Went there for free First Friday - free admission and scheduled activities. The museum has outdoors…read morespace for large sculptures, and a garden. There are 2 indoor floors. The pieces are in the open, not cordoned off so be careful not to touch them. Can refer to one of the laminated lists showing what's in a particular area. Some scheduled tours as well. Elevator, ramp for accessibility. Joined an art workshop in a room downstairs for first Fri - supplies and snacks/water provided, plus DJ music. Also chess boards were set-up in different areas of the museum. There is a gift shop, and restrooms. Close to Socrates Park so was a long walk from the Steinway St-M R station. I normally wouldn't mind if it wasn't a muggy afternoon. The Broadway N W station is a bit closer, also some bus lines.

A wise man once said those who delve into art....Let's begin this review!…read more The Noguchi Museum is a sculpture garden musuem dedicate to the works of Isamu Noguchi, artist and architect. He came to NYC as a teen in1922, you will see a handful of his sculptures in some of the buildings and airport. This museum has three floors and a basement, museum store and a garden. Today's admission is free due to 4th of July celebration. Museum's gallery section is unique and different from one another. Visitors are not allowed to take flash photography and touch the sculptures or art display. However, being me I put that to the test. Hehehe. Staff were obsequious and professional. Free wifi. Plenty street parking. Admission is affordable. Overall, I had a nice experience discovering Isamu's art.

Absolutely loved our small group tour through Chelsea art galleries. Merrily is delightful and the…read moreperfect guide - knowledgeable, prepared, and totally up to date on the ever-changing art scene in NYC. We had art novices in our group as well as those with more arts experience and we all had a great time. She shared interesting info about each artist, including previous work and info on future shows/exhibits. I am already looking forward to my next trip to New York and will book tours with her again and again, including the Chelsea tour as the exhibits change often.

Had a great small group tour today with Merrily. The galleries had each had different styles of…read morework and some really major artists. She also told us about interesting buildings along the way. Merrily 's style is informative, relaxed and knowledgeable, I never felt like we were in a "lecture". I'm so glad I went!

Two single day trips visiting gems on both sides of the Delaware River…read more This past season, I did two separate day trips with Hines tours. Both trips began in Northwest NJ & ended in PA; one of the trips then made a stop in NJ afterwards. The first trip was to Abraham Staats House South Bound Brook, NJ which dates back to the Revolutionary War.  Even as a NJ native, I never knew this place existed. The place was fascinating with period rooms, artifacts, and a performer on an instrument called a Hammered Dulcimer. We were then treated to a battle re-enactment done by actual descendants of the Revolutionary War.  We then went to Ringing Rocks Park in Upper Black Eddy, PA. We first walked on a trail leading us to a beautiful waterfall. What makes the park unique is the park's boulder rocks that do actually ring when you tap them with a hammer (hammers not included but some guests brought their own). On the second trip, the first stop was in Sussex county NJ at Sterling Mine Mineral Museum. This had been a working zinc mine until 1986 and opened as a Museum in 1989. We first toured the museum which housed their extensive gem collection. The museum space had been repurposed from the miners' locker room and had preserved the original lockers and the shower sprouts used by the miners. Our phenomenal tour guide then took us through the underground mine explaining the minerals and equipment used in the mines. We were immersed in the life of a daily miner including the demographics of the miners, different job specialties in the mine, and how miners were matched with their jobs in the mines. Our guide also explained the importance of zinc in our everyday lives and I now have added zinc to my daily regimen & feel better for that piece of advice. Our guide described how brilliant fluorescent minerals were accidentally discovered & we were treated to a brilliant light show both in the mines & at the Florescent Mineral Museum. After lunch, we drove over the Delaware River to Bushkill Falls in Poconos PA.These Falls, dubbed the Niagara Falls of PA, is a popular destination boasting 8 Waterfalls. Nik led a tour for those who wanted to join and hit all the waterfalls. Otherwise people could visit the falls at their own pace. Each waterfall was more spectacular than the last. There was plenty of viewing areas with places to sit and be mesmerized by the falls. Bonus that we saw the falls on a perfect sunny fall day.  During the first trip, on our way back to NYC, we then made a bonus stop at Red Hill Museum in Clinton NJ. This museum is highly photographed and had been on my bucket list but hadn't had the opportunity to visit as it's not too accessible by public transportation. We toured the mill and learned about the family who owned the mill, the industrial process, and life in the 1800s at the mill. For example, we saw a model school house which had listed on the wall not only the rules for students but also the rules to which rules teachers had to adhere during those times. The town itself was quaint and picturesque. I cannot recommend Hines Tours enough for a dosage of adventure, history, education, and fun.

