This Saturday, September 27, in the tradition of Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Museums, museums all across the country–and New York City–will be offering free admission for Museum Day Live! To take advantage of the day, download two tickets online for free admission at any participating museum. We’ve put together a complete list of participating NYC museums, so your family can make the most of this fun and educational event.
Asia Society Museum
Hours of Operation: 11am-6pm
Location: 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10021
Phone: 212-288-6400
The museum invites visitors to the world of traditional and contemporary Asian and Asian-American art. One current must-see exhibit is Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot. Nam June Paik is a visionary artist who is known to be the father of video art, and this exhibit presents his depiction of the current society’s relationship with technology.
Bard Graduate Center Gallery
Hours of Operation: 11am-5pm
Location: 18 West 86th Street, New York, NY, 10024
Phone: 212-501-3011
The gallery at this graduate research institute consist of exhibitions that explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Current exhibits include Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life, an exhibition that examines the artwork of the professional illustrator, and Visualizing 19th Century New York, which explores old New York through prints and photographs created by cultural entrepreneurs.
Bartow-Pell Museum
Hours of Operation: 12-4pm
Location: 895 Shore Road, Pelham Bay Park, Bronx,
Phone: 718-885-1461
Visit this beautiful Greek revival mansion in the Bronx, and explore its many period rooms, displaying a beautiful collection of 19th century furniture and decorative arts. Check out the special exhibition, Grand Dames and Grand Plans: 100 Years of History at Bartow-Pell.
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Hours of Operation: Cathedral 7:30am – 6pm, Visitors Center 9am – 5pm
Location: 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10025
Phone: 212-316-7540
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is one of the world’s largest churches, and is home to magnificent stained glass art, Gothic and Romanesque-style architecture, and more. Be sure not to miss the two majestic birds on the ceiling, designed by a Chinese contemporary artist.
Children’s Museum of Manhattan
Hours of Operation: 10am-7pm
Location: 212 West 83rd Street, New York, NY, 10024
Phone: 212-721-1223
At CMOM, families and young kids can explore the different cultures. Experience the history of jazz in America at Jazzed!, an interactive exhibit. Eat Sleep Play: Building Health Everyday, has 70 interactive stations where kids can have fun learning about health. Plus, Saturday is You Make It Go Day–kids can play with interactive UMIGO stations, designed to get them excited about math.
China Institute Gallery
Hours of Operation: 10am-5pm
Location: 125 East 65th Street, New York, NY, 10065
Phone: 212-744-8181
Come to one of America’s leading institutions for bringing Chinese art and culture to the public, and check out the current exhibition, Mao’s Golden Mangoes and the Cultural Revolution, which explores China under Chairman Mao.
Fraunces Tavern Museum
Hours of Operation: 12-5pm
Location: 54 Pearl Street, New York, NY, 10004
Phone: 212-425-1778
At the Fraunces Tavern Museum, visitors can learn about New York’s history dating back to Colonial America and the Revolutionary War. Check out the museum’s latest exhibit, Give Me Liberty, which presents the works of Brooklyn-based artist Sylvanus Shaw, focused on imagery of early American statehood.
The Hispanic Society of America
Hours of Operation: 10am-4:30pm
Location: Broadway between 155th and 156th Streets, New York, NY, 10032
Phone: 212-926-2234
The museum boasts 800 paintings, over 6000 water colors and drawings, and 200 sculptures by Spanish and Hispanic artists. At 11am on Saturday, the Museum will host Cuéntame un cuadro, an educational program providing children ages 5-14 and their families with opportunities to explore different works of art from the museum’s renowned collections.
Historic Richmond Town
Hours of Operation: 1-5pm; guided tours at 2 and 3:30pm.
Location: 441 Clarke Avenue , Staten Island, NY, 10306
Phone: 718-351-1611
Travel back to the colonial era with a visit to Staten Island’s Historic Richmond Town. The grounds boast buildings from the 1660s! Discover Staten Island’s agricultural past, and browse the town’s beautiful furniture collection.
The Jewish Museum
Hours of Operation: 11am-5:45pm
Location: 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street, New York, NY, 10128
Phone: 212-423-3200
Come experience contemporary and ancient Jewish art and culture at the Jewish Museum. Current exhibits include: Masterpieces & Curiosities: A Russian American Quilt, which examines the stories told through an intricate quilt owned by a Russian Jewish immigrant family; and From the Margins: Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis, 1945- 1952, which presents the parallels present in the paintings of these two abstract expressionists.
