I know, I know. The last thing some of us probably want to do is pay more patronage to the place we already spend too much money for and spend too much time in, BUT, this is a great way to spend a rainy or cold afternoon.  A few weekends ago, my husband and I babysat for our friends’ 3 year old for the entire weekend. Knowing that this little boy LOVES riding the MTA subway buses, I knew he would totally enjoy the new york transit museum.

The museum is filled with all of the expected transit accessories including traffic lights and coordinated walk-don’t walk signs, parking meters, fire hydrants, and an array of other “street furniture”.

Also, inside the museum there was a bus with its roof and side taken off.  NJ loved this, he sat for (what felt like) hours while my husband sat on the seat in front of him and had me pretending to drive.

He really enjoyed one of the “ElectriCity” displays in which he was able to push a small A train back and forth along some tracks, observing how the hidden 3rd rail produces electricity for the train.  Lastly, on the lower level, NJ was able to jump from train to train pretending to ride subways from many different decades.

The museum is great for all ages, especially for those who love exploring NYC’s history.  The museum housed a gorgeous lineup of watercolor paintings of all of the bridges; turnstiles from many decades past and large collection of old model trains.

This museum humorously pays tribute to the frustration the mta plays in our everyday lives.  The museum is located underground and to to enter the museum, you must go underground via a set of stairs identical to a set of subway stairs.  Aside from the museum sign indicating the museum was down there, patrons of the museum were confused and weren’t convinced they were entering the museum and non-patrons were frustrated because they thought they were headed down for the subway.

All in all it was a nice time for a cold and rainy day as there is not a lick of sunlight and reminds you too much of your commute to work.