We had an amazing time at the Color Factory. Two teenagers (moody and hard to please) and two…read more"uncool" moms. We all had a great time. Pictures, dancing, confetti! So much stinking fun. The medium is reasonably price and hats off to April who was kind and explained how to make this the best experience. We definitely recommend this while in New York.

We spent a nice, chilly afternoon at this spot and the kids loved it. This is similar to the selfie…read moremuseums out there like the Ice Cream Museum, Museum of selfies, etc. But I enjoyed the explanation of all of the colors, and shades. There were so many interactive elements and we all loved the confetti room. You're also given a QR code where you can scan it and get copies at the end (after purchasing them). The location in Soho is fun, with so many great shops and restaurants nearby. The hit of the place was the ball pool at the end (again, similar to the sprinkle pool at the Museum of Ice Cream). My kids spent hours here. The ball pool kindof smelled like poop. Not gonna lie, it was definitely a stinky spot. There was a sign nearby that explained the balls were disinfected by some type of filtration system. Okay! Regardless of the poop smell, we all had a great time! And used lots of hand sanitizer afterwards.

We got a Groupon for this place, which makes the price a lot more reasonable. They don't open until…read more1 pm on the weekends, and on Saturdays they don't even give guided tours. Instead, they give an "augmented reality" audio tour which is kind of hit or miss. The house was preserved for the historical significance of the Townsend family, one of which was a spy for George Washington. I didn't feel there was a ton of information on the family though. Pointing their phone at the different objects in a room turned on audio about them, but only a couple of rooms in the actual house were interactive. The rest didn't have signs, and one loan employee was around to answer questions at the end. The exhibit in the visitor center was nice though. I just don't think the AR experience was really up to replacing a person, both in amount of information and the uncanny valley, unnerving portraits. There is street parking and a nearby lot that are free on weekends. The gift shop is minimal. It was an okay spot to visit, but I would recommend coming on Sunday or whenever they offer actual tours to get a more thorough understanding of the house and the history of the people who lived here.

We went here on a winter weekend, and were fortunate to have the builsings to ourselves. The…read morehelpful staff took out modest admission fee and explained that they don't do tours on Saturdays but they do have tour devices using augmented reality. That means that when you walk through the buildings, you scan the cell phone device on important paintings and artifacts and they talk to you with further information about who or what they are. The small building that contains the entrance is packed with paintings, dioramas, documents and artifacts. Next you walk to the main house, built in the 1730's, and housing the Townsend family. At the time of the Revolutionary War, Samuel had to make room for a British colonel. In spite of the fact that he sympathised with the patriots, he maintained good relations with his "Guest." At the time of the war, the house had eight rooms. One of his sons was one of the leaders of the Culpepper Spy Ring, Placing the home on the National Registry of Historic Places. Each room was elegantly decorated, with the exception of the space for the enslaved housekeeper. In spite of the fact that we didn't get a formal tour, the staff member tagged along with us and kept up a spirited conversation - even giving us a bonus look at the Victorian wing which doubled the size of the structure. The house is said to be haunted, of course. Very highly recommended. The full set of photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/terryballard/albums/72177720323110655

Had a wonderful afternoon at LI Museum in Stony Brook. The staff were very informative.read more

This review is for the art museum located further back from the carriage house…read more I absolutely adore art and the exhibit on display currently is both moving and beautiful.if you haven't visited yet I highly recommend exploring the local art if you're interested in Long Island and its artists.

What can you really say about interactive art!? Well I'll tell you! It's so cool!! Being able to…read morefinally go to a museum where you can touch and draw and just be immersed in the experience of art is so much fun! The Arte is actually a really great exhibit. I've been to one that has the slightest edge on the Arte but only because the Arte is actually quite small in comparison. I do wish they had a few more rooms for you to go in especially for it being in NY you would think it would be overwhelmingly huge but nope. We bought the cafe experience with our tickets and it honestly was a little blah. It's only $5 so I won't take away a star for that but the tables had interactive art on them so that was a bonus. The cons are once you enter the cafe you can't go back through that's it! Tour over! So make sure you do all the things before you get there! I do give it a 5 out of 5 because it's still really cool and fun to just go have the experience!

An 'OK' experience. I don't think it's as immersive as it's made out to be, but is midly…read moreinteresting nonetheless. You go from room to room, and the rooms are big enough so that even when there's a lot of people there's still plenty of room. The rooms are also dark and mirrored, and I saw a couple people hit the wall. If you're into Instagram and whatnot, you'll love this place. Otherwise this place is pretty meh. The price could also stand to be half of what it is.

Yesterday, was a glorious Sunday at the Long Island Maritime Museum, in West Sayville. There was a…read moreseafood festival, taking place outdoors, in the beautiful grounds of this park-like settings.. The weather was perfect. Warm and sunny. The breeze coming from the Marina was very pleasant. Picnic chairs and blankets were scattered around. Food, drinks, live music were the perfect combo. Me and my parents arrived at 3:30 pm. It was packed with people of all ages, and of course, a lot of children were present. Several food trucks were scattered around the park area of the museum. The best empanadas were from Island Empanadas food truck. The shrimp mango empanada were delicious! Moist inside, and the crispy crust was amazing. Let's not forget grilled corn and fresh oysters we're also on my radar. I also enjoyed a glass of summer ale while I was people-watching. It was the best way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon.

