If you like learning about history, there are incredible history museums in New York City you can visit.
You can learn about a large variety of topics at the city’s history museums, including the past of the city, maritime history, old public transportation in the city, ancient animals, and much more. Besides permanent exhibitions, many of these places also have great temporary exhibitions that are great to see.
If you are in the city and you want to visit a museum to learn about the past, I got you covered with this guide to the best history museums in NYC.
Best History Museums in New York City
New-York Historical Society
The New-York Historical Society is the oldest museum in the city, and it was founded in 1804. At this museum, you can learn about the 400 years of history of the city and the United States through all kinds of exhibitions, multimedia exhibits, and much more.
There are both temporary and permanent exhibitions at the museum.
For example, one of the permanent exhibitions is the “Objects Tell Stories” exhibition. You can see all kinds of artifacts here that relate to a large variety of topics. The exhibition focuses on 10 historical artifacts that represent key moments in the history of the city.
Another exhibition called “Gallery of Tiffany Lamps” showcases 100 Tiffany lamps in a beautifully lit gallery.
The temporary exhibitions at the museum all focus on a specific topic related to the city’s or nation’s history.
Besides exploring the collection by yourself, you can also often do a curator tour, and there are other types of events. For example, there are talks.
Going to the New-York Historical Society is one of the best things to do on the Upper West Side.
Address: 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History is an incredible history museum in NYC where you can learn about the history of the natural world and the universe.
You can learn about a wide variety of topics at the museum through all kinds of permanent exhibitions.
For example, one of the most interesting halls to check out is the “Hall of Biodiversity”, which is about the biodiversity of life on Earth.
The “Hall of New York City Birds” is interesting to check out too. At this place, you can learn about the more than 400 different species of birds that call the New York area home.
If you want to learn about fossils, the “Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs” is an interesting hall to visit. You can see fossils of two types of dinosaurs here, the Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus.
The “Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites” is another interesting hall to check out. There are more than 130 meteorites on display in this hall.
Other halls at the American Museum of Natural History focus on mammals, the origin of humans, insects, and many other topics.
Address: 200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
New York Transit Museum
The New York Transit Museum is one of the best museums in Brooklyn. At this place, you can learn about the history of transportation in the New York City metropolitan region.
This place covers many different types of topics related to public transportation and other forms of transportation. For example, this place focuses on buses, trains, the subway, tunnels, and a variety of related topics.
The museum itself is located inside a former subway station in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood that was called “Court Street”.
The collection consists of more than 10,000 different types of objects, including maps, artifacts, posters, photographs, and much more.
There are also old subway cars at the museum that you can enter, and the museum hosts “nostalgia rides”, during which you can ride a vintage railcar.
Address: 99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
South Street Seaport Museum
The South Street Seaport Museum is one of the best museums in New York City where you can learn about the city’s history as a port city.
The museum has a collection that includes lots of different items related to maritime history, such as maritime art, historic records, and many other types of items. In total, the collection consists of more than 80,000 objects.
Sometimes, there are temporary exhibits at the South Street Seaport Museum that are about a maritime history-related topic.
You can also find a fleet of historic ships at the museum.
Two of the historic vessels that you can see here are the “Wavertree”, which is an 1885 tall ship, and the “W.O. Decker”, which is a 1930 tugboat.
In addition to that, you can sometimes sail on a historic vessel.
Address: 12 Fulton St, New York, NY 10038
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which you can find at the World Trade Center, is a memorial and museum about the 2001 September 11 attacks during which almost 3,000 people were killed.
The memorial honors the people who were killed in the terror attack and those who were victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. It features two waterfall pools that are surrounded by a border on which you can see the names of the victims.
Next to the memorial, you can find the museum.
At the museum, you can learn about the history of both attacks.
There are several core exhibitions and there are temporary exhibitions.
One of the core exhibitions is the “Memorial Exhibition: In Memoriam”, where you can see artifacts related to the victims, such as garments worn by them.
Another core exhibition focuses on the events that took place on 9/11, the historical context of the attacks, and the consequences of the attacks.
It is also possible to do a guided tour of the museum and learn about the attacks from an expert guide.
You can also find the “Survivors’ Stairs” here. This is a staircase that served as the exit for those who were fleeing the towers.
