HANDS-ON MUSEUMS
While most of NYC's museums are incredibly welcoming to all ages, only a few encourage kids to actively engage with their hands as well as their eyes. Click on the museum name for more details.
* Consider a membership at your local favorite - usually around $100 and totally tax-deductible - for a climate-controlled spot to roam all year long plus perks like discounts at the fabulous gift shops and cafes.
* Also see upcoming hands-on museum programs for kids and current must-see-exhibits (plus free museum hours and interactive pop-ups).
UPTOWN
Play Street Museum
⏱ Mon–Fri 9 am–6:30 pm Sat–Sun 9 am–10:30 am
🎟 $35/ages 1-8, $10/adult, older & younger siblings free
Explore interactive exhibits based around life in the city at this new engaging and educational neighborhood children’s museum. Give friends a check up at the doctor’s office, care for animals at the pet shop, or prepare to save the day at the fire station. Stop by the grocery store and play at a giant interactive train table. Designed for toddlers and children up to 8…
The 81st Street Studio at the Met
⏱ Thu-Tue 10 am–5 pm
🎟 FREE
Explore hands-on stations where art and science meet at the Met’s new free drop-in discovery and play space. Investigate the scientific properties of materials like wood, metal, and clay, play instruments, browse books and more interactive fun.
⭐️ Pick up a free 81st Street Studio Family Field Guide to explore the Met galleries—and the world beyond—with instructions that guide discovery and useful tools, a Look it Up reference booklet, and a field notebook for recording data and drawing conclusions
American Museum of Natural History
⏱ Daily 10 am–5:30 pm
🎟 Suggested $28/ages 12-65, $16/ages 2-12, $22/students & seniors, free/ages 2 & under
Lovers of dinosaurs, sea creatures, gems, outer space and more can get their animal & nature fix at this giant (45 fascinating halls) treasure trove of wonders. It can get quite crowded on weekends and holidays, but there is always a quiet nook to explore.
⭐️ The new Gilder Center features floor-to-ceiling displays, interactive digital exhibits and an insectarium among spectacular cave-like architecture.
⛲️In warm weather, frolic in large fountains on the second floor terrace outside the planetarium.
Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling
⏱ Thu 12 pm–8 pm
Fri 12 pm–5 pm
Sat-Sun 10 am-3 pm
🎟 $7/adults, $5/ages 2-17
Explore a range of accessible and thought-provoking art, from historically significant to important contemporary works at this community-driven children’s museum. Rotating exhibits feature art and installations inspired by the rich cultural history of Sugar Hill and the artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
⭐️ Interactive programs include Saturday Story Hour with special guest artists and art-making with artists-in-residence.
New-York Historical Society
⏱ Wed–Thu 11 am–5 pm
Fri 11 am–8 pm (pay-what-you-wish 6-8 pm)
Sat–Sun 11 am–5 pm
🎟 $22/adults, $13/students, $6/ages 5-13
This fascinating museum features an entire floor of interactive exhibits especially for kids. Family programs range from weekly storytimes to visits from living historians portraying Americans of the past.
⭐️ In-gallery interactives include the incredible design-your-own Tiffany lamp in the gorgeous fourth floor galleries.
Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM)
⏱ Daily 10 am–5 pm
🎟 $16, $13/seniors, free/babies under 1
The enchanting Children’s Museum of Manhattan has interactive, educational exhibits, from soft, enclosed areas for babies and crawlers, a whole floor for Dora & Diego lovers, and multicultural explorations for older kids. Admission includes tons of programming and performances.
⭐️ Splash at (outdoor) water exhibit Dynamic H2O with 800 sq. ft. of of hands-on interactives and colorful graphics.
MIDTOWN/DOWNTOWN
Intrepid Museum
⏱ Daily 10 am–5 pm
🎟 $36, $26/ages 5-12, free/ages 4 & under
History/military buffs and plane lovers can examine original artifacts, view historic video footage and explore interactive exhibits aboard an actual 1943 aircraft carrier. Lots of indoor and outdoor space to roam with tons to touch, climb and explore.
