Unseen in Midtown...The Morgan Library and Museum

 In the heart of midtown at 36th Street and Madison Avenue, The Morgan Library and Museum is a beautiful needle in the busy haystack in Midtown.  It was founded in 1906 to house the private library of J.P. Morgan. Today, it serves as a scholarly research center and museum. There is Morgan's study, a librarian's office, his library, and 2 or 3 galleries (where no photos were allowed.) This picture is of the three story library, where included in his collection is 3 Gutenberg Bibles.

I want to live here...

Beethoven sheet music

Closeup of the bookcases

One of three Gutenberg Bibles in the library

Amazing

Closeup of the mantle piece in the Librarian's Office

Cast of George Washington

The galleries were amazing.  I wish I could have posted pictures in there! The Drawing Surrealism Exhibit is "Sensational!" according to the New York Times. Their website has all of the info to visit them, it costs $15 for an adult ticket. Worth the money!

More pictures from my visit can be found on my Facebook page.

MoMA

The new year is a great time to go to a museum. The Museum of Modern Art is a great place to start, because there is so much to recognize.  My twelve year old gets excited because there are pieces she can "relate" to, versus the old stuffy paintings.










One of my favorites is Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Starry Night by Van Gogh

at MoMA until April 29, 2013

I have been there many times, and will continue to go, should just get a membership...  Love to just spend the afternoon here, go on a weekday when it's not AS crowded.  Right now, they have Scream by Edvard Munch










 
 The first version of Henri Matisse's The Dance is also at Moma.  The finished version is at a museum in Russia.

first version

Second Version

Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

 One of my favorite pieces, I have been trying to locate, is by Annette Messager. I found a picture of it, but I am not sure what the name of it is. Possibly My Vows, but not sure.  But I love it so much...

 Visit MoMA for info on location, hours, directions, and other info needed for visits.

Queens Museum of Art

Today I went to the Queens Museum of Art with a friend. I was very interested in seeing the Panorama of New York.  I have heard about it and seen pictures. It was time to get up there and check it out. It was a lot bigger than I thought, and a nice day trip.

There is more around that small area, which is Flushing Meadows Corona Park.  The Unisphere is there, along with the other buildings from the World's Fair.  In the museum, there is a section with World's Fair Memorabilia.  There is also the Queens Zoo, which I posted about some time ago. It took some time to get there but for someone in Times Square, it should take one subway (the 7 train) and about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to get there. You get off at the Mets Stadium stop, and it is a bit of a walk, I'm sure shorter than the one we took today.  I managed to get turned around, so we got some exercise to say the least.  We spent some time sitting in front of the Unisphere, and got some shots of it, along with some skaters that use the area for hanging out.

After the shots of the Unisphere, we headed in to the Museum.  We went around the corner to the North Entrance, paid the $8.00 entrance fee and were on our way.  I was surprised at the size. I thought there would be more, but the Panorama made up for it.  I was honestly able to say we could not see my apartment building in the Panorama while we were there.   I also managed to get the World Trade Center, Columbus Circle, and the Chrysler Building too:

 

We stopped in  the gift shop and got a magnet and postcard.  Reasonable prices, but there is no place to have a nice meal.  There is a small area where they sell snacks and drinks.  After the museum we sat outside for a bit more, and figured out how to get to the subway a little more directly than how we got to the park.  We stopped for lunch at a small food stand, and had a squirrel stare at us very intently...

I got home, and relaxed a bit, and after downloading the pictures, I actually was able to find where we live, and pretty quickly too...

Here is the big view, granted it is looking south, so you see Manhattan on the right hand side, and Staten Island is on the upper right.

Also in the same general area, is Citi Field and the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center and the NY Hall of Science.  The Queens Zoo is also nearby.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

Editor's Note:  I have been sick all week, and did not get to go anywhere.  So the following is a revamp of an old post. My apologies!


