Greater New York Council of the Blind
A chapter of the American Council of the Blind of New York;
An affiliate of the American Council of the Blind
Museums Providing Accessible Tours in NYC
The following museums offer verbal description and or touch tours for visitors who are blind and visually impaired. Specially trained educators highlight specific themes, artists and exhibitions, engaging participants through extensive vivid verbal descriptions. Regularly scheduled group tours are ninety minutes to two hours and are free. Privately scheduled tours are sixty to ninety minutes and are free as well. Only one museum charges a fee for a private tour as noted in the description. Most museums don’t charge an entry fee except where noted in the below descriptions. Advance notice of two to three weeks’ is required to schedule a private tour. For more information, or to be placed on a museum’s contact list, contact the museum of your choice directly.
American Folk Art Museum
2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023
(Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets)
Contact: Rachel Rosen, Director of Education
(212) 595-9533, Ext. 381
rrosen@folkartmuseum.org
https://folkartmuseum.org/visit/community-access
AFAM provides several 90 minute verbal description and touch tours throughout the year. Virtual and in-person tours are available. Reservation required. Private guided tours for individuals or small groups are available upon request, but require extra lead time to arrange.
American Museum of Natural History
200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
Contact: Accessibility Team
(212) 769-5200
accessibility@amnh.org
https://www.amnh.org/plan-your-visit/accessibility
AMNH offers Science Sense tours by request. These 75-minute tours, led by the Museum's expert tour guides, use verbal description and tactile objects to provide an accessible and engaging tour experience. Science Sense tours are open to all ages, can be tailored to the participants’ interests, and are free with the purchase of Museum admission. New York State residents can Pay-What-You-Wish for General Admission; special ticketed exhibitions have a fee.
Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238
Contact: Access Programs
(718) 501-6227
access@brooklynmuseum.org
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/visit/accessibility
Brooklyn Museum provides onsite tours that are offered on select Tuesdays from 3:00-4:30PM, when the Museum is closed to the public. Individuals who are blind and those with low vision are invited to experience the museum’s collection through a verbal description gallery tour with touch materials and other sensory engagement. Virtual tours are offered on select Tuesdays from 6:00-7:30PM. Individuals are invited to experience the museum’s collection through an online verbal description gallery tour. Registration is required for both virtual and onsite tours. Private tours are available upon request.
Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
2 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128
Contact: Access at Cooper Hewitt
(212) 849-8353
CHAccess@si.edu
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/accessibility-at-cooper-hewitt
Cooper-Hewitt provides monthly scheduled tours on the first Friday of the month from 1:30-3:00. Reservations are not required for the monthly verbal description tours. Private tours are available upon request. All exhibition videos are equipped with audio description. Large print labels are available at the Visitor Experience desk and can be downloaded from the museum website.
Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue (at 88th St.), New York, NY 10128
Contact: Public Engagement
(212) 360-4355
access@guggenheim.org
https://www.guggenheim.org/event/event_series/minds-eye
Guggenheim Museum provides monthly scheduled Mind’s Eye tours and workshops conducted through verbal description, conversation, sensory experiences and creative practice. Virtual and in-person tours are available. Reservation required. Private tours available upon request.
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
Pier 86, West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, New York, NY 10036
Contact: Access Team
(646) 381-5158
access@intrepidmuseum.org
https://www.intrepidmuseum.org/education/accessibility-resources
Intrepid is an aircraft carrier museum. Customized verbal description and touch tours are offered by advance request to visitors who are blind or have low vision. These two hour tours provide detailed verbal description and guided touch of artifacts, models and select aircraft, as well as provide tactile images. In addition to these specialized tours, the museum offers visitors who come on their own a Verbal Description and Tactile Guide. This book uses raised images, braille, large print and a talking pen to support self-guided visitors. The book and talking pen may be borrowed from the Information Desk at no cost.
Please note: Must pay public entry fee to the museum. Through Museums for All program, those receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) are eligible for free admission, along with up to three guests. Must show your EBT card and a valid photo ID. Tickets can be redeemed at the box office.
