Next Stop: The Transit Museum

City-Kid Review:

Oh, yeah, yeah. Whole body. Love it.

If I’m honest, It took me a while  to come around to the idea of a museum dedicated to New York City Transit. I mean, how many hours of my life have been stalled, delayed, wasted on the MTA? How much have my ears been scorched by the metal on metal screeching as the next subway arrives in the station? How much have I frozen in summer or roasted in winter in a carriage with too little or too much heat? One friend actually had to walk along the subway lines after one incident.

On the other hand, how many hours have been saved because of the NYC subway system? How much life has been gained by traveling along tunnels beneath our feet? But still, why on earth would I want to spend my precious free time in a museum about something which is already so much a part of our daily life?

I could not have been more wrong.

If I had a proverbial – yet deliciously edible – hat, I would eat it The Transit Museum is one of my favorites and if you haven’t been…GO!.….

The transit museum is absolutely fantastic. First of all, it is set in a former subway station – genius! You have to walk down stairs as if going into a regular New York subway, and then it immediately transports you to back in time to the beginning of the subway system in New York.

It is a very interactive museum and, thus, very city-kid friendly. There are buses you can clamber in and drive, turnstiles to walk through, gas tanks to fill…you get the picture. Once you have had enough of the above ground transportation, descend the stairs onto a former subway platform and walk (jump) into and out of New York City subway trains from through the decades. It is a wonderful way to approach the history of the city and mass transit.

Highly recommend.

Need to Knows:

This museum is fantastic.
Adults: $10, children $5.
Closed on Mondays.
They offer free entry to MTA employees, Cool Culture Pass Members, active military personnel and members of the ASTC and Time Travelers programs.

Location: Corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. Accessible entrance on Schermerhorn and Court Street.

They do not have any cafeteria or food provision.  There are plenty of food places listed on their site. We stumbled upon a Greek festival at a school on a nearby street and ate some deliciously authentic, home-cooked Greek food. Magic happens when you have adventures.

Top-Tip

This is a museum worth email subscribing to, as they occasionally bring their trains out into the existing subway system and you can ride them for real! Last year, they also brought some of their old buses to Governor’s Island, which was a lot of fun.

Have you visited the Transit Museum? What was your experience? Do you have a city-kid who loves trains and all things transporation? Please tell us about it, below?

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