Address: 180 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10007
Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum is one of the best history museums in New York City where you can learn about the stories of people who immigrated to the city.
The museum is housed inside two historic tenement buildings and at this place, you can see historically recreated houses of migrants, refugees, and immigrants.
You can see different types of historic homes at the museum and each of these represents the house of a family from a specific period in time.
The only way to explore it is through a guided tour of one of the homes.
For example, you can do a tour of the home of an Irish family from the year 1869. This tour takes 60 minutes in total.
Visiting the Tenement Museum is one of the best things to do on the Lower East Side.
Address: 103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
Museum of Chinese in America
The Museum of Chinese in America is a museum where you can learn about the Chinese experience in America. You can learn about the culture, history, and heritage of people of Chinese descent living in America at this place.
The museum has a permanent collection of more than 80,000 objects, which include textiles, artifacts, photos, and many other types of items. This is the largest collection of its kind in the United States.
Besides seeing objects from the collection, you can also see temporary exhibitions at the museum that are there for a couple of months and that focus on a specific topic, and there are events that you can attend. For example, there are workshops, live music performances, panel discussions, film screenings, and dance performances.
Going here is one of the best things to do in Chinatown.
Address: 215 Centre St, New York, NY 10013
Intrepid Museum
The Intrepid Museum is all about the US military and maritime history. You can find it at Pier 86.
Most of the museum is located on the USS Intrepid, which is an aircraft carrier that was built during World War II.
You can see various spaces of the aircraft carrier, and you can see many different types of aircraft, exhibits, and lots of other objects on and inside the vessel.
On the flight deck of the USS Intrepid, you can see various aircraft, such as the F-14 Tomcat and the E-1B Tracer.
You can also see the USS Growler submarine, Space Shuttle Enterprise, and a British Airways Concorde there.
This is also one of the best museums for kids in New York City.
Address: W 46th St, New York, NY 10036
Coney Island Museum
The Coney Island Museum is a history museum in New York City that was established in 1983 where you can learn about the history of Coney Island, which was a popular seaside resort with several amusement parks that declined in popularity. Nowadays, you can find the amusement park Luna Park here, which opened in 2010.
The museum has a collection that includes various paintings, photographs, and other objects related to Coney Island and its amusement parks.
There is an exhibition where you can see highlights from the permanent collection, and sometimes there are special exhibitions. The highlights of the collection include funhouse mirrors, rare postcards, and lots of other objects.
Visiting the Coney Island Museum is one of the best things to do in Brooklyn.
Address: 1208 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of the City of New York is a museum where you can learn about the history of the city, as well as its present and future.
This place has a collection that consists of about 750,000 objects, including paintings, sculptures, toys, photographs, prints, and many other types of objects.
You can see both permanent exhibitions as well as exhibitions that are at the museum for a limited amount of time here.
One of the best ongoing exhibitions is the “NY At Its Core” exhibition, which is about what elements of the city’s past make New York New York.
You can also see the “Timescapes” exhibition, which is a 28-minute film that shows the history of the city.
All kinds of events take place at the museum, including tours, talks, film screenings, workshops, and many other types of events.
Address: 1220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10029
Center for Brooklyn History
The Center for Brooklyn History is a museum that is part of the Brooklyn Public Library. This center started in 2020 and was formed by combining the collections of the Brooklyn Historical Society and the Brooklyn Collection of the Brooklyn Public Library.
You can learn about the 400-year-old history of the borough at the center, and this place has the largest collection related to Brooklyn history in the world.
The collection consists of lots of photographs, books, stories, maps, video recordings, archival material, art, newspapers, and much more.
A great way to explore the collection is by joining a guided tour, which is offered for free and usually takes place on Fridays. Other events also take place at this place, including talks and discussions.
Great to know about this museum as well is that the center is housed inside a historic Queen Anne-style building that dates back to the year 1881.
Address: 128 Pierrepont St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
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NYC History Museums Tips
If you like one of these places and want to go there several times during one year, you can consider becoming a member. Some of the history museums in NYC have a membership that allows you to visit a museum as many times as you like for a fixed annual fee, and with this, you usually get more benefits.
History Museums in NYC Map
As you see, there are a lot of great history museums in New York City. I hope I helped you find a museum you want to visit!