Museum Access Review -
NY Transit Museum

Find my other reviews & learn about my reviews here

 

Image of the entrance to the New York Transit Museum with the text “Access Review” on top

 

Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the NY Transit Museum in Brooklyn and its exhibits as a way to prep folks with various needs before they visit.

This is not meant to scare anyone away from going. As I say when I review shows, most have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written out.

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy their experience because they know what to expect and can accommodate their needs better. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful!

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

General Access

This museum has put SO much care into their access options so please check out the access section of their website! They also have a social narrative in the “sensory-friendly” section which has some photos of the different spaces you will go through in the museum.

  • the museum is underground and you reach it via steps down (like a subway station) but there is a wheelchair lift at the accessible entrance

  • because the museum is built like a subway station, it can be quite cold in there and the floors are concrete so if your body is sensitive to walking on specific surfaces, choose shoes accordingly!

  • when we were there, the target audience was primarily children and the space was somewhat echoey so ear defenders were very helpful

  • there is one bathroom between the first and second room in the museum, they are divided into the binary

  • there are benches scattered in the second room (of 3)

  • you can borrow free sensory-friendly toolkits from the museum staff which have headphones and a museum checklist with pictures. The website also says the museum is quietest from 1-4pm on Thu/Fri

  • they offer tactile guides with graphics and images in raised-line formats and braille as well as a smart pen with audio descriptions. They also offer guided tours.

  • they offer FM assistive-listening devices (headset and neck loops)

  • the museum exhibits have ample space for wheelchair mobility, though a handful of spaces may become slightly squishy if there are lots of people there at the same time. The bottom floor has vintage trains, not all of those are wheelchair accessible, but they have virtual tours of all of the train cars online 

  • personal care attendants going with disabled visitors can enter the museum for free, they just need to use the code “PCA” at checkout. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for disabled folks

The Exhibits

The museum is laid out kind of like a straight line and then the vintage trains are below that. The Steel, Stone, and Backbone exhibit is where you start, on the left side, the right side has an exhibit about the history of tokens and turnstiles, and then you go into a photography exhibit with lots of photos of the subways being built.

After that you go through a door (the bathrooms are right here) into a room about buses and trolleys. This one has less words and more things to play in, so we found it to be a bit louder than other exhibits because the kids generally congregated there.

We then walked back the first section of the museum and went down the stairs to the subway platform to explore all of the vintage trains. They are on either side of the track so you can go down one side and up the other. 

Straight ahead through the exit turnstiles is the gift shop.

Overall

I don’t normally add my specific experience into these access reviews, but this place just felt so wholesome and kind and I learned so much and I highly recommend checking it out! 

I was there with some friends and we were very stimmy and playing in all the things that seemed “meant” for kids and had SO much fun. I often get nervous going to places to engage in special interests because of how I’m perceived, but the employees were all super kind and all of the adults there with young kids were very kind and accommodating as well. We felt super safe to just be us.

My favorite part was reading all of the advertisements in the old trains. The amount of military propaganda and alcohol ads that used to be in the Subways is fascinating.

(Oh and it took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to do the whole museum while reading everything)