, maps, art, specimens, and more. In addition to the rare item collection, the library hosts a variety of exhibits that appeal to the university community as a whole.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

• Mirror of Humanity: Seeing Ourselves in Playing Cards
• Roar, Lion, Roar: A Celebration of Columbia Football

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 6th Floor East Butler Library, 535 W 114th St, New York, NY 10027

Mets Hall of Fame & Museum

Specialty Museum

The Mets Hall of Fame & Museum celebrates the history of MLB's New York Mets. The Mets museum is housed within the walls of Citi Field, where the Mets call home in Queens. The museum was established to honor former Mets players, managers, executives, and broadcasters who had outstanding careers with the organization. As of late 2019, there are 27 members of the Mets Hall of Fame, including Rusty Staub, Tug McGraw, and Mike Piazza.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Mets Hall of Fame & Museum.

• The 1986 season collection
• Player luggage tags
• Dwight Gooden's cleats

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 123-01 Roosevelt Ave, Queens, NY 11368

South Street Seaport Museum

History Museum

The South Street Seaport Museum in NYC is home to nautical and maritime artifacts, including paintings, model ships, and scrimshaw. Two vintage ships, an 1885 cargo ship, and a 1907 lightship, are docked outside the museum and available for tours.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at South Street Seaport Museum.

• Street of Ships: The Port and Its People
• Millions: Migrants and Millionaires abroad the Great Liners, 1900-1914
• The 1885 cargo ship Wavertree

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $20 per person
• 📍 12 Fulton St, New York, NY 10038

AKC Museum of the Dog

Specialty Museum

The American Kennel Cub Museum of the Dog originally opened in NYC in 1982. The museum's mission is to preserve and highlight the role that dogs play in society. It collects art, objects, and inspiration for dogs and pet owners. The museum has a permanent collection of more than 1,700 items along with 4,000 library items.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at AKC Museum of the Dog.

• The Catherine Johnson Collection
• Stamps

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $15 per person
• 📍 101 Park Ave, New York, NY 10178

Asian American Arts Centre

Cultural Center

The Asian American Arts Centre is a non-profit organization in NYC's Chinatown and was one of the first Asian American community organizations in the entire country. The centre's mission is to connect Asian and Asian-American art with Western art. The permanent collection houses hundreds of Asian American artworks on display. The gallery can be visited by appointment only.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Asian American Arts Centre.

• We Count! The State of Asian Pacific America
• Betrayal and Empowerment
• Cross Cultural Voices

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 111 Norfolk St, New York, NY 10002

National Academy of Design

Art Museum

The National Academy of Design is a gallery dedicated to highlighting fine arts in the United States. The gallery opened to the public in 1979. The museum boasts one of the nation's biggest public collections of American art from the 1700 and 1800s; the full collection contains about 8,000 thousand works

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at National Academy of Design.

• John F. Kensett's Bash-Bish
• George Tooker's Voice II
• William Merritt Chase's Young Orphan

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 15 Gramercy Park S, New York, NY 10003

New York Public Library

Library

The New York Public Library is the country's second biggest public library system (second only to the Library of Congress) and the world's third biggest (coming in behind the British Library). The NYPL system has 92 locations and more than 53 million different items. The library can be seen in works of art, including movies and TV shows. The library often hosts exhibits and events for the local community to enjoy.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at New York Public Library.

• The J.D. Salinger Exhibit
• A Ballad for Harlem
• The Art Collection of Dr. Constance E. Clayton

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 476 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018

Hall of Fame for Great Americans

Art Museum

The Hall of Fame for Great Americans in NYC's Bronx neighborhood is an outdoor sculpture garden on the campus of Bronx Community College. The Hall of Fame is the first of its kind across the entire country. The gallery was designed by well-known architect Stanford White and is a 630-foot open air colonnade with close to 100 busts.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

• George Washington Carver
• Edgar Allan Poe
• George Peabody

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 University Ave & W 181st St, The Bronx, NY 10453

City Island Nautical Museum

Specialty Museum

The City Island Nautical Museum is a weekends-only museum in NYC's Bronx neighborhood that chronicles the history of City Island's boating. At the start of the 1900s, City Island had a worldwide reputation for building the best wooden boats in the world. The museum is dedicated to preserving that history. City Island also had a hand in building military vessels.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at City Island Nautical Museum.