Visit Date: Unsure…read more Came here with my husband and son during a rainy day. The museum is pretty small but they have a few different houses dedicated to the maritime history of Long Island. Because of covid you're not allowed to browse the gift shop if there's something you want to buy the museum staff have to show you and if you want to buy it than you can have it and touch it all you want. Got my son a hat. We saw the main museum and the oyster house because certain buildings had doors that couldn't be open due to wood swelling or expansion or something like that. Despite a rainy day the outside views of the water were still pretty nice to look at.

Through my local library, I was able to obtain a free General Admission pass for up to 2 adults and…read more4 children for the Vanderbilt Museum on Sunday, June 21, 2026. Both Planetarium show and Mansion tour are add-ons for an additional charge and subject to availability. Currently, the operating hours for Saturday and Sunday are 11:00 am to 5:00 pm with last admission at 4:30 pm. Summer hours begin Saturday, June 27: Tuesday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm with last admission 4:30 pm. When I arrived on Sunday around 11:00 am, there were already a good amount of cars in the parking lot but there is still plenty of spots. We walked over to Planetarium/Admissions and showed our digital pass. The staff were very friendly and gave us a map to show us what we have access to with general admission yellow wristbands. General Admission includes access to the Vanderbilt Mansion (including the Habitat and Stoll Wing animal dioramas, and natural-history and cultural-artifact galleries in the Memorial Wing), The Hall of Fishes marine museum, Planetarium exhibits, and the grounds and gardens. It was really cool to walk around and check out the mansion. The main entrance is a cobble-stone driveway and a bell-tower looms above. This leads you to the central courtyard and I felt transported to a different country. With its ironwork, red tile roof and central courtyard, the mansion's Spanish architectural style stands out. Mr. William Vanderbilt spent over thirty years on scientific expeditions aboard his 250-foot yacht, the Alva, bringing back over 17,000 varieties of marine specimens. The marine and natural history museum is filled with the figurines of underwater creatures. We also met and spoke with the staff inside the mansion. They were very informative and friendly. The Vanderbilt Museum is definitely worth visiting.

And the Long Island stoners rejoice: yo man, let's smoke up and see a Van Halen laser show…read more. Vanderbilt Museum, when I moved to Long Island? It was like the Fresh Air fund for me! I thought everyone lived in these mansions with manicured gardens. Now add rock music and a laser show? Yes, sharks with freakin' laser beams shows! I remember coming here on a date with my girlfriend (now wife) in the 90s and seeing a Pink Floyd laser show. I was a little perturbed because they only played New Pink Floyd. Brah, I wanna rock out to MONEY! My wife, bless her heart, bought us two tickets to see the Van Halen laser show. All these years later, we're back. And trust me, I'm still impressed with the beauty of the property. We walk down the hill to the actual planetarium. There's a couple of stoners on line, if they keep quiet during the performance then no one is gonna have problems. The theater is shaped like a circle, there's no bad seats. The doors close and for an hour, I had Van Halen music crankin'! The actual show, the lasers seem a little dated. I went to The Sphere in Vegas a few months ago, this is old technology. But, it's on Long Island and people still enjoyed the shows. 3.5 Yelp stars

This is an amazing museum. Very humbling and it shows the history of SEALs well…read more There are two displays outside that you should see as well. If you don't know the story of Michael Murphy, it's worth looking up and visiting the museum as well. You check in to buy tickets right when you get inside. The young lady behind the counter offered to give us a a brief description of the museum is all about. She did a great job. There's a small gift shop as well. The museum starts at the very beginning and the origin of the TEAMs and takes you thru each evolution and era and what they are today. Theres also a section dedicated to the story of Mr Murphy. His Medal of Honor is also on display . The most humbling part was the wall of deceased SEALs.

I had no idea this was here, but what a find. Really very well done small museum packed with…read morefascinating information about the history and practices of the SEALs. Highly recommended.

My second time here. It's an interesting building. Now this time the regular collection was not on…read moredisplay. They were nice about it and discounted the admission price. What was on display was Shirin Nishat Born of Fire . It's a pretty good exhibit.Iranian- American photographer. Wouldn't go out of my way to go but if you're in the area, worthwhile!

Parrish Art Museum is kind of hidden when you get past the main sign. It is in this building that…read moreon the outside you would not know that it is a museum. When you walk in there is a gift shop with very pretty objects. This museum is not big by any means but its a good size and has a few exhibits. One exhibit we saw was kAWS which I loved. This museum also has a cafe where you can get snacks and drinks. They also have some seating there. This museum is on a great piece of land so it has greenery all over. The staff here were nice and helpful.