 I have been here before, in February of 2011.  The Citi Field and the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center, are just a few things in the immediate vicinity...

 

This is the best map I could find with all of them.  Also in the area is the Queens Museum of Art, and the NY Hall of Science.

NY Hall of Science

     The Queens Zoo is also nearby, and the park is big enough that you could picnic, hang out and frisbee, or play ball.

Of course there are some amazing  views in the park as well...

The Unisphere

The unisphere is one of the leftovers from the 1964 World's Fair, along with the Observation Towers and the Pavilion, all three are seen here.

I have been to the Unisphere and the other World's Fair buildings, and also to the Queens Zoo.  I have yet to go to  the Hall of Science, or the Queens Museum of Art.  But when I do go, I cannot WAIT to see the Panorama of NYC at the Queens Museum of Art...

from here

Has anyone been up here?  Tell me your stories, I'd love to hear them!

The World's Largest Dinosaurs

 

are now at the American Museum of Natural History.  Wow, are they big! My daughter and I went on Thursday, when the rest of the world apparently also wanted to go.  As soon as we got in there, the temperature rose about 15 degrees.  The place was packed!  There were no tickets available for the exhibit, or for the Brain exhibit either.  So we got tickets for Monday, and went across the street to the Dianna Ross playground in Central Park for about 1 1/2 hours.  Monday we headed back, fully expecting the crowds again, but we were pleasantly surprised.  We showed up around 11:30 or 12, and it was not empty, but a lot less crowded than last Thursday.  We saw the dino exhibit, which was really cool, we walked through and got to see a movie projected on the stomach of the dinosaur, and it explained all about the breathing, and digestion, and reproduction of the animal.  After that there was an area for the kids to get tools and actually dig and excavate bones.  It was mostly for younger kids, but I have to say my 10 year old did NOT want to go after 15 minutes. Gizmodo has a really neat looking video about putting together the exhibit.  You can follow the @Giant_Dino on Twitter, too! Here are some other reviews, along with a video at the end that was really interesting. I found a really kid friendly page from AMNH too.  We also went to the other "usual dinosaurs".  The ones that are always there, there dinos are my daughter's favorites.  If you have been here, please leave a comment, or if you are planning a trip here soon!

Such a beautiful day for the museum.  We also went back to the park for a bit.  The museum is really easy to get to.  You can take a cab to 81st at Central Park West, or the subway takes you right to the basement, which comes in handy for rainy days, you never have to get out of the subway and into the rain.  You can take the B (only on the weekdays!) or the C to 81st Street.  If you are in midtown, make sure you get the uptown B or C.

The Unisphere and the Queens Zoo

Otherwise known as "The zoo is just up here!  I swear!"

My plan was to go to Queens to see the Unisphere, and bump around the park a little.  We ended up doing this, and so much more.  We hung out and got some really good pictures of the Unisphere:

Then, we look at a map to see what else is in the area.  There is a lot!  There is the Citi Field, the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center, the Queens Museum of Art,  and the NY Hall of Science.  This park is HUGE.

 

We did a lot of walking and got a little um lost before finding the Zoo, but that's only because I had no plans to go to the Zoo, it was a last minute addition.  As my lovely assistant (intern) said, Why not go?  It's right here!!  So we went.  After finding it, there was 2 different sections. One for domestic animals, cows, horses, sheep, llamas, bunnies, and one animal that I'm still not sure what it was.  It looked like a hybrid.

Then we went to see the undomesticated animals.  The Wild Side.  We saw pumas, and sea lions, and bears.  Oh my.  The bears were enjoying their Valentine's Day!  Let's just say they were NOT hibernating!

The puma was right next to the glass, so we got a lot of amazing pictures.

The other one was resting in the shade:

We also went into the aviary, an enclosed structure that was amazing.  It was a mini Epcot Center shape:

There were a few species, one really noisy bunch pictured here:

We also got to see the sea lions being fed.  There were three of them, all very cheeky.

