2008-09 School Visits to the New York Transit Museum

The Education Department of the New York Transit Museum offers a selection of guided programs for school groups. All groups receive an age-appropriate guided tour. Preschool, elementary, and special needs groups take part in a hands-on activity, and all are welcome to eat their bag lunches in the Museum’s lunchroom.

Guided programs – designed to connect with curricular study and to support city and state learning standards – explore the multi-faceted story of public transportation by focusing on such topics as the social history of New York City, the engineering sciences, the mathematics and art of subway and station design, the history of immigration in New York City, and the urban landscape.

Housed in a 1936 subway station, the Transit Museum contains a variety of interactive exhibits, a collection of historic subway and elevated trains, a working signal tower, and an art gallery of changing displays. A guided visit will provide your class with a truly unique and memorable learning opportunity.

Reservations may be made up to three (3) months prior to the date you wish to visit, but no later than two (2) weeks in advance of the desired date. Please select three (3) possible dates and times for your visit.  We cannot always accommodate your first choice.  Click for available program times.

Click for hands-on activity choices that accompany grade school tours.

The New York Transit Museum requires a credit card to hold group reservations.

Contact our Reservations Coordinator at 718-694-1873, Monday through Friday, between 9:30 AM and 5:00 PM with the following information:

• 3 Possile dates/times
• Your choice of a hands-on activity (for pre-K to 5th grade groups)   
• The number of students per class you wish to schedule
• Your school address, phone, and fax number
• Credit card information

If you receive the voicemail, please leave this information in a detailed message (excluding the credit card number) and your call will be returned.  Please note that leaving a message is not a reservation.

Once your visit is scheduled, you will be faxed a Reservation Agreement which MUST be signed by the teacher or group leader and faxed back to the Reservations Coordinator at 718-694-4323. Your program is NOT confirmed until we have received your completed and signed Reservation Agreement.  Note important information (curricular focus, special needs, etc.) on the Reservation Agreement in order to help us provide the best experience for your students.

To cancel or reschedule your reservation, please contact our Reservations Coordinator no later than 1 week prior to your scheduled visit at 718-694-1873. You may reschedule your appointment one time with no penalty; additional rescheduling will incur a $30 charge per class. Canceling or rescheduling your reservation less than one week prior to the original appointment will incur a $30 charge per class.

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Prompt Arrival

It is essential that your group arrive on time. Every effort will be made to accommodate groups arriving late, but any class that arrives more than 15 minutes late will not receive a complete program. The visit will conclude at the group’s previously scheduled time.

We cannot accommodate groups arriving more than 15 minutes prior to their program start time. Groups arriving early may be asked to wait before entering the Museum.

Upon arrival, please check in at the Museum’s Visitor Booth, where you will pay your group’s admission and be greeted by your guide.

Directions 

The New York Transit Museum is located at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn Heights.

Subway:
   to Borough Hall
  to Court St.
   to Hoyt-Schermerhorn St.
   to Jay St./Borough Hall
  to Bergen St.

Bus: 
B25, B26, B37, B38, B41, B45, B52, B57, B61, B63, B65, B67, and B75 all stop within 1 or 2 blocks of the Museum.

Driving: 
The Transit Museum is just five blocks from the Brooklyn Bridge. From Manhattan, take the Brooklyn Bridge and proceed straight on Adams Street. Adams Street will become Boerum Place. Go two blocks to Schermerhorn Street. For more detailed directions from other boroughs, Long Island, or New Jersey, please call 718-694-1873. There are several parking lots for cars in the immediate vicinity.

School Bus:
School buses should drop off students on Boerum Place, near the corner of Schermerhorn Street. There is little parking for buses in the Downtown Brooklyn area, but bus drivers needing to wait for groups are encouraged to seek space along Schermerhorn Street or along State Street, just south of the Museum.

Museum Admission

Payment will be settled upon entry to the Museum.

The New York Transit Museum only accepts cash, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We do not accept personal or company checks, vouchers, or purchase orders. Groups without appropriate form of payment will not be admitted.

$3 for children ages 3 – 17
$5 for adults

Chaperones

The Museum requires 1 adult chaperone per 5 children for preschool, kindergarten, and special education classes.

The Museum requires 1 adult chaperone per 10 children for first grade through high school classes.

Required chaperones are admitted free; any additional adults pay admission. All chaperones must stay with the group at all times and are responsible for the appropriate behavior of the group.

Museum Conduct

On the day of your visit, please follow rules provided by Museum staff regarding safety and courtesy in order to insure a safe and enjoyable experience for your group.

Accessibility

The Museum is wheelchair accessible via a wheelchair lift that must be operated by Museum staff. Please share information regarding the needs of your group when making your reservation so that we can best serve you. The lift is slow, so plan to arrive 15 minutes before the start time of your program.

