Free NYC Museums

Living in NYC will bring you plenty of benefits. It is one of the greatest cities and it offers everything you could wish for. In addition to being one of the largest trade, industrial and financial centers, the Big Apple is also among the world’s largest cultural centers. If you are thinking of moving to this city, rest assured that many opportunities are waiting for you. Also known as the “City that never sleeps”, New York is a permanent destination for people who are in the art business or are just culture lovers. There are a total of 145 museums in all 5 boroughs, many of which fall under the category of free NYC museums. Don’t think twice about organizing a tour to get to enjoy all of them! Book your appointment with Best Movers NYC as soon as possible and organize your move to a city with countless possibilities.

View of NYC skyscrapers in the evening
Among the skyscrapers of New York, there is a huge number of museums. Some NYC museums are free and open to everyone

The Magic of the NYC museums

The Big Apple can boast of an exceptional cultural offer in all 5 municipalities. Some of the free NYC museums are the best and largest in the world. Such is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains more than 2 million works of art. About 6.5 million people visited this museum last year, although it is not free. Among the best museums is the Museum of Modern Art, the African Museum of Natural History, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim. Whether you’re interested in history, architecture, nature, film, or transportation, NYC’s museums won’t let you down.

The free NYC museums you must visit

The Big Apple has museums that are always free and those that have free admission on certain days. Some free museums have a Pay-what-you-wish clause that gives you the option to visit the museum for an amount of your choice. Among them are museums that have a suggested minimum, but even if you can’t afford that much money, you can visit them for a few cents. This feature is only available in person sales on the desk. Let’s get to know the free NYC museums.

1. Bronx Museum of Art

The Bronx Museum is a contemporary art museum whose visitors can enjoy permanent collections, special exhibitions, and educational programs. This is where artists, locals, and tourists meet, as well as art professors. In the permanent collection of 800 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and other works of art, you must see the exhibition of photographer Henry Chalfant’s “Art vs. Transit”, Eddie Martinez’s “White Outs”, and “The Life and Times” of Alvin Baltrop. After you hire residential movers in the Bronx and relocate give yourself a break. Visit this museum, admission is free.

woman sitting beside statue.
Spend the day at one of the free NYC museums. Relive the history of the world through the paintings, sculptures and unique exhibits they offer

2. American Folk Art Museum

Located in Manhattan, the American Folk Art Museum has a collection of about 1,200 paintings on canvas or panel, as well as 1,500 drawings and works on paper. The museum’s total collection reaches as many as 8,000 works of art from four centuries and all continents. Admission is always free.

3. The National Museum of the American Indian

If you are supported in your move by Manhattan movers and your new home is in one of its neighborhoods, do not miss visiting the National Museum of the American Indian. This museum is dedicated to the historical and cultural traditions of Native Americans. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and the idea presented to the audience is that Native Americans are the original innovators of America. This museum is the best for ages 10 and up, and admission is always free.

4. The Museum at FIT

The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology receives more than 100,000 visitors a year. The permanent collection boasts as many as 50,000 pieces. There are clothing and accessories from the 18th century to the present. Here you can also find the works of famous designers, Dior, Chanel, and Balenciaga. If you are moving to the Chelsea neighborhood to be part of this institute, look for the best local movers in Chelsea who will reliably and efficiently handle your relocation. Free entrance to the museum.

costume collection in showcase in museum
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology will delight you with clothing and accessories from the 18th century to the present

5. Waterfront Museum is also one of the free NYC museums

This is a great place to visit or even move with the help of movers in Red Hook Brooklyn. It is a maritime museum dedicated to preserving the maritime history and traditions of the city on the coast. Housed on the 1914 Lehigh Valley Barge #79, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During your visit, you will see the captain’s original living quarters and the tools used by the boatmen. The Waterfront Museum is a hidden gem in NYC free all year round.

6. Toy Museum of New York

The Toy Museum is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public. It was established in 1999 and has been serving generations of children and adults in education since then. The desire of founder Marlene Hocham is for the public to understand the role of toys in culture, history, and play. This museum has an extensive collection of rare and original toys. There is Mr. Potato Head, a Frisbee pie pan as well as Easy-Bake Oven. This museum in Brooklyn is free to visit.

7. Maritime Industry Museum at Fort Schuyler

The museum is located in the Bronx, in historic Fort Schuyler on the campus of the Naval College of the State University of New York (SUNI). As you walk through this museum you will see one of the largest collections of maritime industry materials in the country. The main exhibition “Evolution of Maritime” covers the history of maritime from the days of sailing to today’s shipping companies and passenger shipping lines.

In addition to pictures, you will see models of early sailing vessels, clipper ships, and navigational instruments. If you’re looking to hire movers in the Bronx and move to this wonderful place, you can walk to this NYC landmark as well. Admission is always free.

8. Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art

This museum occupies 4,000 square feet on the main floor of the Walsh Family Library. It contains more than 260 objects dating from the 4th millennium BC, through the 3rd century AD, and up to ancient times. These exhibits serve Fordham University in education. You will meet painted Greek pottery, as well as Roman imperial portraiture. Free entrance.

9. Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library

On the sixth floor of the Butler Library, you can find a collection dating back over 4,000 years to the Mesopotamian era. Among the collection of rare objects are cuneiform tablets, ostraca, papyri, astronomical instruments, and maps. The museum is open from Monday to Friday. Whether you are an external visitor, Columbia student, or staff whose individual research requires consulting RBML materials, you are welcome from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

Rare books are also found in free NYC museums
Feel free to visit the Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library for free and explore its treasure trove

10. Harbor Defense Museum

Fort Hamilton, which you can visit after pairing up with your Brooklyn movers, is now in the service of the US Army Museum. The museum is home to generations of guns, mines, planes, and missiles that protected the port from invasion from the sea. It is located in a fortress that dates back to the 1800s. This makes it unique and attractive to visit. You will be able to see Old Fort Hamilton, the Battle of Brooklyn exhibit as well as the coastal defense systems of the past.

11. Mets Hall of Fame & Museum

Hello baseball lovers! For Queens residents and all other New Yorkers, we present another museum with free admission. The Met’s Hall of Fame has 27 members. In the museum, you will see a display of their picture boards and most also have personal items, jerseys, and signed baseballs. There are also two trophies as well as highlight videos of the Met’s games. Given that NYC is also known as a baseball city, visiting one of its clubs after moving to Queens can be an interesting experience. Don’t wait, hire reliable movers in Queens and start your move on the right foot.

12. Gallery of self-taught geniuses

Although part of the Folk Art collection is still on display in Manhattan, limited space does not allow everything to be accessible to visitors. That’s why in 2017 the American Folk Art Museum opened the Self-Taught Genius Gallery at its offices in Long Island City to make its permanent collection available for study. After moving to Long Island City, you will be able to visit this gallery and enjoy traditional paintings and sculptures. Admission is free.

A woman stands in front of the pictures and looks at her mobile phone

13. Sandy Ground Historical Museum

Approved by the New York State Department of Education, the Sandy Ground Historical Museum preserves and celebrates Sandy Ground’s African American history. In addition to artwork and tools used by settlers, you’ll also be able to see exhibits from the Underground Railroad. After hiring Staten Island movers, start exploring the neighborhood by visiting this historic museum.

Some NYC museums are free on certain days

Some museums in New York are always free to visit. Others offer free days when you can walk around and even participate in some activities. Here is a list of museums that offer these benefits to visitors on a budget.

1. New York Historical Society

Located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, this museum will allow you to explore its extensive collection of paintings, manuscripts, and historical artifacts of New York history for free on certain days. Every Friday from 6 pm to 8 pm admission to this, NYC’s oldest museum is free. If you’re passing through, take the opportunity to look at artworks by Thomas Cole, Rembrandt Peele, and Gilbert Stuart, as well as all 435 extant preparatory watercolors by John James Audubon for The Birds of America.

2. The Museum of Arts and Design

This museum focuses on contemporary creativity and how artists and designers transform working materials. The permanent collection is global in scope and covers art, crafts, and design from 1950 to the present day. Every Thursday from 6 pm to 9 pm you can visit for free or pay as much as you want.

3. Staten Island Museum

Every Tuesday from 12-2 pm you can visit one more of New York’s oldest museums. The museum was founded in 1881 and contains an assortment of hats, paintings by Marc Chagall, and 500,000 insects. In addition, there are another 2 million artifacts and specimens in the Staten Island Museum of the Institute of Arts and Sciences. It boasts beautiful examples of art from ancient to modern periods. There is also a collection of American and European silver, furniture, and clothing, and African, Asian, and Native American works.

woman looking at butterfly exhibit in one of the free NYC museums
Among all the free NYC museums you will be able to see an unusual installation with about 500K insects

4. New Museum can be one of the free NYC museums

You can visit The New Museum every Thursday from 7-9 pm with free admission. This is a museum that focuses on living artists and their art over the last 10 years. With 2-3 large exhibitions and 12 small ones per year, you can get to know the works of painters, sculptors, and photographers and participate in lectures, symposia, and workshops for children and adults.

5. Whitney Museum of American Art

Located in the West Village neighborhood of NYC, this museum offers solo and group exhibitions, historical overviews, and lifetime retrospectives in 15 exhibitions a year. The Whitney Biennial showcases the work of living artists. So far, it can boast of a significant number of over 3,400 artists and their 23,000 works. On Fridays from 7-9.30 pm, admission to the museum is free.

6. Morgan Library & Museum

This Museum, as well as a library with some rare editions, has medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts and many drawings and graphics by old masters. It organizes four large and eight small exhibitions annually. It features some of the greatest works ever produced on paper, from early 20th-century photographs of Native Americans by Edward Curtis to precious drawings from important European collections.

Every Friday from 7-9 pm admission to the museum is free. Do not miss the meeting with the treasures of the Morgan Library & Museum. Among all, you’ll find a manuscript article by Albert Einstein, describing how he developed his General Theory of Relativity.

The vast collection of the Morgan Library and Museum and the beautifully painted ceiling
If you’d like to explore the Morgan Library and Museum’s iconic works, choose a day when admission is free

Arrange your relocation with us to enjoy free NYC museums

The Big Apple is known as a city of diversity. In addition to the cultural, national, and lifestyle diversity, this metropolis reflects its diversity through the free NYC museums. With us, it will be easy to find a moving company. But after moving it will be difficult to decide where to go first. So, choose the most convenient places, and museums that have free admission. Take advantage of every free moment to experience the sights, history, and art that New York has to offer in unlimited quantities.

References:

  • https://www.nyc-arts.org/collections/35/free-museum-days-or-pay-what-you-wish
  • https://www.themorgan.org/

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