 

The food area (for humans) was not that great.  It was a total of 10 (I think) vending machines.  There was one that gave hot kosher food, so points for that.  There was also one souvenir one with little stuffed animals in it, 3 for drinks, 2 for snacks and 2 for ice cream. I think that was all of them.  It is all in the circular building across from the sea lion area.

We also saw 2 coyotes, one who was hiding until it heard us:

You can see more pictures at the Unseen NYC Facebook page.  Become a fan if you aren't yet.

We had a really fun time, did a lot of walking, and I highly recommend going on a weekday, it was practically empty.  We spent $8 each for adult tickets.  More information can be found at the Queens Zoo.

Inside the Brain at the American Museum of Natural History

I went to the Brain exhibit this past Tuesday, and it was really cool.  Since I am a member, it was free, but at the AMNH website it says that admission plus the Brain exhibit would be $24.00. This page explains about the exhibit, and how long it will be there, but you really have to experience it for yourself.  As soon as you walk in, there are "firing neurons" above you hanging from the ceiling.  Be careful where you step, because the lights from the display will shine you in the eye, and it is a bright light.  There are lots of brain teaser games, and lots of interactive stuff to do.  There is a game on a screen where you look at a bird and have to pick out the same bird, but they flash it so fast it is hard to see.  There is also a voice language experiment, and a spot where you can take the brain apart and put it back together again.  At the end of the exhibit is the gift shop, with more puzzles, and the usual mugs, t-shirts and magnets.  I got a magnet, as always. This link tells all about the exhibit, and you can find out about other exhibits, too.  From the AMNH Website:


“I see this exhibition as a coming-out party for the 21st-century brain,” says lead exhibition curator Rob DeSalle, a curator in the Museum's Division of Invertebrate Zoology who conducts research at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics. “I think visitors will be fascinated with the complexity of their brains. Brains change with every bit of information that is taken in, and the stimulating information and stunning exhibitry of this exhibition will engage the brains of every visitor.”

link

Very fun, and very informative!  A must see...

Museum Monday

 

This is the view from the Smith~9th Street Subway station, a really nice one of Manhattan.  I was on my way home from visiting a friend at work.  I was supposed to transfer to the R, but got off a stop too early, and had to wait another 5 minutes for the other G.

This is at the Harbor Defense Museum in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, right by the Verrazano Bridge.  Literally, next to the bridge.   There was a nice tour of the little museum, and they explained about the fort and some of the other forts in the area.  They showed some Mail Call videos about the musket and the disappearing cannon.  Really cool stuff.
















This is the view we had while we sat to have our lunch.  I have always loved this bridge and love to take pictures of it. 

By the way, this museum is free, in case you were wondering.  But we only spent maybe 2 hours there.  Information can be found here. 

Museum of Modern Art

This museum is the most amazing museum, with so much to see, and laid out very well.  We went to the 5th floor, and worked our way down, seeing the 5th, 4th and 3rd floors before getting tired, which just means having to go again. (darn!)  I took over 100 pictures, but only put up 20 here, and will post my 3 faves here.
We went about the time is opened, and it was just starting to get a little crowded.  We waited in line for maybe 5 minutes before getting our tickets.  We started in the sculpture Garden, and then upstairs, and worked our way down, since they have escalators, it worked out well.  We saw a lot of Picassos, and some modern art that left me going "Huh?".  I am so going here again, I would spend the money on a membership here.

This was the first of many Picassos.  We took pics of a lot, but I accidentally deleted them, so now I have another reason to go back.

This was in the mirror in the ladies room, and I had to get it.  They also had Dyson hand dryers, awesome!!

This is a collage of framed pics, all hanging from a separate string, it was huge!!

A really great day, we were going to go to Rockerfeller Center, but never got there because of a parade on 5th Avenue.  Too many crowds...next up will be Fleet Week, the ships coming in!!!