Brooklyn Children's Museum

About

Brooklyn Children's Museum, founded in 1899, holds the distinction of being the world's first children's museum — a pioneer institution that established the model of learning through direct, hands-on engagement that children's museums around the world have followed ever since. More than a century later, it remains one of the most creative and culturally engaged children's institutions in New York City. The museum occupies a colorful, architecturally distinctive building in Crown Heights designed to encourage physical movement and exploration. Its exhibits are built around the museum's dual commitments: to the cultural diversity of Brooklyn's communities and to the natural world. Galleries connect children to world cultures, global environments, and the science of everyday phenomena through materials, objects, and experiences that invite touch, manipulation, and transformation. The museum's cultural programming is particularly strong, regularly featuring artists, storytellers, and educators from communities represented in Brooklyn's extraordinarily diverse population. This makes BCM not merely a place where children encounter cultural objects at a distance, but a living community institution where culture is demonstrated, practiced, and created. As an ACM Reciprocal Network member, members of participating children's museums receive 50% off general admission for up to six people. The museum offers free admission on Thursdays from 2–5 p.m.

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