Jewish Museum
1109 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10128
(Entrance on 92nd Street)
Contact: Access Team
(212) 423-3289
access@thejm.org
https://thejewishmuseum.org/programs/visitors-with-disabilities#blind
The Jewish Museum provides monthly scheduled tours. These tours take place when the museum is closed to the general public, or virtually on Zoom. Multisensory experiences and verbal descriptions bring the museum’s exhibitions to life for people who are blind or have low vision. These tours may include raised line drawings, touch objects and other multisensory tools. Each tour focuses on either a special exhibition or the Jewish Museum's collection of nearly 30,000 objects from across time and around the world. Reservation required. Private tours are available upon request.
Met Cloisters (A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
99 Margaret Corbin Drive, New York, NY 10040
(Located along the Hudson River in northern Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park)
Contact: Access Programs
(212) 650-2010
access@metmuseum.org
https://www.metmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters
Met Cloisters focuses on the art, architecture and gardens of medieval Europe. Private tours are available upon request.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028
(Enter at 81st Street entrance.)
Contact: Access Programs
(212) 650-2010
access@metmuseum.org
https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/access/visitors-who-are-blind-or-partially-sighted
MMA offers regularly scheduled Picture This! tours and Seeing Through Drawing art classes. The program schedule is updated regularly on the website linked above. Reservation required. Private tours are available upon request. In addition, touch tours can be requested of the ancient Roman and Egyptian sculpture, and American architecture. There’s also a touch collection of a wide range of objects, from a first century Roman marble foot to a twentieth century Eskimo sculpture of a mother and child.
Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Visitor Services
(212) 685-0008, Ext. 600
tickets@themorgan.org
https://www.themorgan.org/visit/hours-and-admission
Morgan Library & Museum has one of the world’s foremost collection of manuscripts, rare books and music. The museum is planning to provide seasonally scheduled
verbal imaging and touch tours of the permanent collection. Reservation required. Private tours are available upon request. Private tours can focus on
either J.P. Morgan’s Library and Study, or a special exhibition.
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Contact: Nirvana Santos-Kuilan, Manager of Public Programs
(212) 299-7726
nirvana.santoskuilan@gmail.com
https://madmuseum.org/visit
Museum of Arts and Design provides regularly scheduled virtual and in-person tours. Through verbal description, conversation, and sensory experiences, visitors will gain an understanding of the materials, processes, and concepts that drive innovation in the fields of art, craft, and design. Reservation required. Private tours are available upon request.
Please note: Free admission for visitors with disabilities with valid ID.
Museum of Jewish Heritage (A Living Memorial to the Holocaust)
Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280
Contact: Education Department
(646) 437-4274
education@mjhnyc.org
https://mjhnyc.org/visitor-information/access-services
Museum of Jewish Heritage provides verbal description tours of the permanent exhibition, as well as of new exhibitions. Private tours are available upon request.
Please note: There is no entry fee to the museum for visitors who are blind that are attending a private tour.
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Contact: Access Programs and Initiatives Team
(212) 408-6447
accessprograms@moma.org
https://www.moma.org/calendar/programs/33
MoMA offers Art inSight, a free bimonthly program, both in-person and virtual tours. Educators highlight specific themes, artists, or exhibitions through verbal description, multisensory
experiences, and discussion. Preregistration is required and the program schedule is updated regularly on the website linked above. Private verbal description
and touch tours are available upon request by contacting MoMA's Groups and Tours department. Please call
(212) 708-9685
or email GroupsAndTours@moma.org. A
Verbal Description audio playlist is available by downloading the Bloomberg Connects app on your device or can be accessed online at https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/3
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
200 Liberty Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10281
Please note: This is the mailing address. To enter the museum, visitors can use the entrance at Fulton Street and Greenwich Street.
Contact: Access Department
(646) 583-3419
access@911memorial.org
https://www.911memorial.org/visitors-who-are-blind-or-partially-sighted
National September 11 Memorial & Museum is working on creating regular programming for visitors who are blind and partially sighted. These programs will
be free of charge, which includes free entry into the museum. Reservation required. Private tours are available upon request and last ninety minutes. Please
refer to the note below. The museum also offers an Audio Guide that’s downloadable to a visitor’s smartphone, or is available via a handheld device at
the Information Desk. The audio tour allows visitors to independently explore the museum through vivid and detailed descriptions of the exhibitions.
