Museums in NYC: Timeless treasures, fresh perspectives, and cultural deep dives

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is one of the largest museums in the world. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park opposite Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the vast museum is made up of 28 interconnected buildings that house 45 permanent exhibition halls, including a library and a planetarium. The museum’s collections feature more than 33 million specimens of animals, plants, human remains and cultural artifacts, meteorites, minerals, and rocks, only a small fraction of which is ever on display at any given time. The American Museum of Natural History is open every day of the year and can be explored on self-guided or guided tours.

Central Park West & 79th St, New York, NY 10024, Phone: 212-769-5100

Formerly known as the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Morgan Library & Museum is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan that is an architectural landmark and historic site as well as an independent research library, music venue, and museum. Located on Madison Avenue, the Morgan Library & Museum features a complex of buildings with a newly renovated campus, designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, and the original library, which has been beautifully restored to its former glory. The Morgan Library & Museum is one of the world’s most important repositories for the history, art, and literature of Western civilization from 4000 B.C. through to the 21st century.

225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016, Phone: 212-685-0008

Designed by New York architects McKim, Mead & White, the Brooklyn Museum aimed to be the largest cultural edifice in the world. While only one-sixth of it was completed, the museum today is one of the most influential cultural institutions in the United States and is home to a permanent encyclopedic collection of over one million pieces. The museum houses one of the finest and most extensive art collections in the country, including a unique selection of Native American art from the Southwest, American period rooms, exquisite pieces of ancient Egyptian, Islamic, and African art, and essential American and European paintings. Innovative, cutting-edge exhibitions and programs showcase a contemporary view of historical and traditional as well as modern works, and offer engagement with some of today’s most important artists and ideas.

200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052, Phone: 718-638-5000

The Museum of the City of New York is an art and history museum that presents the history of New York City and its people. Founded in 1923 by Henry Collins Brown, the museum is housed in a neo-Georgian-style red brick building with marble trim that was designed by Joseph H. Freedlander. Located on Fifth Avenue at the northern end of the Museum Mile opposite Central Park, the museum hosts a variety of exhibitions, including the first-ever museum presentation of New York City's four centuries of history. The building’s facade has Adolph Alexander Weinman statues of DeWitt Clinton and Alexander Hamilton facing Central Park.

5th Ave & 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029, Phone: 212-534-1672

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library that explores the rich history of New York and the nation. Located at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan, the New-York Historical Society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum and presents an array of exhibitions, public programs, and research projects for scholars, students, and the community. The museum and library are housed in a landmark granite building that was designed in a classic Roman Eclectic style by York & Sawyer and holds an extensive collection of works of American art, historical artifacts, and other materials documenting the history of New York and the United States. The New-York Historical Society also offers an extensive variety of academic fellowships, educational programs and workshops, and curriculum-based school programs.

170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024

MoMA PS1 is one of the oldest art institutions in the United States dedicated solely to exhibiting contemporary art. Located in the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens in New York, MoMA PS1 is an exhibition space that is devoted to displaying the most experimental art in the world. In addition to its range of exhibitions, the art institution is also involved in educational programming such as the Warm Up summer music series, the International and National Projects series, and the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program, which is run in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art.

22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City, NY 11101, Phone: 718-784-2084

Located in Battery Park City in Manhattan, the Museum of Jewish Heritage is a memorial to those who perished in the Holocaust. Housed in a six-sided building designed by Roche-Dinkeloo to symbolize the six points of the Star of David and the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, the museum was founded in 1997 to educate people about the “the broad tapestry of Jewish life in the 20th and 21st centuries, before, during, and after the Holocaust.” Topped by a pyramid structure known as the Living Memorial to the Holocaust, the museum features a collection of more than 25,000 items relating to modern Jewish history and the Holocaust, ranging from artifacts and photographs to documentary films.

36 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280, Phone: 646-437-4202

The National Museum of Mathematics, commonly known as MoMath, is an award-winning Manhattan museum highlighting the history and vital role of mathematics in everyday life. The dynamic museum is designed to be enjoyed by the entire family, featuring exhibits meant to stimulate the minds and imaginations of visitors from age 5 to 105. It has received the prestigious MUSE Award for Education and Outreach from the American Alliance of Museums and has been named as the state's best museum for kids by New York Magazine. Two floors of exhibits explore mathematical concepts through interactive fun with sports, painting, light, robotics, and puzzle game activities. Special events hosted at the museum throughout the year include monthly Family Fridays events and a regular Math Encounters speaker series.

11 E 26th St, New York, NY 10010, Phone: 212-542-0566

Located in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum showcases two historical tenement buildings that were home to a multinational community of more than 15,000 people between 1863 and 2011. A National Historic Site, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum was established to educate the public about the immigrant experience and encourage tolerance. The museum features a variety of exhibits and programs, including a documentary film about the tenement houses, and restored apartments and shops that visitors can explore on public tours to learn more about the lives of the immigrants who lived in them throughout the 1900s. The museum also offers tours with costumed interpreters, tastings of their communities' typical foods, and neighborhood walks, and provides a variety of educational programs for visitors of all ages.

Tenement Museum New York City, 103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, Phone: 212-982-8420

Housed in the William Starr Miller House on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 86th Street on New York City's famed Museum Mile, the Neue Galerie New York showcases early 20th century Austrian and German art. Established in 2001, the Neue Galerie New York features two sections – one houses works of fine art and decorative art from early 20th century Austria and the other displays various German works from art movements of the same era, such as Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), Die Brücke (The Bridge), and the Bauhaus school. Works include those by such notable artists as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, Paul Klee, Ernst Ludwig, Otto Dix, and George Grosz, and museum facilities include a design shop, a bookstore, and two Viennese cafés.

1048 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, Phone: 212-628-6200