Little Known Museums
When you come to New York City, museums like the Guggenheim, the MoMA and Museum of Natural History are on everyone’s short list. But what most people do not know is that there are hundreds of smaller museums and learning centers across the city. While the big boys get all the press, sometimes the true treasures of the city are kept in the little known museums. Here are a few to consider visiting:

Lower East Side Tenement Museum
108 Orchard Street
New York NY 10002
Phone: (212) 982 8420
Email: VC@tenement.org
Web: www.tenement.org

Piecing It Together Tour
Celebrate the 1897 birth of Max Levine in the apartment/garment shop run by his parents, Jennie and Harris from Poland. Then pay a shiva (bereavement) call to the Rogarshevsky family, mourning the loss of their father, Abraham, who worked as a presser in a garment factory until succumbing to tuberculosis in 1918. This tour is suitable for children 8 years & older.

Length: Approximately 1 hour
Tickets: Adults: $15, Students: $11, Seniors: $11

Tour Times
Tue-Fri (year-round): Every 40 minutes from 1:20 to 4:45 p.m.
Sat & Sun (year-round): Every half-hour from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Getting By Tour
Visit the apartments of the German-Jewish Gumpertz family in the 1870s and the Sicilian-Catholic Baldizzi family in the 1930s, and learn about the networks of support that were available to them during hard times. Discuss the development of social welfare in the United States, and compare the options that people had in the past to those that are available today. This tour is suitable for children 8 years & older.

Length: Approximately 1 hour.
Tickets: Adults: $15, Students: $11, Seniors: $11, Members: Free

Tour Times
Tue-Fri: Every 40 minutes from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
Sat & Sun: Every half-hour from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Confino Living History Tour
Perfect for kids and families, this “living history” apartment is based on the Sephardic-Jewish Confino family from Kastoria (once part of the Ottoman Empire, now in Greece). A costumed interpreter dressed as teenage Victoria Confino circa 1916 welcomes visitors as though they were newly arrived immigrants, teaching them how to adapt to America. The Confino tour is a hands-on experience and visitors can touch any items in the apartment. This tour is suitable for children 5 years and older.

Length: Approximately 1 hour.
Tickets: Adults: $14, Students: $10, Seniors: $10, Members: Free

Tour Times
Sat & Sun: Noon, 1, 2 & 3 p.m.

Lower East Side Stories: Neighborhood Walking Tour
In collaboration with local residents, The Tenement has created a walking tour that looks at the neighborhood’s past and present, focusing on specific sites in both historical and contemporary contexts. This tour is suitable for children 8 years & older and is also wheelchair accessible.

Length: Approximately 90 minutes.
Tickets: Adults: $15, Students: $11, Seniors: $11, Members: Free

Regular Hours
Sat & Sun: 1 & 3 p.m. This tour is offered from April through December.

The Cloisters
Fort Tryon Park
New York, New York 10040
Phone: 212-650-2290
Web: www.metmuseum.org

Even some New Yorkers do not know about the Cloisters. This hidden gem, located on the far north of the western side of Manhattan, is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Cloisters is an exact replica of a medieval monastery, complete with gardens and European-style courtyards.

This museum was created by a various generous donation of land from the Rockefeller family, who also donated most of the exhibits as well. They even made possible the moving of several sections of actual French medieval monasteries, which make up the buildings of the Cloister. Within these walls are an extensive collection of statues, paintings, tapestries and stained glass windows. Some of these pieces date back to the 12th century and run up through the 15th centuries.

The Cloisters also contain an impressive collection of religious artifacts and icons. The illuminated manuscripts are worth the visit alone, as are the works of medieval goldsmiths and silversmiths. They just do not create metal work like they used too, as some of the exhibited pieces required years of a master’s hand and deft touch.

Once you have taken in the wonders inside, it is time to take-in the peaceful serene atmosphere outside. The cloistered gardens, which give the museum its name, are interlocking courtyard affair that would remind visitors of the countryside monasteries of Spain and France. These gardens, which perfectly frame the building, are located at the top of hill in the middle of Fort Tryon Park. From here, views of the Hudson River and hills of New Jersey will make visitors think that they are upstate somewhere, not still in the Big Apple.

Collection Highlights Tours
Guided tours are offered Tuesdays through Fridays at 3:00 p.m. and Sundays at noon. These tours of the collection are free with Museum admission for individual visitors. No reservations are required. Since the collection is constantly being restored, each trip is an adventure through medieval history.

Concerts at The Cloisters
Concerts are held in the 12th-century Fuentidueña Chapel from Spain. This chapel is both visually and acoustically beautiful, the perfect site for the performance of medieval music. For information about specific upcoming concerts, consult the online calendar at www.metmuseum.org, or call 212-650-2290.

Museum of
Television & Radio
25 West 52nd Street
(between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas)
Phone: 212-621-6800
Web: www.mtr.org

If you are trying to find radio and television shows you loved as a child, then this is the museum for you. On over a 100 consoles, visitors can watch anything from “Howdy Doody” to “The Electric Company” to Edward R. Murrow covering World War II to hearing Franklin D. Roosevelt delivering his “Fireside Chats.” The museum has an incredible collection of over 120,000 programs—including newscasts, public affairs programs, documentaries, performing arts programs, comedy and variety shows, sports, children’s programming and commercial advertising—all covering more than 70 years of television and radio history.

The collection spans all genres: comedy, drama, news, public affairs, performing arts, children’s, sports, reality, animation, and documentary, and includes a significant international presence, with 7,000 assets from 70 countries.

For the Kids!
The museum also offers Re-Creating Radio Workshops every Saturday for children ages 9 to 14. This program shows your family how classic radio programs were made. It provides the opportunity to read scripts, operate sound-effects equipment and bring to life stories from “Superman,” “The Shadow” and “The Lone Ranger.” Your performance is recorded and you receive copies of the audiocassette to take home.

Contact for the Radio Workship:
212-621-6600, Reservations  Required
Admission for Re-Creating Radio: $5 per person