• City Island’s boat-building history exhibit
• The massive City Island historical photo exhibit

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 190 Fordham St, The Bronx, NY 10464

Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art

Art Museum

The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art is a museum in Staten Island that has one of the country's biggest collections of Himalayan artifacts. The museum was originally constructed to look like a traditional rustic Himalayan monastery. The grounds include terraced gardens and ponds with focus and lotus. In 1991, the Dalai Lama visited the museum and noted its authenticity.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art.

• The fish ponds
• The lotus ponds
• The terraced gardens

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $6 per person
• 📍 338 Lighthouse Ave, Staten Island, NY 10306

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Specialty Museum

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden sits on 52 acres in Brooklyn, NYC. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded in 1910 and is near Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum. The garden has more than 14,000 different plants. It attracts an estimated 900,000 visitors annually.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

• Cherry Trees
• Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden
• Children's Garden

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $15 per person
• 📍 990 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225

Sandy Ground Historical Museum

History Museum

The Sandy Ground Historical Museum on Staten Island in NYC is a program site for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. In 2010, the museum won the Mayor's Award for its contributions to Art & Culture in the Big Apple. The museum is an active research site today to continue to preserve and celebrate Sandy Ground's African American history.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Sandy Ground Historical Museum.

• Underground Railroad exhibits
• The History of Sandy Ground

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1538 Woodrow Road Staten Island, NY 10308

Parsons The New School for Design Sheila C. Johnson Design Center

Art Museum

The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design is an exhibition space that holds the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery and the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries. The gallery is in four buildings, spanning the ground floors of each, to create a quad along Fifth Avenue and 13th Street. The center houses rotating exhibits related to design.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Parsons The New School for Design Sheila C. Johnson Design Center.

• Pan African Space Station
• Museum of Capitalism
• Otherworldly: Performance, Costume and Difference

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 66 5th Ave New York, NY 10011

Federal Hall

Historic Site

Federal Hall is the memorial of a historic building at 26 Wall Street in Manhattan's Financial District and was the first City Hall of New York City. The Greek Revival structure was built in 1703 and saw considerable history throughout its years, including being the place where the colonists Stamp Act Congress drafted its message to King George III demanding "taxation without representation" come to an end. Later, Federal Hall would be Congress of the Confederation, the home of the 1st Congress, and the spot of George Washington's presidential inauguration. The building was torn down in the 1800s; in its place is today's memorial, Federal Hall.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Federal Hall.

• The George Washington monument
• The Alexander Hamilton exhibit
• Washington to Trump: Inaugural Tradition

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 26 Wall Street New York, NY 10005

Waterfront Museum

History Museum

Brooklyn's Waterfront Museum is a maritime museum in the city dedicated to preserving the city's maritime history and waterfront traditions. Housed on the 1914 Lehigh Valley Barge #79, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Waterfront Museum is one of our favorite hidden gem museums in NYC. Admission and tours are free.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Waterfront Museum .

• Lehigh Valley No. 59 - Alice Scanlon
• Rowing adventure excerpt from the 1842 diary of Charles H. Ludington
• Fay Jordaens' City Island

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 290 Conover St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

Federal Reserve Banks of New York

Specialty Museum

The Federal Reserve Banks of New York offers tours of the museum and gold vaults, but those tours are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and reservations must be made in advance online. The vault holds the world's largest amount of gold, stored on behalf of governments around the world. At one point, the gold in the vault was estimated to weight more than 6300 tons.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Federal Reserve Banks of New York.

