Museums in Brooklyn: How to Choose a Visit

When comparing museums in Brooklyn, start with what you want to see. The New York Transit Museum is set inside the decommissioned Court Street subway station at 99 Schermerhorn Street.

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum focuses on interactive exhibits and hands-on cultural and science programs for children ages 6 months to 10 years. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers a different kind of outing, and its same-day Museum & Garden ticket is one way to pair it with the neighboring Brooklyn Museum.

These options serve different plans: a look at transit history, a visit shaped around children’s activities, or a garden-and-museum combination. The Brooklyn Museum also has suggested admission, though its pay-what-you-can tickets must be purchased in person and do not apply to ticketed exhibitions.

For a visit centered on public transport, head to the New York Transit Museum. Its setting in a former subway station makes the location part of the subject, and the museum says it can be reached via more than 20 subway and bus lines.

For younger children, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum has three floors of interactive exhibits, with programs covering culture and science. Its stated age range runs from 6 months to 10 years, so it’s the clearest fit among these choices for a family visit organized around hands-on activities.

If you want to combine a garden with an art museum, consider the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Museum. The institutions are neighbors, and the Garden’s Museum & Garden ticket provides same-day admission to both. It excludes ticketed museum exhibitions and special events, and the Brooklyn Museum is closed Tuesdays.

Admission arrangements differ, so compare the options that apply to your group before setting a plan.

New York Transit Museum

Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for children ages 2–17 and $10 for seniors age 62 and older. Members and MTA employees enter free. The museum recommends advance reservations, and only a limited number of tickets are available on site. Visitors with disabilities pay $10; that rate excludes groups of five or more visitors.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum

General admission is $15 per person, with free entry for members. Community Access Thursdays offer free admission from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. You can reserve tickets online in advance or get them at the museum that day; group visits are restricted during that period.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Brooklyn Museum

The Garden’s listed box-office admission is $22 for adults, $16 for seniors age 65 and older and students age 12 and older with ID, and free for children under 12. It offers pay-what-you-wish admission on winter weekdays, Tuesday through Friday from November through February. A portion of each day’s tickets is available free to visitors who need them.

Garden tickets are available 30 days in advance, and same-day tickets may also be obtained at the admission booths. All visitors need a ticket, including members and affiliates with free tickets.

For the Brooklyn Museum, suggested admission means you can pay what you can, but those tickets must be bought in person and the arrangement does not cover ticketed exhibitions.

The New York Transit Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Its main entrance is down two flights of stairs; a wheelchair-accessible entrance is at the corner of Schermerhorn and Court Streets.

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with last entry at 4:50 p.m. It is closed Monday and Tuesday. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s November and December hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–3:30 p.m. It is closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

For the Garden, the 2 or 3 train serves the Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum stop for its Eastern Parkway entrances. The B, Q or S trains serve Prospect Park for the Flatbush Avenue entrance; there is no B train on weekends. The Garden lists entrances at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway and 455 Flatbush Avenue.

Before you go, check the official site for each museum or garden for current hours, admission and ticket details.

Use The Vue Express @ 39th Street as a base in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, then choose one museum or make the Garden and Brooklyn Museum your paired visit.

For a broader neighborhood plan, see this guide to Sunset Park’s views and access. If you want to add an outdoor stop on another part of your trip, the Brooklyn Bridge visit guide covers that outing.

For the Garden and Brooklyn Museum, check the weekday and ticket details first, especially if you’re planning around the Garden’s winter pay-what-you-wish admission. For the Transit Museum, consider reserving ahead because on-site tickets are limited. If you’re visiting with children, note the Children’s Museum’s last-entry time and its free Thursday afternoon period when mapping out the day.