New York City is a multicultural hub with dozens of museums, hundreds of parks and millions of people. The number of potential things to see and do can feel overwhelming, but NY1 has you covered with some of the highlights taking place this weekend across the five boroughs.
‘Divine Egypt’ at the Met
Open through Jan. 19
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan
More information here
This exhibit at the Met, which explores the way Egyptians depicted their gods, includes nearly 250 objects and works of art.
The museum says the Egyptians’ belief system grew to include more than 1,500 gods — from the falcon-headed Horus to the lion-headed Sakhmet — and the exhibit “reveals the many roles they played in people’s lives.”
Celebrate MLK at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Sunday, Jan. 18 and Monday, Jan. 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
More information here
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum invites parents to bring their kids to learn about “the power of peaceful protest, imagination, and service, in the spirit of the late Civil Rights Movement leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Kids will make their own protest signs for a march around the museum, led by Grammy-nominated artist Fyütch. There will also be a puppet-making workshop and interactive shadow puppet performance inspired by Dr. King’s speeches, and a celestial monoprinting workshop in the museum’s art studio.
Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday
Saturday, Jan. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 18 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
2640 Grand Concourse, the Bronx
More information here
Celebrate the late poet Edgar Allan Poe’s 217th birthday — Jan. 19 — by visiting the home where he wrote some of his most celebrated works.
New York Public Library, Queens Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library card holders get free admission. The Bronx Historical Society says it was Poe’s final home.
Happy birthday, Edgar Allan Poe! The famous American writer lived in this cottage, located today at Poe Park in the Bronx. Here, he wrote some of his most renowned works, including his poems “Annabel Lee,” “The Bells,” and “Eureka.” pic.twitter.com/kuxq7aV6Qh
— NYC Parks (@NYCParks) January 19, 2022
MoMA Mart
Open through March 29
MoMA Design Store, Manhattan
More information here
A pop-up at the Museum of Modern Art’s Design Store is made to look like a grocery store — but nothing is edible. The products may look like croissants, tacos, mustard and milk, but they’re actually everything from lamps and candles to stools, bags and timers.
The exhibit is an exploration of food as form, with all items available for purchase.
Grand Central Tours
Saturday, Jan. 17 at 11 a.m.
Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan
More information here
The Municipal Art Society of New York was instrumental in preserving Grand Central, and has relaunched tours of the landmark transit hub.
The society was founded in 1893 as a civic association working towards a more livable city. The tours offer insight into the history of Grand Central, including the answers to some questions commuters may have formed in their daily travels.
The Great Borough Bake-Off
Open through Jan. 19, 2026
Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan
More information here
This is the last weekend to check out the gingerbread versions of city sights like brownstones, bridges, bodegas and ballparks, created by professional and amateur bakers alike.
The competition includes bakers from all five boroughs, with each asked to make something that represents their community.
‘Monet and Venice’
Open through Feb. 1, 2026
Brooklyn Museum
More information here
“Monet and Venice” is New York’s largest museum show dedicated to impressionist painter Claude Monet in more than 25 years, according to the Brooklyn Museum, featuring more than 100 works of art.
The museum says it’s the first exhibition to focus on Monet’s paintings of Venice. Curators say it’s an “underexplored chapter in the artist’s late career” after he once claimed the city was “too beautiful to be painted.”
‘Paper Jane: 250 Years of Austen’
Open through Feb. 14, 2026
The Grolier Club, Manhattan
More information here
An exhibition celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, “Paper Jane: 250 Years of Austen” includes a “kaleidoscopic mix of 110 objects,” organized chronologically at 50-year intervals.
The timeline moves from 1825 to 2025, and includes “rare first editions, manuscripts, popular reprintings, movie posters, illustrations and theater playbills,” among other items.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘The Future Was Then: The Changing Face of Fascist Italy’
Open through Feb. 26
The Poster House, Manhattan
More information here
An exhibition at The Poster House explores how the fascist government of Italy under Benito Mussolini influenced the art of the period.
The exhibit features 75 pieces that chronicle Mussolini’s regime, and focuses on “the often blurred line between propaganda and art.”
