Museums

From Senior Planet Resource Exchange

[edit] Overview

New York City is home to a large amount of wonderful and interesting museum. Just when think you have been to every museum in the City you discover a new one! From art to science to history, there is a museum for everyone's taste. Below you will find a list of museums throughout the City displayed by borough, a brief description of each museum is provided as well as a link to the museum's website for up-to-date information. This is not an exhausted list of museums in NYC so please add a museum to the list!

[edit] Brooklyn

• Brooklyn Historical Society: Learn about the history of Brooklyn through the library's collections and ongoing museum exhibits.
• Brooklyn Museum of Art: Part of a complex of parks that includes the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Prospect Park, and Prospect Park Zoo, the museum is houses many interesting art and cultural collections covering a wide variety of styles and cultures.
• NY Transit Museum: Devoted to the history of urban public transportation, the museum looks at the history of New York City's transportation systems. Located in a now unused subway station the museum offers exhibitions, tours, and educational programs that offer information about the rich history of New York City's transportation systems.

[edit] Bronx

• Bronx County Historical Society: Learn about the history and development of the Bronx through programs, shows, lectures, publications, and concerts.
• Bronx Museum of the Arts: The museum's collections focus on 20th-century and contemporary art as well as art by artists who have been influenced by the Bronx. In addition to its collection, the museum offers exhibitions, workshops and classes, and special events.
• The Hall of Fame for Great Americans: Located a Bronx Community College, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans is the the original Hall of Fame is the United States. Known for its beautiful architecture, the Hall of Fame boats a 630-foot open air colonnade as well as three other buildings devoted to the history of Americans.
• Lehman College Art Gallery: Making contemporary art accessible to the public, the Art Gallery at Lehman College has a strong focus on interactive media and public art. The gallery offers artist talks and workshop tours.

[edit] Manhattan

• American Folk Art Museum: The museum houses a collection of things that one wouldn't find in other museums, things that some museums wouldn't think belonged in a museum. But the American Folk Art Museum offers an interesting collection of art from quilts to pottery, to weathervanes, the museum offers visitors a chance to see interesting and beautiful things not usual found in museums.
• The Cloisters: This branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is focused on the art and architecture of medieval Europe. With over five thousand works of art, beautiful architecture and cloistered gardens, the Cloisters is a unique museum not to be missed.
• The Frick Collection: The Frick Collection is focused on European art and includes sculpture, furniture, rugs, and paintings. In addition to their permanent collection, the Frick has several special exhibits scheduled annually.
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: Well known for its iconic building architecture, the Guggenheim Museum offers modern and contemporary art as well as lectures, performances, film screenings, tours, and special exhibits.
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum: The Tenement Museum takes visitors back in time to the late 19th century by recreating the inside of a tenement apartment built in 1863. Learn about the history of those who lived on the Lower East Side, working to build a better future for themselves and their families.
• The Morgan Library and Museum: Designed as an Italian Renaissance-style palazzo, The Morgan offers a collection of historical and literary manuscripts as well as drawings, prints, music manuscripts, and early children's books.
• Museum of the City of New York: The Museum of the City of New York celebrates the past, present, and future of New York through a variety of exhibitions, programs, and publications.
• New York Historical Society: With 60,000 objects and works in the museum collection, the New York Historical Society is able to provide a rich history of the founding of America as well as the history of New York. The Historical Society offers many special exhibits as well as an extensive library collection and various public programs.
• Whitney Museum of American Art: Home to an impressive collection of 20th-century American Art, the Whitney has over 12,000 pieces in its permanent collection ranging from paintings to photographs to multimedia installations. Some of highlights of the museum's collection are works by Edward Hopper, Reginald Marsh, and the Whitney has the largest body of work by Alexander Calder.

[edit] Queens

• P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center: P.S. 1 is more of an exhibition space than a formal museum, displaying experimental artwork. P.S. 1 is an affiliate of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and actively seeks out new and emerging artists and genres.
• Queens Museum of Art: Exhibiting art, architecture, and design, the Queens Museum of Art offers exhibitions and education programs that relate to contemporary urban life. The highlight of the museum is a model of of New York City known as the Panorama. The model is 9,335 square feet and includes all buildings constructed before 1992 throughout the five boroughs, representing over almost 900,000 structures.
• Socrates Sculpture Park: Formally an abandoned landfill, the Socrates Sculpture Park is an open studio and exhibition space for artists as well as a neighborhood park. This outdoor museum is a fantastic place to take in art and the outdoors as the same time.

[edit] Staten Island

• Staten Island Museum: With a general focus on art, natural science, and history, the Staten Island Museum has something to offer everyone.