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Research Guides - New York City - Museums, Libraries, Parks & Gardens

The Museums of Greater New York

Please click here to see an alphabetical list of New York City's museums, libraries, and historical societies. For other information, check out NY.com for additional information relating to New York City and all that it has to offer.

American Folk Art Museum Features 18th- and 19th-century paintings, quilts, and the work of contemporary self-taught artists.

American Museum of Natural History  The Rose Center for Earth and Space in AMNH contains the most technologically advanced space theater in the world, the Hayden Planetarium.

Asia Society Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, the Asia Society possesses art exhibitions, performances, films, lectures, and publications for promoting the understanding of the culture, history, and contemporary affairs of Asia.

Brooklyn Children's Museum The first museum in the world for kids, the Brooklyn Children's Museum was founded in 1899.

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum possesses one of the finest collections of Egyptian Art in the world, in addition to collections on Classical and Ancient Middle Eastern Art, Arts of Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas.

Children's Museum of the Arts Located in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City, the Children's Museum of the Arts provides stimulating, interactive exhibitions and programs for children under ten years old.

Children's Museum of Manhattan In addition to entertainment-related exhibits from sponsors, such as Nickelodeon television and Disney, the Children's Museum of Manhattan also encourages children to participate in community programs with organizations like Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital.

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Housed in the former mansion of Andrew Carnegie, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution is the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design.

El Museo del Barrio Founded by a group of Puerto Rican artists, educators, community activists, and civic leaders, El Museo del Barrio is located in East Harlem, NY, and is the only museum dedicated to the celebration of Puerto Rican, Latin American, and Caribbean cultures.

The Frick Collection Henry Clay Frick bequeathed his private art collection of Western European art to the City of New York, and is housed in the former mansion of Mr. Frick.

Guggenheim Museum One of the best known museums in New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is known equally for its international art collection and distinctive building, which was Frank Lloyd Wright's last major work.

Hispanic Society of America Museum and Library Founded in 1904, the Hispanic Society of America is a free museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal and South America.

International Center of Photography The International Center of Photography is both a museum, showcasing the innovative photography, and one of the largest schools of photography in the world.

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum One of the most successful ships in U.S. History, the USS Intrepid is a former air-transport carrier that is now a national historic landmark and dedicated to America's modern military history.

Italian American Museum The Italian American Museum is dedicated to exploring the rich cultural heritage of Italy and Italian Americans by collecting, preserving, and interpreting tangible objects and reminiscences, the Italian American Museum displays notable contributions of Italians and Italian Americans to American culture.

Jewish Museum The Jewish Museum in New York City explores 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Often referred to simply as "the Met", this collection contains art from all over the world, as well as a large permanent collection devoted to American art.

Museum for African Art In 2008, this museum will move to its permanent location on Museum Mile/Fifth Avenue in Harlem, where it will continue to dedicate itself to increasing public understanding and appreciation of African art and culture.

Museum of Chinese in the Americas Located in the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City, this center focuses on the cultural contributions of Chinese immigrants in the western hemisphere.

Museum of Jewish Heritage With personal objects, photographs, and original films to illustrate the story of Jewish heritage in the twentieth century, this museum was built in a hexagonal shape with a tiered roof as a symbol of the six points of the Star of David and the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

Museum of Modern Art MoMA is regarded as the leading museum of modern art in the world, containing works of architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, and film.

Museum of Television and Radio Dedicated to promoting the artistic value, social commentary, and historical impact of television and radio with a collection of more than 50,000 T.V. and radio shows.

Museum of the City of New York This museum collects, preserves, and presents original materials, as well as cultural and historical documents and artifacts related to the history of New York City.

Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media.

National Museum of the American Indian Located in the George Gustav Heye Center, this museum is dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the Native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.

Neue Galerie Translated from German as "New Gallery," the Neue Galerie is a museum of early 20th-century German and Austrian art and design.

New Jersey Children's Museum The New Jersey Children's Museum is an interactive learning center for toddlers and preschoolers to have quality time and family fun.

Nicholas Roerich Museum The Nicholas Roerich Museum is dedicated to the art of Nicholas Roerich, a Russian-born artist. The museum aims to promote awareness of Roerich's ideas about art and culture. Along with an exhibition of paintings, the museum also presents concerts and poetry readings.

Noguchi Museum In collaboration with the Isamu Noguchi Foundation in Japan, Isamu Noguchi created the museum to offer a variety of education and public programs to introduce the work and vision of the work of this Japanese-American artist to diverse audiences.

P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center Dedicated solely to contemporary art, P.S.1 is affiliated with MoMA and hosts many exhibits featuring the work of international, as well as national, artists of all ages.

Scandinavia House Located on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, the Scandinavia House features the visual art, film, and cuisine, as well as lectures and language classes, from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. In addition, the Scandinavia House also serves as the headquarters for the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

Scandinavian East Coast Museum The Scandinavian East Coast Museum (formerly the Norwegian-American Collection) receives funding from the Norwegian Emigration Fund, the Norwegian Consulate, and the New York State Archives Documentary Heritage Program, and educates the public on the history of Scandinavian immigration to New York.

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Part of the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center is an extensive source for African American studies, especially on the Harlem Renaissance.