Special Learning Needs

Teachers of special education classes are encouraged to schedule visits on Tuesdays or Thursdays at 10:30 AM or 12:00 PM, when our special needs educator is available to conduct your program.

Once you have scheduled your group visit, you may contact our special needs educator at (718) 694-1848 to discuss your Museum visit and any program modifications that will best meet your students’ learning needs.

Lunch Facilities

For your convenience, a lunchroom is available for your group to use during your visit. See appointment grid below for lunch times. Food and beverages are not sold at the Museum; students must bring their own bag lunches. If you would like to use the lunchroom, please indicate this on your Reservation Agreement.

Museum Store

During your visit, your students may shop at the Transit Museum Store. Be aware that a maximum of 10 children at one time are allowed in the Store with an adult chaperone. 

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2008-09 Guided Programs may be scheduled Tuesday – Friday.
The Museum is closed on Mondays.

	10:00 – 11:30 10:00 – 11:00 Tour 11:00 –11:30 Workshop 11:30 – 12:00 Lunch (Optional)  10:30 – 12:00 10:30 – 11:30 Tour 11:30 – 12:00 Workshop 12:00 – 12:30 Lunch (Optional)  10:30 – 12:00 (Special Needs Group: on Tuesday or Thursday) 10:30 – 11:30 Workshop 11:00 – 12:00 Tour 12:00 – 12:30 Lunch (Optional) 11:00 – 12:30 11:00 – 12:00 Tour 12:00 – 12:30 Workshop 12:30 – 1:00 Lunch (Optional) 11:30 – 1:00 11:00 – 11:30 Lunch (Optional) 11:30 – 12:30 Tour 12:30 – 1:00 Workshop 12:00 – 1:30 (Special Needs Group: on Tuesday or Thursday) 11:30 – 12:00 Lunch (Optional) 12:00 – 1:00 Tour 1:00 – 1:30 Workshop

• Reservations for school groups must be made at least two (2) weeks in advance. Be aware of testing days, half days, school holidays, and bus maintenance days as rescheduling can be difficult. Consider travel time to the Museum. Groups arriving late will receive a shortened program.
   
• We can accommodate two (2) classes of twenty-five (25) students for all appointment times, except the last one of the day, when one (1) class can be accommodated.


• No more than four (4) classes from one school may visit on the same day.


• One Museum tour guide is assigned to each class of students. We do not combine classes and we cannot accommodate more classes than those reserved.


• Due to the Museum’s safety concerns, space limitations, and our interest in providing a positive experience for all guests, group visits should be no more than two hours.
  
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PRESCHOOL – GRADE 1
On the Go! An Introduction to Public Transportation
Preschool: 30 minute tour + 30 minute hands-on activity
Kindergarten – Grade 1: 60 minute tour + 30 minute hands-on activity

This program encourages young students to explore the use and importance of public transportation in New York City. Students are introduced to various modes of transportation through story reading, a tour of the Museum’s collection of trains and buses, a hands-on activity (choose from the options below). 

GRADES 2 – 5
City in Motion: Learning About New York City’s Mass Transportation System
60 minute tour + 30 minute hands-on activity

This program focuses on the relationship between mass transit and the development of New York City. During their Museum tour and hands-on activity (choose from the options below), students learn about the history of the subway system by focusing on the people who developed it and are served by it and by making comparisons to their own experiences today.

GRADES 6 & UP
Transit Through Time: Exploring the History of New York City’s Mass Transportation System
75 minute tour

This program helps students develop an understanding of the cultural, social, and technological history of New York City’s public transportation system. Students explore and discuss the system’s development, construction, and impact on the City by touring the Museum’s exhibits.

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Design a Bus (Preschool – Grade 1)
Students compare buses past and present and, using various arts and crafts materials, design their own movable bus of the future.

Miles of Tiles (Preschool – Grade 3)
Students explore the patterns and decorative signs found in subway stations and use glass tiles to create their own mosaics.

Subway Stories (Grades 3 – 5)
Students become historical investigators, observing and recording information about subway trains and riders of the past and making comparisons to their own experiences as subway riders today.

Fare Game (Grades 4 – 5)
Students hop aboard the money train and travel through the subway system as revenue agents. By working in pairs to correctly solve math challenges, students move their money trains along a game board, attempting to be the first team to reach the secret money room. 

Hands-on History (Any class of 12 or fewer students)
Students explore objects from the Museum’s touch collection in order to learn about controls, machine parts, and various tools of trains past and present.

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A Visa, MasterCard, or American Express card number is required to hold each school group reservation.

The credit card will be charged $30 per class only if:
   (1) your class does not show up on the day of your reserved guided program or
   (2) you do not cancel your class’s reservation in sufficient time.

Cancellations must be made no later than ONE (1) week prior to your scheduled visit.

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We look forward to seeing your students at the
New York Transit Museum this school year!