While museums CAN be fun and often feature some super amazing paintings, drawings, or other fascinating displays, they are not for everyone. To a vast number of people, there’s just no fun in staring at exhibits put inside some glass casing or panel, reading the walls of text beside them, and gazing at several “no-touch” signs. A large number of this no-museum demographic are the millennials and Generation Zs, a group that would rather spend their leisure time watching Netflix, visiting Cedar Point, or enjoying a scenic road trip. But it’s not just millennials. Even some baby boomers; the individuals born around the time of the Civil Rights Movement, merely tolerate museums. It’s a “meh” to them, not a “wow.”
Those who find museums boring, however, might just enjoy the following interactive ones. These are the ones that let patrons have an engaging and intimate interaction with the many items on display.
10 Museum Of The Moving Image, New York
For those who get bored to death while wandering through the high corridors of museums, the Museum of the Moving Image, one of the best movie museums in the U.S., is something else. If one is looking for a place with all sorts of interesting stuff and moving things, this will be the place to be. Avid fans of Jim Henson, pop culture enthusiasts, and all movie buffs will particularly have a blast. The third floor particularly has many interactive exhibits where guests can try recording voices, stop motion animation, engage in soundtrack picking, or dab in Foley art.
- How Much To Visit The Museum Of The Moving Image? The admission fee is $20 but it's free every Thursday, 2:00–6:00 p.m.
9 City Reliquary
This quirky, two-room museum is both a civic organization and a not-for-profit museum. The eclectic collection; mostly vintage and highlighting the intriguing history of New York, is more intimate and different from the experience one gets when walking through big, crowded hallways. This unorthodox museum doesn’t have much to read but much to discover.
- Where Is The City Reliquary Located? This museum is located at 370 Metropolitan Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211.
8 The Met Cloisters
This museum was opened in 1938 as a branch of the world-famous Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is the only museum in the United States dedicated to the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. Visitors will enjoy seeing how medieval architecture is thoughtfully incorporated into a modern building purpose-built to evoke that particular period of history. This slice of Medieval Europe is not as overwhelming as its famous sister institution while the environment is just so cool and calming.
- Where Is The Met Cloisters Located? Visitors are encouraged to take the M4 bus from 190th Street to the last stop.
7 New York Transit Museum
For its size alone, the New York Transit Museum may appeal to those who cringe at crowds, big halls, walls of text, glass barriers, and the impersonal engagement common in a typical museum.The lower floor houses quite a number of subway cars that cover the whole history of New York City subways. The old train coaches, for instance, and the control station are quite a sight. The reason this museum is interactive is that guests can enter these old coaches, sit inside them, and even take pictures.
- How Much Is The Admission Fee To The New York Museum? The admission fee to the New York Transit Museum is $10.
6 The Tenement Museum
Someone who is not a fan of museums may just experience a conversion after visiting the snack-sized Tenement Museum. This museum highlights restored tenement apartments in a way that is just so evocative. Visitors will get the actual experience about how immigrants in the Big Apple lived several decades ago and in a completely different era.
- How Much Is The Admission Fee To The Tenement Museum? The admission fee to the Tenement museum is $30.
5 Whitney Museum Of American Art
While the Met is a behemoth that can easily overwhelm, “The Whitney,” as this museum is fondly referred to, isn’t that massive. The exciting part is that it comes with both indoor and outdoor spaces and provides some of the best views of the Big Apple. If there’s a do-not-judge-a-book-by-its-cover museum in New York City, the Whitney must just be it.
- How Much Is The Admission Fee To The Whitney Museum Of Art? Museum admission is Pay What You Wish on Fridays.
4 New York’s Guggenheim Museum
While the exhibits are a hit-and-miss, one thing absolutely no one can take away from New York’s Guggenheim Museum is its architectural finesse. Evidently, Frank Llyodd, America’s most famous architect, may have put in a little more work at New York’s Guggenheim Museum than at any other building he ever designed. And for someone not into museums, New York’s Guggenheim Museum is small, easily doable in a few hours, and has a design that offers only a few distractions.
3 Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Featuring a world-class design library, this museum highlights just about all disciplines of design. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is arguably the only museum in the United States devoted to historical and contemporary design. From ancient textiles to icons of modern design, this museum has it all.
2 Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Boasting a variety of interactive exhibits, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum will particularly appeal to those who enjoy airplanes. This is because this museum has a helicopter visitors can actually enter and simulators that provide the actual pilot experience. And yes, there's also a console where one can enjoy navigating a submarine.
1 Museum Of American Finance
This museum is unique in that it has nothing to do with art. Instead, it has a permanent collection that traces the fascinating history of Wall Street as well as that of the financial markets. The only museum dedicated to American finance also has touch-screen kiosks that let visitors explore the history of American banking.