Bumper Cars at Bryant Park
Open through Feb. 28, 2026
Bryant Park, Manhattan
More information here
“Bumper Cars on Ice” is back at Bryant Park’s Winter Village.
The parks says the activity is for ages 7 and up, and recommends reserving a time slot in advance.
Holiday Train Show at Grand Central
Open through February 2026
Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan
More information here
Another train show for the holiday season, the New York Transit Museum at Grand Central’s offering is smaller than what’s on display at the New York Botanical Garden, but no tickets are required.
The exhibit features model trains running through a 34-foot-long display — departing from a miniature Grand Central and passing by other iconic New York City landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. The Transit Museum’s collection of model trains includes Metro-North, Polar Express and vintage subway train sets.
‘Urban Stomp’
Open through February 2026
Museum of the City of New York, Manhattan
More information here
An exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York, “Urban Stomp: Dreams & Defiance on the Dance Floor,” guides visitors through a rich history of social dances born, shaped or popularized in the city.
There are around 30 video tutorials teaching the steps of dance styles like the foxtrot, Lindy Hop, salsa, hip-hop, breaking, hustle and vogue, with related cultural artifacts on display.
Ice Skating in Manhattan
Open through March 2026
Rockefeller Center, Manhattan
Wollman Rink, Central Park
Rockefeller tickets here
Wollman tickets here
Ice skating is open for the season at The Rink at Rockefeller Center and at Wollman Rink in Central Park.
Rockefeller Center’s website calls skating on its rink of the city’s “quintessential winter activities.”
Skip the cabin fever. Take your family for a spin on The Rink at Rockefeller Center Presented by Chase Freedom. pic.twitter.com/CjDEpNSsCd
— Rockefeller Center (@rockcenternyc) February 28, 2025
‘FAREwell, MetroCard’
Now open
New York Transit Museum, Brooklyn
More information here
After more than three decades in use, the MetroCard is retiring. A new exhibit at the New York Transit Museum invites visitors to learn about its history, including its debut in 1994, the technology behind it and its lasting legacy.
At Chelsea Market in Manhattan, art made from MetroCards is hanging on the walls near the Ninth Avenue entrance, including framed creations of cats, the five boroughs and a school bus.
Street Food City
Open Thursdays to Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.
Museum of Food and Drink, Brooklyn
More information here
A new exhibit at the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) in Brooklyn is dedicated to the city’s smallest food businesses and the immigrant entrepreneurs who have shaped the city’s flavor and culture.
Organizers say Street Food City “traces the challenges faced by street food entrepreneurs of the past to today’s fight for vendor rights.” The exhibit’s curator, Catherine Piccoli, and MOFAD president Nazli Parvizi also joined NY1 to discuss the exhibit.
‘Empire Skate of Mind’
Open daily until April 12, 2026
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
More information here
The Brooklyn Children’s Museum has transformed its rooftop terrace into a retro rink described by organizers as a nod to the Empire Roller Rink that lasted in Brooklyn from the 1940s until 2007.
Tickets are required for the all-ages celebration. Skates, helmets and wrist guards are provided.
Studio Museum in Harlem
Open daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
144 West 125th St., Manhattan
More information here
The Studio Museum in Harlem has reopened after being closed for nearly eight years.
The museum, which is dedicated to presenting and collecting the work of Black artists, returns with a variety of exhibits on display.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs’
Now open
American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan
More information here
A new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History looks at the impact of the asteroid strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
The exhibition also explores how the Earth recovered from the event, including how it paved the way for new species.
(Spectrum News NY1/Roger Clark)
‘Encounters in the Milky Way’
Now open
American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan
More information here
“Encounters in the Milky Way” is a new show at the Hayden Planetarium that gives visitors a “front-row seat to spectacular moments in our solar system’s past and future.”
Narrated by Pedro Pascal, the show takes viewers through the paths of stars, comets and other interstellar debris. It’s part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space’s celebration of 25 years since its opening.
🚀A new Hayden Planetarium Space Show, narrated by Pedro Pascal, is opening June 9! In Encounters in the Milky Way, you’ll get a front-row seat to spectacular moments in our solar system’s past and future, including the paths of stars, comets, interstellar debris, and more. pic.twitter.com/jZtZLeaHFq
— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) May 20, 2025