Children's Museum of Manhattan
212 West 83rd Street (Tisch Building, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue)
West 86th Street station (1 train)
212-721-1234 (information)
212-721-1223 (staff)
The Children's Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) has hands-on exhibits providing fun for kids ages birth to ten. The museum is designed to enhance learning in five key areas: literacy, the arts, media and communication, the environment, and early childhood education.
A quarter of a million children visit annually to take part in the various interactive exhibits. The museum hosts a series of traveling children's exhibits on the main floor and in the basement. An urban tree house (open May through September) teaches children about their environment.
On the higher floors you'll find various activity rooms featuring arts and crafts, climbing, and a small theater where puppet shows, storytelling, and other performances are given. A new wing features “Playworks for Early Learning,” an exhibit for kids from birth to four, which the
You may not be able to resist the temptation to browse the great works in New York's museums, but the works that delight you may make your kids miserable. To avoid a lifelong hatred of these “stuffy places,” use the same trick museum docents do to hook kids on their tours — use the interrogative method. Pick a work and ask your children what they see. How does it make them feel? Why? What story is being told? For older kids, what is the artist trying to tell you?
One of the nicest aspects of the museum is that it avoids video and computer-generated activities, allowing children to see, hear, and discover the real sights and sounds around them as they play. This is a museum for children — not about them — designed to pique their interest. You will enjoy seeing it all through their eyes. Pick up a schedule when you enter, and you'll know what shows, workshops, or story readings are taking place that day. When you're done, be sure to wash your children's hands, since hundreds of eager youngsters enjoy the hands-on museum every day.
There is a small gift shop with children's items. There is no restaurant on the premises. Strollers and food are not allowed.
Hours and FeesThe museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and on public school holidays from 10