National Museum of the American Indian – New York
⏱ Daily 10 am–5 pm
🎟 FREE
All ages can learn about the culture and contributions of Native Americans at the engaging New York branch of this DC museum, housed in the grand Alexander Hamilton US Custom House. Lots of opportunities for hands-on exploration in multiple rooms. Touch a buffalo hide, match animal drawings, learn about Mayan math, play in a teepee and more.
⭐️ Pick up a fantastic family guide and find featured items among the galleries including wood and stone carvings, exquisite clothing, feather bonnets and lots of animal representations.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
⏱ Daily 10 am-5:30 pm
Sat 10:30 am–7 pm
🎟 $25/adults, $18/seniors, $14/students, free/ages 16 & under
See modern masterpieces from from famous impressionist and provocative contemporary artists. Folic in the serene Sculpture Garden and create in the interactive, all-ages Family Art Lab: Line, Shape, Color.
⭐️ Pick up Family Activity Guides in the lobby, or at the Education and Family Information Desk on the second floor. Bring a device and headphones to access kids audio and activity guides.
South Street Seaport Museum
⏱ Wed-Sun 11 am–5 pm
🎟 Pay-what-you-wish
Explore New York’s origins as a world port and learn about the global interaction of commerce, labor and diverse cultures that took place at the Seaport in centuries past. Board and explore 1885 cargo ship Wavertree and early 20th century lightship Ambrose.
Play with toy boats and sea creatures among maritime-themed art by a beloved creator of picture books for young children at hands-on Seaport Discovery: Exploring Our Waters with Eric Carle.
⭐️ Book rides on the harbor on the 1885 Schooner Pioneer and last surviving New York-built wooden tugboat ($15-$30).
BROOKLYN/QUEENS
New York Hall of Science
⏱ Tue-Sun 10 am–5 pm + holidays/breaks
Pay-as-you-wish Fri 2–5 pm
🎟 $22/adults, $19/kids, students & seniors
Find tons of fun hands-on learning opportunities in a gorgeous, spacious building at a beloved center for interactive science, founded at the 1964–65 World’s Fair. Experience what it’s like to hear, see, smell, and think like a dog in Dogs! A Science Tail and create ecosystems in immersive digital wonderland Connected Worlds.
⛳️ Explore key science concepts in a nine-hole Rocket Park Mini Golf, built around actual rockets and spacecraft ($6).
New York Transit Museum
⏱ Thu–Sun 10 am–4 pm
🎟 $10/adults, $5/ages 2-18 & 62+
Housed underground in an authentic 1936 subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, this toddler’s dream hosts a working platform level spanning a full city block with a rotating selection of twenty vintage subway and elevated cars dating back to 1907. Board vintage cars, sit at the wheel of a city bus, step through a time tunnel of turnstiles, and explore changing exhibits that highlight the cultural, social and technological history – and future – of mass transit.
⭐️ The underground platform level with the historic trains is truly vintage, with no air-conditioning or cell phone service.
Museum of the Moving Image
⏱ Thu 2-6 pm (free admission)
Fri 2–8 pm
Sat–Sun 12–6 pm
🎟 $20/ages 18+, $12/students & seniors, $10/ages 3-17
Explore film, TV and video games from nineteenth century optical toys to the latest in digital art with lots of hand-on exhibits in a spacious, modern building.
See over 1,400 artifacts in Behind the Screen including Star Wars & Star Trek props. Visit Miss Piggy, Elmo and other favorites in interactive Jim Henson’s World
⭐️ Study, play, and create games and moving images in the Media Game Lab and get creative at hands-on moving making stations.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
⏱ Wed-Sun 10 am–5 pm Pay-What-You-Wish Thu 2 pm–5 pm
🎟 $15, free/babies under 1
Find hands-on exploration and engaging programming in visual arts, music and performance, natural science, and world cultures inspired by Brooklyn’s energy and diversity at the world’s first children’s museum, founded in 1899.
Learn about world cultures, visual arts, nature, animals and more in well-designed, interactive exhibits including World Brooklyn, Neighborhood Nature, Totally Tots, Collections Central and The (outdoor) Nest. Try print-making, collage and sculpture projects inspired by artists.
🌀 Investigate opposites through hands-on experiences, art-making, and performances in Opposites Abstract: A Mo Willems Exhibit, inspired by the eye-popping, emotive, and highly accessible words and images in Mo Willems’ bestselling children’s book of the same name.