Please note: Private tours require a fee for verbal description and touch tours, as well as paying an admission fee into the museum; free admission for
one accompanying caregiver. This is because the museum charges a fee to the general public for all standard tours. Specialized access tours need to be
set up separately into the computer system in order to process the order, then the visitor can finalize the ticket purchase over the phone.
Noguchi Museum
9-01 33rd Road (at Vernon Boulevard), Long Island City, New York 11106
Contact: Education Department
(718) 204-7088, Ext. 203
education@noguchi.org
https://www.noguchi.org/access
Noguchi Museum offers guided touch tours of select works from the permanent collection for visitors who are blind or partially sighted and their guests by appointment. Tours include tactile exploration of Isamu Noguchi's sculptures with gloves and detailed verbal description. We also offer Seen and Unseen virtual tours, a series of virtual tours that illuminate Isamu Noguchi’s art and special exhibitions through verbal description and engaging conversation. To book an onsite touch tour, or register for the next virtual tour, please contact us at the above listed email address or phone number. Please note: Museum admission is always free for visitors with disabilities and their care partners.
Poster House
119 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011
Contact: Jes Hughes, Accessibility Coordinator
914-295-2387
access@posterhouse.org
https://posterhouse.org/accessibility
Poster House hosts free, monthly Vibrant Verbal Description Tours of exhibitions both virtually and in-person. Please see our Events Page for current accessibility offerings. Prior registration is encouraged as space is limited. Please contact us at the above email address for information or to register. Private tours are available upon request.
Queens Museum
New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, NY 11368
Contact: Sarah Cho, Assistant Curator
(718) 592-9700, Ext. 247
scho@queensmuseum.org
https://queensmuseum.org/visit/accessibility
Queens Museum provides verbal description and tactile tours of current exhibits. Private tours are available upon request. Virtual tours are offered various times during the year. Recorded verbal descriptions for artworks in current and past exhibitions can be found on Bloomberg Connects. Please note: Museum entry fee is by a suggested donation.
Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation
526 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012
Contact: Brittany Cassandra, Director of Collections
(212) 529-4906
info@rcgrossfoundation.org
https://www.rcgrossfoundation.org/events
The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation offers Tactile Transmissions, a free 90-minute program that is provided in both virtual and in-person formats for visitors who are blind or partially sighted. This program focuses on sculptor Chaim Gross's work and art collections utilizing verbal description and touch. Participants joining the in-person sessions engage closely with the historic home and studio of the Grosses. This unique environment allows for supervised handling of sculpture, tools, and works in progress. Educators lead participants in creative activities using a variety of techniques and materials. Virtual and in-person programs generally take place on the first and second Thursday of the month. Please check our website for the most up-to-date schedule. All programs take place from 11:00AM-12:30PM. Reservation is required.
Tenement Museum
103 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Contact: Ellysheva Zeira, Education Associate for Access
(646) 518-3041
access@tenement.org
https://www.tenement.org/visit/accessibility
Tenement Museum provides tours approximately five times per year. Visitors will participate in an orientation session using tactile models of the historic tenement and architectural features before going on a tour that will include touch objects, braille materials and verbal description. The tour will be followed by a reception featuring local Lower East Side foods. Reservation required. You can also go on your own and join any public tour, but must then pay the usual tour fee. If you want to attend a public tour, you can call in advance to purchase a ticket at (877) 975-3786. Request handling objects, braille materials and a free tactile orientation. If purchasing a ticket in person at the Visitor Center and Museum Shop, inform a staff member there that you’re visually impaired, and they’ll arrange to have your tour guide bring additional handling objects and braille materials on the tour.
Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort Street, New York, NY 10014
Contact: Access & Community Programs Department
(646) 666-5574
Accessfeedback@whitney.org
https://whitney.org/education/access/whitney-descriptions
The Whitney Museum provides Whitney Descriptions tours and events for visitors who are blind or have low vision to experience the richness and diversity of twentieth and twenty-first century American art. Visitors explore the Whitney’s collection or special exhibitions, while experiencing a selection of objects through touch. These 90-minute tours take place when the galleries are closed to the general public or virtually on Zoom. Virtual tours are usually offered on the first Saturday morning of the month from 11:30AM-1:00PM. In-person tours are scheduled throughout the year with varying schedules. Reservations are required for virtual and in-person tours. Private tours are available upon request.
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