New York Hall of Science

Upcoming Events

Hidden Kingdoms: The World of Microbes

We live in a sea of microbes...
Even though you cannot see these microbes, you are surrounded by them. They are on everything: surfaces, hands, soil, water, snow, and in the desert sands and Arctic Ocean. And they are alive: they reproduce, move, and respond to their environment. Welcome to Hidden ... [ + ]Kingdoms-- The World of Microbes. Here you will be able to explore this unseen, fascinating and important realm of life.

Sea of Microbes
Look in the aquarium. You see fish and plants. What you don’t see are the billions and billions of microbes that also live there. To see these microbes look in the nearby microscopes.

Microbes are at the bottom of the food chain: Microbes eat each other and are eaten by tiny animals, which are larger than microbes, that in turn are eaten by the small fish you see in this tank.

Listen to a guided tour and observe the microscopic world that lives in a drop of pond water. You may even make your own drop-of-water slide and see your organisms projected with our video microscope.

Microbial Zoo
There are several different views of microbes in this exhibit. Look at "cavorting beasties" through the unique, high-quality, easy-view microscopes and see some of the "animalcules" that were seen for the first time over 300 years ago!

Giant Eye of a Needle
And finally, walk through the giant eye of a needle enlarged 1000 times, and see amoeba, euglena, paramecium and a sewing thread all enlarged to the same scale. Even at this scale, bacteria are mere dots, and viruses are invisible!

Marvelous Molecules: The Secret Of Life

Marvelous Molecules: The Secret of Life is the first ever hands-on exhibition exploring the shared chemistry of all living things. Hovering above the exhibit floor like a futuristic space station is a giant model of a glucose molecule magnified a quadrillion times (that's 10 followed by 15 zeroes!).... [ + ] This highly visible icon serves notice to visitors that they are about to enter a world whose size and scale is very different from their everyday experience. The exhibition's placement on the lower level of the Hall of Science serves to link, both physically and figuratively, two other popular exhibitions that explore subjects too small to see with the naked eye: Hidden Kingdoms -- The World of Microbes and The Realm of the Atom.

Mathematica: A World of Numbers

This is the first interactive exhibition devoted to math. Designed by world-renowned designers Charles and Ray Eames, Mathematica displays the range of mathematics, and share the excitement that mathematicians find in pursuing their science. Mathematica includes six interactive units covering: celes... [ + ]tial mechanics, the Moebius band, minimal surfaces, projective geometry, probability, topology and multiplication.

In Mathematica, visitors can witness spontaneous formations of an in-the-flesh bell curve, as hundreds of plastic balls fall through a maze of 200 pegs into a series of slots, invariably forming the same pattern. Other features include an Image Wall of mathematical visualizations, a History Wall that documents the evolution of mathematics (mainly Western) since 1100 A.D., and other interactive exhibits.

Preschool Place

The Preschool Place is the ideal space to explore and discover the natural and built world of a city. Experience multi-sensory activities in a protected area for our youngest visitors. Special science/art activities and puppet shows are featured during weekends and holidays.

Rocket Park

Rocket Park is a 5,000-square-foot exhibition on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science. Rocket Park features two newly refurbished icons of the U.S. space program—an original Atlas booster with a replica Mercury capsule and an original Titan II booster with a replica two-man Gemini capsule.
... [ + ]
Rocket Park also features a Friendship 7 Mercury capsule interactive replica, which allows visitors to climb inside and experience the close-quarters environment in which Mercury astronauts conducted their missions.

The exhibition also chronicles, in words and pictures, the history of rocket development and the evolution of the U.S. space program.

Inside the museum, the first Mercury capsule ever made and flown is also on display.

Atlas/Mercury: The Hall’s original Mercury capsule was the first U.S. spacecraft. Designated Mercury # 1, it was launched on May 9, 1960 as part of the beach abort mission testing the Mercury escape system. At the time of this launch the interior of Mercury #1 was fully equipped for space, making it the first spacecraft. The replica of this capsule sits atop of an Atlas rocket, the type used in several of the Mercury missions.

Titan/Gemini: The success of the Mercury program paved the way for Gemini. Named for the astrological twins, Gemini capsules were designed for two-man teams. During the Gemini 4 mission in June 1965Edward H. White became the first American to "walk" in space. The Titan II rocket is the same type that was used in all of the Gemini missions.