Ranked List
Weird Museums in NYC: 7 collections worth the subway ride
The weird museums in NYC start with Mmuseumm, which fits inside a Tribeca freight elevator. After that come a gallery of objects sanitation workers rescued off the curb, and a decommissioned Brooklyn subway station with vintage cars parked at the platform. Seven collections worth an afternoon, ranked, and not one of them is the Met.
Last reviewed
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A working freight elevator in a Tribeca alley, filled with the objects nobody else thought to archive. It's the smallest museum in the city and the first one we'd send you to.
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Thousands of objects sanitation workers pulled off Manhattan curbs, stacked floor to ceiling inside a working truck garage. Getting in takes an email to the city, and it earns the wait.
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A decommissioned Brooklyn station with preserved cars parked at the platform, and you can board every one of them. It's also the museum whose membership unlocks the Old City Hall station tours.
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Square-wheeled tricycles that somehow ride smooth, and two floors turning abstract math into something you operate with your hands. Worth the $26 even if you hated the subject.
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A hands-on collection of antique invention where handling the exhibits is the entire point. Seeing the Manhattan headquarters takes a phone call first, which keeps the crowd at roughly zero.
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Fifteen thousand artifacts handled with real academic seriousness, which is not what most visitors walk in expecting. Over 18 only, and it costs more because it takes no industry money.
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Not technically a museum, but a SoHo shop stocked like one, fossils and skeletal mounts included. The difference is that you can take the exhibits home.
Know before you go
Mmuseumm opens weekends in spring, summer, and fall, and its viewing windows work around the clock the rest of the year. Treasures in the Trash is by arrangement only, so email tours@dsny.nyc.gov well ahead. The Museum of Interesting Things needs a call to (212) 274-8757 before it opens the headquarters to you. MoMath runs $26 for adults and $20 for children, students, and seniors, on the N or R to 28th Street, the 6 to 28th Street or 23rd Street, or the F or M to 23rd Street. The Museum of Sex is 18 and over. Evolution opens daily, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Common questions
What is the weirdest museum in NYC?
Mmuseumm, on premise alone. It occupies a working freight elevator in a Tribeca alley and collects the overlooked objects of modern life, the things no other institution bothers to keep.
Are there small museums in NYC worth visiting?
These seven are all small, and that is the appeal. Mmuseumm fits three people at a time, the Museum of Interesting Things runs by appointment, and Treasures in the Trash lives inside a sanitation garage.
Are any of these museums free?
Not many, honestly. Mmuseumm's viewing windows are free at any hour and come with a free phone audio guide, and the Evolution Store costs nothing to browse because it is a shop. MoMath, the Transit Museum, and the Museum of Sex all charge admission.
How much are tickets to the National Museum of Mathematics?
MoMath is $26 for adults and $20 for children, students, and seniors. Take the N or R to 28th Street, the 6 to 28th Street or 23rd Street, or the F or M to 23rd Street.