• The Gold Vault
• Florentine Renaissance architecture

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 33 Liberty St, New York, NY 10045

Children's Museum of the Arts

Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of the Arts in NYC is designed for children ages 0-15 to teach them how to make art, ranging from drawings to sound art to textiles to animation to sculptures. The CMA works closely with children in foster care, children with learning disabilities, and the children of homeless families to promote art for all. The museum has a permanent collection of more than 2,000 pieces of art made by children from 50 different countries ranging back to the 1930s.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Children's Museum of the Arts.

• Make Art (in) Public
• Beyond the Refrigerator Door
• The Black Book of Colors

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $13 per person
• 📍 103 Charlton St, New York, NY 10014

Onassis Cultural Center

Cultural Center

The Onassis Cultural Center, which was founded in 2000 by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, celebrates the work of well-known and emerging artists from Greece and the international community. The center's main mission is to honor Greek culture through cultural and educational initiatives.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Onassis Cultural Center.

• The Privilege of Escape
• Maria Antelman: Disassembler
• Nature of Justice: On the Birds

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Olympic Tower, 645 5th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Noguchi Museum

Art Museum

The Noguchi Museum in NYC is a sculpture museum created by Japanese-American sculpture Isamu Noguchi. The museum's primary focus it to display and preserve Noguchi's sculptures and other work. The museum has both an interior display and an outdoor sculpture garden in its Queens location.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Noguchi Museum.

• The Tree of Heaven remnants
• On Becoming an Artist. Isamu Noguchi and His Contemporaries, 1922 - 1960
• In Search of Contoured Playground

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 9-01 33rd Rd, Queens, NY 11106

Living Torah Museum

Religious Museum

The Living Torah Museum in Brooklyn, NY is a grouping of Orthodox Jewish museums that opened in 2002, founded by rabbi and author Shaul Shimon Deutsch. The Village Voice named the Living Torah Museum as the Best Museum of New York.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Living Torah Museum.

• Great Torah Personalities
• Torah Times
• Mishna/Talmud Times

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1603 41st St, Brooklyn, NY 11218

Garibaldi-Meucci Museum

Historic Site

The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is a Staten Island, NY museum that is an 1840 Gothic Revival cottage that inventor and candle maker Antonio Meucci and Italian revolutionary and political leader Giuseppe Garibaldi both called home throughout their lives. In 1980, the house and memorials were named to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Garibaldi-Meucci Museum.

• The Fashions and Faces of the Regions of Italy
• The Garibaldi Bedroom
• Showcase of the Teletrofono

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 420 Tompkins Ave, Staten Island, NY 10305

Castle Clinton National Monument

History Museum

Castle Clinton National Monument, which has been previously known as Fort Clinton and Castle Garden, is a circular sandstone fort that sits in Manhattan's Battery Park. The fort was built in the very early 1800s and served as the country's first immigration station, operating even earlier than Ellis Island. An estimated eight million people came into the United States through Fort Clinton. Later, it was used as a beer garden, aquarium, exhibition hall, and theater.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Castle Clinton National Monument .

• The Bay and Harbor of New York by Samuel Waugh
• Guided tours
• Concert in the park series

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 Battery Park, New York, NY 10004

John M. Mossman Lock Museum

Archaeological Museum

The John M. Mossman Lock Museum is a museum all about, well, locks! Located in midtown Manhattan, the Lock Museum is part of the National Register of Historic Places. It has one of the world's biggest collections of bank and vault locks. All in all, the museum has more than 370 lock artifacts dating back to 4000 BC. The Lock Museum is housed inside the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at John M. Mossman Lock Museum.