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem sits in the heart of the Harlem neighborhood and specializes in 19th and 20th-century African-American art, as well as exhibits of Caribbean and African art.

Trygve Lie Gallery One of the goals of Trygve Lie Gallery is to contribute to the promotion of Scandinavian, and especially Norwegian, art in New York.

Ukrainian Museum The Ukrainian Museum showcases works of Ukrainian art (both folk and fine arts), music, and other exhibits showing Ukrainian Heritage in America.

Whitney Museum of American Art Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney founded the Whitney, arguably the finest collection of 20th-century American art in the world.

Yeshiva University Museum Located in New York's Chelsea neighborhood, the Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University.

Libraries & Historical Societies

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of the American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation, and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history.

American Scandinavian Society The American Scandinavian Society is a New York based non-profit organization striving to provide social and cultural events with a Nordic touch. One of the programs includes an art exhibition at the Trygve Lie Gallery in New York. Other events include guided art tours to Nordic artists in the New York area, visits to music and art exhibitions, and much more. In addition, the Society helps support the arts in general and particularly Scandinavian artists via cultural grants.

Asia Society Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III, the Asia Society possesses art exhibitions, performances, films, lectures, and publications for promoting the understanding of the culture, history, and contemporary affairs of Asia.

Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media The Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media is on the second floor of New York University's Bobst Library, and contains more than 100 carrels for viewing and listening.

Brooklyn Historical Society Founded in 1863, the Brooklyn Historical Society is a museum, library, and educational center dedicated to preserving and encouraging the study of Brooklyn's rich 400-year past, while reflecting upon the future of its culturally rich borough.

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library, is the public library system of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, and it is the fifth largest public library system in the United States.

Columbia University Libraries The Columbia University Libraries contains one of the largest library collections in the United States and is the nation's fifth-largest academic library. It is the third largest library--and the largest academic library--in the State of New York. The system includes 25 libraries in total (Butler Library is the largest), primarily located on or near the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City.

Danish American Society The Danish American Society is the nerve center for activities involving the Danish cultural community in New York City.

Fordham University Libraries The Fordham University Libraries consists primarily of the Walsh Library in the Bronx, the Quinn Library at the Lincoln Center campus, and the Gloria Gaines Library at Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Goethe-Institut Dedicated to the scholarship of German language and literature, the Goethe-Institut is a non-profit organization that promotes Germany's international cultural relations.

The Ibsen Society of America The Ibsen Society of America is a non-profit corporation founded in 1978 at the close of the Ibsen Sesquicentennial Symposium held in New York City to mark the 150th anniversary of major Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsens birth. The purpose of the society is to foster, through lectures, readings, performances, conferences, and publications, an understanding of Ibsen's works as they are interpreted in texts and produced on stage and in film and other media.

Metro The Metropolitan New York Library Council provides an array of services to member libraries in New York City, including classes, workshops, and lectures.

Morgan Library & Museum Formerly known as the Pierpont Morgan Library, the Morgan Library was founded in 1906 to house the private library of J.P. Morgan and is now a museum and a scholarly research center, containing rare prints, drawings, manuscripts, and other materials.

New York Historical Society The New York Historical Society is an organization dedicated to the preservation of the city's history. The society operates a museum and library, and provides many public educational programs.

New York Public Library The NYPL is one of the leading public libraries of the world and is one of America's most significant research libraries. It is unusual in that it is composed of a very large circulating public library system combined with a very large non-lending research library system. It is simultaneously one of the largest public library systems in the United States and one of the largest research library systems.

New York University Libraries The Bobst Library of NYU is one of the university's largest and one of the largest academic libraries in the United States.

Queens Borough Public Library Commonly referred to simply as the Queens Library, is the public library for New York City's Queens Borough and dates back to its first branch in Flushing in 1858.

For a list of additional resources, please click here to see the alphabetical list of New York City's museums, libraries, and historical societies. 

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Botanical, Zoological & Aquatic Gardens

Brooklyn Aquarium Society The Brooklyn Aquarium Society is a multifaceted, non-profit organization that welcomes hobbyists who want to learn more about aquaria keeping, and want to share their expertise with others.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Located next to Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded in 1910 and includes a cherry tree esplanade, a one-acre rose garden, a Japanese hill and pond garden, a fragrance garden for the blind, a water lily pond esplanade, several conservatories, a rock garden, a native flora garden, a bonsai tree collection, and children's gardens and discovery exhibits.

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo is a world-famous zoo located within the Bronx Park, in the Bronx Borough of New York City, and it is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States.

Central Park As famous as New York City itself, Central Park is a large public, urban park in the borough of Manhattan, and it is the most visited city park in the United States. A Natural Historic Landmark, Central Park contains many resources, including a zoo, ice skating rinks, plus it is the host of several sporting and entertainment events.

New York Botanical Garden One of the premier botanical gardens in the United States, it spans some 240 acres of Bronx Park in the borough of the Bronx and is home to some of the world's leading plant laboratories.

Queens Zoo Located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, the Queens Zoo is operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society and is home to mostly animals native to North America.

Prospect Park Founded in 1867, Prospect Park includes a large nature conservancy and has the first urban-area Audubon Center in the nation, as well as Brooklyn's only lake.

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