I went on the Catskills Fall Foliage. It was wonderful We went on a cruise, a train ride and I…read morewent on a gondola at Bellayre Ski Lodge. Nik is great and I had a wonderful time

Walking through a world-class museum you may see and marvel at amazing, famous works of art. Or…read moreyou may see very new, contemporary works of art few have had the opportunity to enjoy. In both scenarios, Lauren Kaplan will help you understand and appreciate the art you are looking at by a multiple of ten thousand. You will be amazed and floored by her explanations, her breadth of knowledge and art history, the background of each artist, and the meaning the artist has infused in every work. She will help the entire art experience come alive in ways you do not expect. And you will wonder how you ever walked a museum or gallery without her. For us, she brought alive the Biennial at the Whitney and turned a simple museum visit to a huge learning experience. Am I recommending Lauren? More than that, I am suggesting you hire Lauren to make your art experience awaken and come alive in ways you could never predict.

My boyfriend's parents recently invited me on a private tour of the Guggenheim with Lauren Kaplan…read more Private tour! Guggenheim! I am no fool, so obviously I said yes. FYI, I'd never been on a professional museum tour and I'm not exactly a visual art fanatic-- I like specific types of art, hate some others. Well, Lauren was super eloquent and nice, and I really appreciated how the tour wasn't about getting you to necessarily love the art -- it was about providing you with the knowledge to understand the art, the processes behind it, etc. so that you could form your own educated opinion. She was totally nonjudgmental, and I would definitely recommend her to both art lovers and skeptics alike. Plus, she brought PROPS!!

10 out of 10 would recommend. Whitestone Branding, a 12 person branded products agency went for our…read moreoff site and it was the best off site event we've done. Highly recommend any team looking for an activity to do. Anna, our guide was hysterical, knowledgeable and all around enjoyable to be back! Just wish we had more time!! But we only budgeted 2 hours of our day for the museum.

It was great fun running around The Met, learning about the Bad Ass Women who can be found…read morethroughout the museum. Elizabeth was a fun, knowledgeable and energetic tour guide. She made the tour great!! We went to Sangria 46 for dinner and ordered mango sangria just because of a story she told us about a sculpture!!! This tour is a great way to experience a museum in a different way!! Thanks Elizabeth!!

Alex was a wonderful tour guide and a great asset in assisting me in planning my employers week in…read moreNew York for him and his teenage girls. She curated a tour specifically around the wants and interests of the group. She was flexible and happily changed course when the need arose. We also used her consulting services to buildout the rest of the trip with amazing restaurant recommendations, site seeing, and fun activities. I definitely recommend Alex and her services if you're looking for a fun interactive tour or need some great local recommendations. Thank you, Alex!

If you are looking to explore new places, the latest in art, theatre , music and more.... Please…read moreconsider Women of Culture... Alexandra Harper, WOC founder, curates insightful, fun events around art, music, theatre and more. check out www.womenofculture.org

We went on a Lower east side tour with Marian and had such a great time! She was personable and the…read morecompany was extremely accommodating to our schedule. The immersive art was interesting and something we never would have found on our own. Such a great experience for New Yorkers and tourists.

Great value for the money! Took a chance on a tour with these guys and really enjoyed it. Heart for…read moreArt Institute is a new and unique concept in a sea of culture that is New York City. Tour guide Gabi was excellent in her delivery of concise and interesting information and structuring an engaging tour. Our tour was on surviving the intrigues of the court of Henry VIII and was set up to mirror a Game of Thrones like storytelling based on various Metropolitan pieces relating to said time period, which I thought was very cool. Will definitely take another tour with this company and possibly write an updated review as they expand their offerings.