• Egyptian wooden-pin locks
• Chinese padlocks
• American timelocks

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 20 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036

Merchant's House Museum

Historic Site

The Merchant's House Museum is the only intact family home in NYC from the 1800s. Both the interior and exterior are preserved. The Merchant's House was once known as the Old Merchant's House and as the Seabury Tredwell House. It was built in 1832 and was turned into a museum more than 100 years later. In the 1960s, it was designated a New York City landmark and today it's the only historic house museum in its neighborhood. The museum's collection has more than 3,000 objects from the Tredwell family who occupied it for much of its existence as a house.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Merchant's House Museum.

• Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe: Murder at the Merchant’s House
• Death, Mourning, and the Hereafter in Mid-19th Century New York
• Seasonal festive activities like a Halloween-themed ghost tour at night

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $15 per person
• 📍 29 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003

Staten Island Children's Museum

Children's Museum

The Staten Island Children's Museum is an NYC children's museum at Sailors' Snug Harbor on Staten Island. The museum is all about interactivity and encouraging children to participate with the exhibits in a hands-on way. The museum has 10 indoor and two outdoor exhibits, a dedicated art workshop and a performance space; exhibits include things like bug examination, block building, and exploring a fire truck.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Staten Island Children's Museum.

• Francis the Praying Mantis
• Sea of Boats
• Portia's Playhouse

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $8 per person
• 📍 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301

Studio Museum in Harlem

Art Museum

The Studio Museum in Harlem is a spot for African artists to share their work about culture, tradition, and society. The museum has several temporary exhibits, including Projects 110: Michael Armitage and Dozie Kanu: Functions.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Studio Museum in Harlem.

• Dozie Kanu: Function
• Black Refractions
• Projects 110: Michael Armitage

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $ per person
• 📍 429 W 127th St, New York, NY 10027

Dahesh Museum of Art

Art Museum

The Dahesh Museum of Art is the nation's only museum that houses a collection and exhibition focused on European academic art of the 19th and 20th centuries. Most of the collection is compromised of Dr. Dahesh's personal collection of more than 2,000 paintings. The museum is particularly notable for its Orientalist paintings. The collection is currently not on display as of 2019 and instead travels the country to other museums while the Dahesh Museum of Art constructs a new home.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Dahesh Museum of Art.

• Orientalism: The Allure of North Africa and the Near East.
• Academic Splendor: Nineteenth-Century
• Now and Then: Drawings from the 19th century to the Present

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 145 6th Ave, New York, NY 10013

Socrates Sculpture Park

Art Museum

The Socrates Sculpture Park is a sculpture garden built on the site of a former landfill in NYC. Sculptor Mark di Suvero founded the park in the 1980s as a way to engage his local community with art. The park is a mainstay of its Queens neighborhood as it incorporates a public park and sculpture gallery in one. The majority of work on display in the park was commissioned exclusively for display in the park -- and they were even built on site. The garden does not have a permanent collection.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Socrates Sculpture Park.

• Broadway Billboard: ‘To The Avengers of the New World’
• Las Palabras son Muros [Pavilion for Astoria]
• The Gardens

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 32-01 Vernon Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11106

Fort Wadsworth

War Museum

Fort Wadsworth on New York City's Staten Island is one of the country's oldest military installations. It sits on more than 200 acres of usable park lands that can be reserved for camping, weddings, or simply sitting and watching the harbor. Fort Wadsworth itself was built in 1663 and was later used by both the United States Army and the United States Navy. It closed in 1994 as the longest running active military installation in history. Today, the Fort Wadsworth Museum chronicles the history of the installation from the American Revolution through the Cold War.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Fort Wadsworth.

• The Lighthouse atop Battery Weed
• The Mont Sec House

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 120 New York Ave Staten Island, NY 10305 At this address

Gracie Mansion

Historic Site

Gracie Mansion, or the Archibald Gracie Mansion, is the official home of the Mayor of the City of New York. The mansion was built in 1799 and overlooks the Hell Gate channel of the East River. Gracie Mansion has had a lot of appearances in pop culture, with cameos in movies like The Taking of Pelham 123, Ghostbusters II, and City Hall. Gracie Mansion tours are open to the public, but require advance reservations.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Gracie Mansion.

