I’m still visiting every museum in NYC. Here are 9 of my favorites from 2024.

Since 2021, I’ve been to 123 museums in New York City in an attempt to see every one. (If you’re a Gothamist regular, you may recall my article from last year.)

Now, wrapping up my fourth year of this project, I’m starting to wonder if this will ever end. Museums and “museum experiences” keep opening.

When I began, I estimated there were about 150 museums in the city. Since then, smaller ones have come to my attention and new ones have opened, bringing the total close to 190.

This has me wondering: What, exactly, is a museum? Does it have to have “museum” in the title? Does it have to be in a traditional gallery space? Could it be in someone’s home? Does it have to be permanent? What about for-profit museums?

While I have not yet landed on a rigid definition of “museum,” I’ve learned I’m drawn to ones that promote or serve their communities. I’ve had the privilege of visiting museums started by everyday people. The Woodside Heights Art Museum (WHAM!), for example, was created by a curator-artist couple as a way to celebrate the history of their neighborhood.

It's located in the front window and side yard of their home in Woodside, and presents exhibitions by local artists and hosts events. So while it's not as big as the Met or MoMA, in a way, it may have a more tangible impact for those it serves.

If you’re looking to expand your museum savvy in the city, here are nine of my favorite museums I visited in 2024.

Salvator Mundi Museum of Art (Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn)

The Salvator Mundi Museum of Art asks, “What if the 'Salvator Mundi' [an iconic painting by Leonardo Da Vinci] was a brand?” With that comes "Salvator Mundi" pasta sauce, "Salvator Mundi" coffee and a "Salvator Mundi" museum located in an apartment vestibule.

The entire project is a remarkable piece of conceptual art and study of what makes a museum a museum. It has all the components you’d find at a “typical” museum: rotating exhibits (earlier this year it had one about Barbie’s ties to "Salvator Mundi"), a little gift shop and now a museum café (the restaurant next door).

The museum is open daily. It also offers private tours and host events. More details can be found on its website.

Historic Richmond Town (Richmond, Staten Island)

In the center of Staten Island, you’ll find Historic Richmond Town, one of the most unique spaces in the city. It’s a collection of more than 30 historic buildings, many of which were relocated from other parts of the island. Walking through Historic Richmond Town, I learned more about the American experience from the Colonial period to the present.

They host so many different tours and events that change throughout the seasons as well as the annual county fair. This place feels like a village of its own, with a visitor center located in a former courthouse at the center of the town. Its existence has me a bit jealous of the Staten Island residents who get to visit often.

It seems like the most exciting time to visit is in the warmer months because of their Open Village immersive experience, which includes costumed interpreters and demonstrations in houses across the campus. But my visit in March was quite spectacular. I took the Two Centuries tour, visiting four of the historical buildings on campus. You can learn more about Historic Richmond Town here.

WHAM! The Woodside Heights Art Museum (Woodside, Queens)

The only 24-hour museum I’ve gone to so far, WHAM!, is a charming museum. The main exhibition is in the front window of a Queens house. There are sculptures and art in the side yard. While learning the history of their neighborhood, the founders realized that few, if any, museums in the city were sharing Woodside stories and decided to do it themselves.

You can view the museum any time of day or visit exhibition openings (usually Memorial Day and Labor Day), which feature free seltzer, a popcorn bar and the world’s first Dollar Store Museum Gift Shop, which sells little pieces of art and tchotchkes — everything costs $1.

This is a charming hidden gem and you can learn more here.

To visit the Sign Museum, you have to send an email and make an appointment.

New York Sign Museum (East New York, Brooklyn)

I have a fondness for museums that exist in active spaces, like the New York Sign Museum, which is located in Noble Signs’ studio in Brooklyn. Some highlights include the neon sign from Brooklyn’s Queen Italian Restaurant, the main sign from Broadway’s beloved Star Lite Deli and another from the Lower East Side restaurant Bongos, all which have closed.

When Noble's crew isn’t making new signs for businesses around the city, they are rescuing old ones to preserve for the collection. The museum doesn't have public hours, and appointments to view the collection are available on a limited basis by emailing nysignmuseum@gmail.com. You can learn more about the museum’s work on its website.

Lewis H. Latimer House (Flushing, Queens)

One of the gifts of this project is the opportunity to learn incredible stories I wouldn’t have sought out on my own, like the life story of inventor Lewis H. Latimer, the namesake of the recently remodeled Lewis H. Latimer House Museum.

Lewis Howard Latimer, who lived in the house, was the son of self-emancipated enslaved people, as well as an inventor, a self-taught draftsman, a U.S. Navy landsman and a father. He contributed to the invention of the lightbulb and the telephone, arguably some of the most important inventions ever. Through photographs, mementos and interactive installations, the museum tells the stories of his remarkable life and honors him by presenting STEAM programming to visitors of all ages.

It is a wonderful intersection of Black history, Queens pride and innovation. Learn more here

Paley Center for Media (Midtown, Manhattan)

Like many millennials, I watched hours of TV every day after school, so I think my life changed when I went to the Paley Center for Media for the first time because so much American TV and radio history was suddenly at my fingertips.

Formerly the Museum of Television & Radio and the Museum of Broadcasting, the center is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the history of TV, radio and emerging media. It has new exhibitions every month or so, screenings every day, a full gaming center and the goldmine that is the Paley Archive, where the center has digitized thousands of TV and radio programs that you can easily watch with your museum admission.

I immediately returned here after my first visit so I could spend hours in their archive. It contains some rare treasures, such as an unaired pilot of “The Muppet Show” and an unaired documentary about the making of “West Side Story.” To learn more, visit the website.

Climate Museum (various locations as a pop-up museum)

Every day I see another video about a new New York City pop-up, typically a big brand trying to get you to buy things. It’s exciting when there is a pop-up that separates itself from capitalism, like the Climate Museum.

It has been operating through pop-up exhibitions as it searches for a permanent space, and is the first museum in the country dedicated to climate education. This year, the museum showcased “The End of Fossil Fuel” at a storefront in SoHo, which educated visitors about the dangers of the fossil fuel industry and taught them how they can start making changes. While the museum doesn't have an exhibition open right now, you can learn more about its work here.

Wyckoff House (Canarsie, Brooklyn)

Two very exciting things I must share about this museum are that this is the oldest building in New York City AND they let me feed chickens here. The Wyckoff House Museum tells the story of the Wyckoff family that lived here over generations, but it’s also a fully operating farm and community space. As such, the museum provides agricultural education and resources to the neighborhoods of East Flatbush and Canarsie. It hosts Free Family Days every month, a farm stand and many events and workshops.

Check out all of the great work happening at the Wyckoff House here.

Museum of Interesting Things (West Village)

This museum had been on and off my list a few times because I did not think it was real. And even after I called the curator to make an appointment, Venmo-ed him a deposit and received an email with the address of an apartment building, I had no clue what to expect.

A visit to the Museum of Interesting Things is kind of a show. Founder Denny Daniel takes you on a tour of more than a century of invention and innovation that led us to the technologies we have today. You get to hold and interact with the museum’s unique collection, which includes a camera obscura, a mutoscope and other fun inventions.

And to wrap up the visit, I got to unbox a new museum acquisition. What other museum includes a mystery item reveal? Mine was 16mm film reels and glass slides of Central Park. A visit here is so joyous and makes you feel like a kid again.

To book a tour, call 212-274-8757 or email dennydanielx@gmail.com. The museum also hosts a Secret Speakeasy event every Sunday where it screens 16mm films. Learn more at the website.