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This spring and summer are great times to visit New York City and get out on the town. The beautiful weather makes strolling the streets of Manhattan an experience like no other. But the even better thing about New York City is that, even if the weather goes bad, there’s always something to do. The Lincoln Center always has something amazing going on and, of course, the lights and magic of Broadway are just minutes away on the same street as Hotel Beacon.

If you’re looking for an educational adventure, looking to expand your mind and experience the thrill of discovery, then the Upper West Side is most definitely for you. There are many museums just blocks away from Hotel Beacon ready to take you on an exciting journey into the past, into creativity, and into hours of fun. 

American Museum of Natural History

One of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, The American Museum of Natural History is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures. It was made even more famous by the movie Night at the Museum. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.

The museum also features the amazing Hayden Planetarium, pictured above.

Children’s Museum of Manhattan

Founded in 1973 by parents as a grassroots, neighborhood organization, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan is a beloved citywide resource for children, family, and educators as well as a popular destination for visitors from around the world. By creating experiences at the intersection of the arts, sciences, and the humanities, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan helps children and families thrive at home, at school, and in the community. These experiences include exhibitions, classes, workshops, performances, and festivals.

American Folk Art Museum

Since 1961 the American Folk Art Museum has been shaping the understanding of art by the self-taught through its exhibitions, publications, and educational programs. It’s a center of scholarship and showcases the creativity of individuals whose singular talents have been refined through experience rather than formal artistic training. Its collection includes more than seven thousand artworks dating from the eighteenth century to the present, from compelling portraits and dazzling quilts to powerful works by living, self-taught artists in a variety of mediums.

The Nicholas Roerich Museum

The mission of the Nicholas Roerich spans the realms of art, science, spirituality, peacemaking, and more. And that’s what you’ll find at The Nicholas Roerich Museum, which makes available to the public the full range of Roerich’s accomplishments. Roerich’s paintings, of which there are thousands around the world, explore the mythic origins, the natural beauty, and the spiritual strivings of humanity and of the world. The Museum houses approximately two hundred of these works, and keeps most of them permanently on display.

Museum of Art and Design

Focusing on the ways in which artists and designers transform the world around us through processes ranging from the artisanal to the digital, the Museum of Art and Design (MAD) is dedicated to creativity and craftsmanship. The museum’s permanent collection is global in scope and includes art, craft, and design from 1950 to the present day. Located at the famed Columbus Circle, MAD’s iconic building is impossible to miss with its textured façade of glazed terra-cotta tile and fritted glass.