• She Persists: A Century of Women Artists
• Gracie Mansion Architecture

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 E 88th St &, East End Ave, New York, NY 10028

The Old Stone House in Brooklyn

Historic Site

The Old Stone House in Brooklyn is located within the J. J. Byrne Playground, at Washington Park in NYC. The building today is a reconstruction from 1933 that was made with some original materials; the original house was built in the 1700s. The house played a key role in the 1776 Battle of Long Island during the American Revolution.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Old Stone House in Brooklyn.

• The Old Stone House Gardens
• The Early Brooklyn Dodgers
• The Battle of Brooklyn

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 336 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215

Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

Art Museum

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which was formerly known as The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, is an art museum in Lower Manhattan that has put together a collection of visual art created by LGBTQ artists or art that chronicles the LGBTQ experience. The museum's permanent collection has more than 22,000 objects, and, as of late 2019, was the world's only museum exclusively focused on art that showcases the LGBTQ experience.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.

• Day With(out) Art: Still Beginning
• Art & AIDS: Alegria
• On Our Backs: The Revolutionary Art of Queer Sex Work

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 26 Wooster St, New York, NY 10013

Museum of Sex

Specialty Museum

New York City's Museum of Sex, or MoSex, opened in 2002 on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. The museum is about "the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality." The Museum of Sex aims to promote an open dialogue on human sexuality. Many sexual preferences are represented, from LGBTQ to BDSM to pornography to sex work. The museum is only open to visitors 18 years and older.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Museum of Sex.

• Superfunland: Journey into the erotic carnival
• The Illicit Origin of Pornographic Film
• Punk Lust, Raw Provocation

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $17 per person
• 📍 233 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016

FusionArts Museum

Art Museum

FusionArts Museum on NYC's Stanton Street on the Lower East Side is a museum with a series of exhibitions that are meant to highlight the wonder of fusion art. The museum also has international locations in Prague, as well as a location in Pennsylvania. The museum was founded by Czech-American Shalom Neuman.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at FusionArts Museum.

• Visit the museum's unique collection of fusion art

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 57 Stanton StNew York, NY 10002

Bronx Children's Museum

Children's Museum

The Bronx Children's Museum in NYC is a children's museum best known for its Museum On The Go! purple bus that serves communities in the museum's Bronx neighborhood that cannot typically access the museum's services. The museum has a variety of interactive, hands-on exhibits for children to engage with both on the bus and at its Mill Pond Park brick-and-mortar location.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Bronx Children's Museum.

• Museum On The Go! Purple Bus
• Waters On The Go
• Little Friends of the River

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 25 Exterior Street, The Bronx, NY 10451

King Manor Museum

Historic Site

The King Manor Museum, or the Rufus King House, is located in Jamaica, Queens. The historic house was home to Rufus King, who played a key role in the American Revolution and early American political history. King signed the United States Constitution, served as a United States Senator representing New York, and Ambassador to Great Britain following the Revolutionary War.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at King Manor Museum.

• The Anti-Slavery Work of Rufus King
• The King House and Farm
• Rufus King's Leather Document Case

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 150-03 Jamaica Ave, Jamaica, NY 11432

Derfner Judaica Museum

Cultural Center

The Derfner Judaica Museum is a cultural and educational center dedicated to Jewish history and modern Jewish traditions. The museum is housed in The Bronx's Riverdale neighborhood at The Hebrew Home. The museum sits in a 5,000-square foot exhibition center that is home to both a permanent collection and a series of rotating temporary exhibits, like Leonard Freed: Israel Magazine 1967–1968.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Derfner Judaica Museum.