Kingsland Homstead-Queens Historical Society
Hours of Operation: 12:30-4:30pm
Location: Weeping Beech Park, 143-35 37th Avenue, Flushing, NY, 11354
Phone: 718-939-0647
Delve into the history of Queens and Long Island at the Kingsland Homestead. The homestead, built in the late 1700s, is one of the earliest surviving examples of the “Long Island half-house,” an architectural style common to the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Learn world fair history at its current exhibit, People and Stories of the 1934 and 1964 World’s Fairs.
The Morgan Library and Museum
Hours of Operation: 10am-6pm
Location: 225 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-685-0008
This museum was originally privately owned by Pierpont Morgan, a financier, who was one of the preeminent collectors and cultural benefactors in the United States. Today, it is a place filled with a variety of incredible art, literature and music exhibits. Check out the museum’s latest art exhibits, including Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil–focused on this iconic painting and related drawings. Don’t miss the beautiful colors of the Spencer Finch installation!
Morris-Jumel Mansion
Hours of Operation: 10am-5pm
Location: 65 Jumel Terrace, New York, NY, 10032
Phone: 212-923-8008
This mansion is one of Manhattan’s oldest private residences, and has housed many prominent New Yorkers throughout its history. In the fall of 1776, George Washington used the house as his headquarters, and it is said that it was the site of a dinner party with John Adams, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox.
Museum of American Finance
Hours of Operation: 10am-4pm
Location: 48 Wall Street, New York, NY, 1005
Phone: 212- 908-4110
The Museum of American Finance is the only US museum dedicated to American finance and financial history. It offers five permanent exhibits that focus on money and finance: The Financial Markets, Money: A History, Banking in America, Entrepreneurs and the Alexander Hamilton Room. Check out the “The Fed at 100” exhibit, which illuminates the behind the scenes of the nation’s central bank and the role of the Federal Reserve.
Museum of Arts and Design
Hours of Operation: 10am-6pm
Location: 2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY, 10019
Phone: 212-299-7777
Discover the works of contemporary artists, designers, and artisans at current exhibits, including The NYC Makers, where the work of 100 artists and designers–nominated by 300 NYC-based cultural leaders and civic figures–will be showcased.
Museum of Chinese in America
Hours of Operation: 11 am-6pm
Location: 215 Centre Street, New York, NY, 10013
Phone: 212-619-4785
This museum celebrates the lives of the Chinese people living in America. Exhibits available are: Waves of Identity: 35 Years of Archiving, which examines the history of the Chinese immigrants, and Memory Prints: The Story World of Philip Chen, a solo exhibition this Midwestern artist whose etchings focus the life of his family and significant moments in Chinese history.
New York City Fire Museum
Hours of Operation: 10 am-5 pm
Location: 278 Spring St., New York, NY, 10013
Phone: 212-691-1303
Pay tribute to New York’s firefighters at this museum, which boasts collections of fire-related art and artifacts from the past and present. The exhibit also explored the development of firefighting in New York throughout history.
Society of Illustrators
Hours of Operation: 12pm-4pm
Location: 128 East 63rd Street
Phone: 212-838-2560
Appreciate the art of illustration by paying a visit to the winning works of the Spectrum competition, which recognizes the best fantasy, science fiction and horror artwork each year. Or, check out the Air Force Art exhibition or the special comic art exhibit.
The Ukrainian Museum
Hours of Operation: 11:30am-5pm
Location: 222 East 6th St., New York, NY, 10009
Phone: 212-228-0110
The Ukrainian Museum is filled with folk art, fine art, and historical artifacts that reflect the lives of the Ukrainian people. Current exhibits include “Taras Shevchenko- Poet, Artist Icon,” and “In Shevchenko’s Land,” which focus on the art of Ukraine’s cultural icon, Taras Shevchenko. “No Other Home: The Crimean Tatar Repatriates” explores the lives of the Crimean Tatars, and “Life in Wood” exhibits the everyday objects that are made of wood from the museum’s permanent collection.
U.S. Lighthouse Tender LILAC
Hours of Operation: 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Location: Hudson River Park’s Pier 25, N. Moore and West Streets, New York, NY, 10013
Phone: 917-709-5291
LILAC is America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender. Catch one of the last days of the lighthouse’s Floating Library, which offers a space for reading, writing, and relaxing. Improvisational artist Nicolas Dumit Estevez partnered with the Queens Museum, will give a special performance for Museum Day Live.
Van Cortlandt House Museum
Hours of Operation: 11am-4pm
Location: Van Cortlandt Park, Broadway at W. 246th Street, Bronx,, NY, 10471
Phone: 718-543-3344
Explore the the estate built by Jacobus Van Cortland, on land he purchased in 1694! Famous house guests have included George Washington and British General Sir William Howe. Admire the beautiful furniture, decorative arts, and Van Cortlandt family heirlooms.
