Information
Landmark: Cooper Hewitt MuseumCity: Queens
Country: USA New York
Continent: North America
Cooper Hewitt Museum, Queens, USA New York, North America
Overview
The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum sits inside the stately Andrew Carnegie Mansion, a Gilded Age landmark on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.It’s the only museum in the country devoted solely to design, with shelves and galleries brimming with objects that span centuries and every discipline from furniture to fashion.Founded in 1897 as the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, the museum later took on the name Cooper Hewitt in 1976, joining the Smithsonian Institution that same year.The museum aims to spark curiosity, helping people see how design shapes the chair they sit on today and the world they’ll live in tomorrow.The museum houses more than 215,000 objects, a trove of design that stretches across 30 centuries-everything from delicate bronze tools to sleek mid-century chairs.These pieces span a wide range of design, from towering glass-fronted buildings to sleek chairs, patterned fabrics, and bold graphic layouts.You’ll find standout pieces ranging from antique wooden chairs and handwoven textiles to patterned wallpapers, gleaming metalwork, and bold contemporary design ideas.It draws on designs from cultures across the globe, showing how deeply design shapes human civilization-like the bold patterns etched into ancient pottery.The museum offers a lively mix of permanent collections and rotating exhibits, from timeless artifacts to fresh displays that change with the season.The exhibitions bring together ancient artifacts and sleek, modern design, tracing how design has evolved and shaped culture over time.The Immersion Room is one of the museum’s standout attractions, letting visitors step inside and see wallpaper patterns from the collection blown up to full size, as if the walls around them were wrapped in color and texture.Digital technology transforms the room into a fully immersive space, where guests can step right into famous wallpaper patterns-like standing inside a garden of painted roses.In the museum’s design labs, visitors can roll up their sleeves and try out hands-on technology, from touchscreens to motion sensors.The exhibits invite you to dive deep into the design process, letting you sketch, build, and experiment in ways that spark fresh ideas.Design Triennial: Every few years, the museum’s biggest event fills its halls with bold, inventive works from top designers across the globe, from sleek Scandinavian chairs to dazzling wearable tech.The exhibition spotlights fresh trends and unveils bold, original works across design fields, from sleek modern architecture to inventive industrial pieces you can almost feel under your fingertips.Educational programs at the museum range from lively workshops and engaging lectures to hands-on activities where you can feel the texture of clay or paint, welcoming curious minds of every age.These programs help you see design more clearly, appreciate its beauty, and spark fresh ideas-like noticing the curve of a chair you’d never looked at twice before.Working with Parsons School of Design, the museum runs a master’s program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies, giving students real-world experience in its galleries-handling archival pieces and learning the craft of curating.The museum welcomes visitors every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., giving you plenty of time to wander through its exhibits and try a hands‑on activity or two.Admission fees are $22 for adults, $16 for seniors 62 and older, and $10 for students with ID or visitors with disabilities; anyone 18 or under gets in free.Cooper Hewitt members pay nothing, their guests pay $11, and from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. each day it’s pay-what-you-wish.Certain groups-like Bank of America cardholders on the first weekend of the month, members of the American Association of Museums, active-duty military, and choose college students or faculty-also enjoy free admission.You’ll find the museum at 2 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128.It’s just a short walk from the 86th Street stops on the 4, 5, or 6 trains at Lexington Avenue, or the Q train at Second Avenue.Several buses also get you close-uptown M1, M2, M3, or M4 to Fifth Avenue at 90th or 92nd Street; downtown on the same lines to Madison Avenue at 91st; and the crosstown M96 to Madison at 94th.If you’re driving, private parking garages are nearby, their metal gates clattering open in the morning.The museum remains a lively hub for design education and fresh ideas, shaping the future through hands-on exhibitions, engaging classes, and collaborations with universities and leading design studios.It helps the public see how design shapes society, culture, and even the environment-like the way a city park can change the feel of an entire neighborhood.The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum blends a rich collection with a passion for design excellence, inviting you to explore design’s history and see how it shapes everything from the chair you sit in to the phone in your hand.