• Leonard Freed: Israel Magazine 1967–1968
• Tradition and Remembrance: Treasures of the Derfner Judaica Museum

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 5901 Palisade Ave, The Bronx, NY 10471

SculptureCenter

Art Museum

The SculptureCenter in Long Island City, Queens is a contemporary art museum that was founded in 1928 originally as The Clay Club by by Dorothea Denslow. The museum today is a 6,700-square foot exhibition center that also has an attached courtyard. The work of more than 750 different artists has been featured at the SculptureCenter.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at SculptureCenter.

• École du soir (The Evening Academy)
• Searching the Sky for Rain
• Jean-Luc Moulène: More or Less Bone

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 44-19 Purves St, Long Island City, NY 11101

Greater Astoria Historical Society

Historic Site

The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the home base for archiving and chronicling Astoria's documents and history. The Long Island City's museum has more than 50,000 newspapers, documents, records, maps, and various artifacts in its possession, in addition to more than 150,000 different photos. The historical society can be visited during its events or by appointment.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Greater Astoria Historical Society.

• The Woman Who Loved Words
• Seasonal activities like a Haunted Waters Tour for Halloween

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 44-02 23rd St Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101

Museum of Jewish Heritage

Religious Museum

The Museum of Jewish Heritage located in Manhattan's Battery Park City is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. On top of the building is a pyramid known as the Living Memorial to the Holocaust. More than 1.5 million people have visited the museum to learn more about those who lost their lives during the Holocaust. The museum's mission is to chronicle the lives of Jewish people and traditions from the time before, the time during, and the time after the Holocaust.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Museum of Jewish Heritage.

• Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away
• The Number on Great-Grandpa's Arm
• Eyewitness: Photographs By B.A. Van Sise

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $16 per person
• 📍 36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280

The Grolier Club

Specialty Museum

The Grolier Club is a private NYC club with galleries that are free and open to members of the public. The club was established in 1884, making it the oldest North American bibliophilic club in existence. The Grolier Club aims to focus on "the literary study of the arts pertaining to the production of books, including the occasional publication of books designed to illustrate, promote and encourage these arts; and the acquisition, furnishing and maintenance of a suitable club building for the safekeeping of its property, wherein meetings, lectures and exhibitions shall take place from time to time."

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Grolier Club.

• Peter Koch Printer: A Forty-five-year Retrospective at the Grolier Club Embodied Language and the Form of the Book
• "The A.B.C. of Alphabets" from the Collection of Gretchen Adkins
• Poet of the Body: New York's Walt Whitman

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 47 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022

Morris-Jumel Mansion

Historic Site

The Morris-Jumel Mansion is a Federal style historic house in Manhattan. Built in 1765, the mansion, which has been known both as the Morris House and the Roger and Mary Philipse Morris House, has the unique distinction of having served as a headquarters for both the American side and the British side during the American Revolution.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Morris-Jumel Mansion.

• Home Plate: A Celebration of the Polo Grounds
• The Birthplace of New York’s Love Affair with its Favorite Teams
• Washington Takes Manhattan: Felipe Galindo Feggo’s New York Discoveries

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $10 per person
• 📍 65 Jumel Terrace, New York, NY 10032

Brooklyn Children's Museum

Children's Museum

The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. The children's museum was founded in 1899 and is one of the oldest children's museums in the nation. The museum is housed in a largely residential area complete with an underground gallery. In 2008, the museum reopened as the first green museum in NYC.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Brooklyn Children's Museum.

• Science Inquiry Center
• World Brooklyn
• The Sensory Room

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $13 per person
• 📍 145 Brooklyn Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213

Bronx River Art Center

Art Museum

The Bronx River Art Center, or BRAC, is a non-profit center in NYC's The Bronx that was founded in 1987 with the mission to bring arts to a community that is traditionally underserved. The center offers education, exhibits, studios, and programming designed to connect the arts and environmental issues, particularly those impacting the Bronx river, with the local community.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Bronx River Art Center.