Having only a limited number of days in New York to check items off our bucket list, we needed an…read moreexcellent guide with a plethora of knowledge and enough spare energy to keep us going. I fortunately found New York Historical Tours under the ownership and direction of Kevin Draper, CEO (Chief Experience Officer). My wife and I had used a private tour guide while in Scotland, and had a wonderful one on one experience ~ away from groups and tailored to fit our style of tourism. Kevin was incredibly knowledgable, affable, professional and customized our bucket list to 1) see the Statue of Liberty with pedestal access and the new museum, 2) get a brief but comprehensive history of Ellis Island without disembarking, 3) work our way to Katz's Delicatessen (we are big "When Harry Met Sally" fans) all the while getting a feel and history of the local neighborhoods, as well as learning how to use the Metro system to develop a nice level of familiarity and comfort in the East Side of Manhattan where we were staying. A standout feature on a tour with Kevin is his attention to detail in planning our time together. I call him the Master of Timing and Positioning. For example he suggested catching the first ferry to the Statue of LIberty. When we met him, he had already purchased our tickets. While on the ferry, he kept us comfortably shaded, then took us to key positions to get the best views of Lady Liberty while giving us an incredibly interesting history of the Statue. By the time we left the island, it was getting swamped with tourists and school groups. Superb timing indeed. On the way to the Metro, he pointed out the very interesting history of Battery Park and surrounding buildings and branch of the Smithsonian museum. We wound our way through Little Italy, Chinatown, Nolita and Jewish neighborhoods on the way to Katz's. Amazingly the line was short, but a madhouse inside. Kevin knew how to maneuver to the right cutter, get a table and we had a delicious lunch. As we left, the line had grown to over a block long with over an hour wait. Again the Master's timing was impeccable. He gave us more fascinating history of different areas as we headed back to the Metropolitan Museum where we ended our incredible tour. Our 6 hour private tour went by so quickly, and we were comfortably exhausted. As a historian, Kevin is a walking talking wealth of knowledge about New York, and has tremendous pride in this amazing city. We can enthusiastically recommend him for those seeking the best in personal tours of the Big Apple. In fact, we look forward to using his services on a return trip to New York which can't come soon enough.

We went on their China Town & Little Italy tour of down town Manhattan. Dan was just terrific!…read more His enthusiasm was contagious that made our Birthday celebration weekend. We now want to go on all the tours that they offer.

Absolutely LOVED this tour!…read more I read about it recently as it was mentioned in O Magazine which is Oprah Winfrey's Magazine and I knew that I HAD to do a short trip from Chicago to NYC to take this signature and insightful tour lead by Professor Andrew Lear! Dr. Lear is the Founder and Master Guide of the Shady Lady Tours and is a leading scholar in the area of the history of sexuality. There were seven people in my group and we met at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in front of the Giant Pharaoh in the main lobby. Dr. Lear then distributed the entrance tickets and the Nasty Women of the MET Tour commenced. The Nasty Women of the MET focuses on the "[f]eisty, path-breaking women--women who had more power and/or independence than we usually think women in the past had." (According to Dr. Lear's Web Site). I saw many works of art that I probably would not have spent a lot of time exploring on my own..but Dr. Lear provided "the backstory" of each painting, sculpture, vessel, statue, and cultural artifacts that were explored. I have to admit that my favorites included the Gertrude Stein painting in which she was painted by Pablo Picasso and it took about 90 sittings to complete! I find her intriguing. I also was fascinated by the Female Pharaoh Hatshepsut of Egypt who ruled 1500 years before Cleopatra....in the Egyptian Wing. Hatshepsut's statue shows her dressed in female attire, "[b]ut she wears the nemes headcloth, a royal attribute usually reserved for the reigning king." (As listed in the MET's formal description of her statue sitting on the throne). The final stop was the John Singer Sargent portrait of a young woman Edith Minturn from the mid 1860s. While the artist's choice was a request that Ms. Minturn dress in an evening gown during the sitting she showed up in a two piece outfit in which her skirt did not touch the floor-but her shoes were readily seen. Her husband stands behind her and she smiles vibrantly as if she "knows" that she has clout, class, and authority as well as individuality. FYI-her husband stood in for Ms. Minturn's Great Dane when the dog became unavailable to sit for the portrait. The stories and featured art that is/was explored on this tour were exceptional and as diverse as the "Nasty Women" that were peppered throughout the MET. I would like to return to attend the "Shady Lady Tour." Truly impressive tour, well paced (2 hours) with an entertaining and educational experience provided by Dr. Lear.

Finally went on a tour with them again today. I was fortunate to have Andrew Lear be the guide. The…read moretour was educational, fun, and interesting. I say this as someone who doesn't really like art, but does in the way that he teaches it. It's amazing to me hearing about who the paintings or sculptures are actually of and the story that goes with them. Cool tidbit: The goddess Aphrodite was supposed to be executed but her lawyer pulled her top off exposing her boobs and then they acquitted her LOL. The Paris tour looks amazing as well but don't think I would ever be able to do it. In any case, if you want to go to the MET because you feel that you should but find art zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, take this tour. Two hours of showing you interesting pieces. Great way to spend a rainy, cold day in NYC.

Bill was our guide for our first visit to NYC. He could not have been more knowledgeable &…read moreprofessional. Our time was well spent with Bill. He knows the city & its history & its back stories ... Bill showed us the city in ways we would never have been able to manage on our own. Six stars if possible....... Highly Recommend!!

Bill, "The Street Teacher", couldn't have been more knowledgeable or more enthusiastic. I recommend…read morehim as a tour guide without reservation. He was generous with his time and made our tour a very personable experience. Check out his website!