• 2 Painters: Gary Bower and Richard Saba

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 1087 E Tremont Ave, The Bronx, NY 10460

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space

Specialty Museum

The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, or MoRUS, is a museum with the mission of being a living history of urban activism in NYC's East Village. The museum honors and pays tribute to local activists and the grassroots movements that made the neighborhood's abandoned spaces and empty lots into beautiful community spaces, parks, and gardens.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space.

• A Living Archive of Urban Activism
• Reclaiming Space: Community Gardens

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 155 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009

Lefferts Historic House

Historic Site

Lefferts Historic House is a historic house in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Continental Army Lieutenant Pieter Lefferts lived in the home after it was built in the late 1700s. Today, the New York City designated landmark houses a museum that focuses on family life in Brooklyn during the 1800s.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Lefferts Historic House.

• The coach parked outside the house
• Historic Games for Kids

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $3 per person
• 📍 452 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225

Girl Scout Museum and Archives

Specialty Museum

The Girl Scout Museum and Archives in NYC is part of the Girl Scout National Historic Preservation Center which is located at the Girl Scouts' Fifth Avenue headquarters in Manhattan. Founded in 1987, the Girl Scouts Museum is dedicated to chronicling the history of the organization. Items in the museum's collection date back to the organization's founding in 1912, with photos, publications, videos, music, and uniforms. The museum's collection is available by appointment.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Girl Scout Museum and Archives.

• Lou Henry Hoover's personal writings
• Juliette Gordon Low's personal writings
• 650+ Girl Scout uniform through the years

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 420 5th Ave, New York, NY 10018

White Columns Gallery

Art Museum

The White Columns Gallery is the oldest alternative non-profit gallery in New York City. The gallery is primarily known as a place for emerging artists who have not yet participated in gallery shows to display their work. White Columns is also committed to displaying the work of unknown artists online.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at White Columns Gallery.

• Healing Arts: Work From The Archives of Healing Arts Initiative
• Beau Dick's Devoured By Consumerism
• The David Byrd Exhibit

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 91 Horatio St, New York, NY 10014

City Reliquary Museum

Archaeological Museum

The City Reliquary Museum in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is a non-profit museum in NYC. The museum is dedicated to profiling the history of the five boroughs that make up New York City. The museum has hundreds of artifacts and objects on display in its quirky, small interior. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum often hosts rotating temporary exhibits about NYC and its community history.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at City Reliquary Museum .

• P.S. NYC: Artifacts From New York City Public Schools 1850-1970
• A Jackie Robinson shrine
• Exhibits from the World's Fair

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 370 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Seguine Mansion

Archaeological Museum

The Seguine Mansion, or The Seguine-Burke Mansion, is a Greek Revival home on Staten Island in NYC. The house is set on 80+ acres on Lemon Creek. It is part of the Historic House Trust and earned designation on the National Register of Historic Places. The Seguine Mansion is thought to have been built in the mid-1800s by Joseph H. Sequine; the house remained in his family until the 1980s. The museum and tours are only available by appointment, as it is a private residence today.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at Seguine Mansion.

• A pride of peacocks that roam the grounds
• The Greek Revival interior
• Guided tours available by appointment

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $0 per person
• 📍 440 Seguine Ave, Staten Island, NY 10309

The Museum of Bronx History (MBH) at the Valentine-Varian House

History Museum

The Museum of Bronx History (MBH) at the Valentine-Varian House is a historic house in The Bronx. Built in 1758, the house is the oldest farmhouse left in the city. The house stayed in the Varin family from its construction until 1905; it was once the residence of the 63rd Mayor of New York City, Isaac Varian. Today, it houses the Museum of Bronx History after its restoration in the 1960s.

Highlights

Here are some of the "must see" items at The Museum of Bronx History (MBH) at the Valentine-Varian House.

• BXFlicks: The Bronx Goes to the Movies
• A History of the Bronx Latino

• 🌐 Website
• 🎟️ $5 per person
• 📍 3266 Bainbridge Avenue, Norwood, Bronx, New York 10467