Free event for Members at the Family Level and above
All ages

Bring the whole family and join us the day before Thanksgiving to watch the annual Macy’s Giant Balloon Inflation along West 77th Street! Members at the Family level and above enjoy exclusive access to the street, plus fun activities and festive treats inside the Museum. Invitation to follow. For more information contact us at membership@nyhistory.org or (212) 485-9279.

Kick off our Summer of Magic with a special weekend exploring the life and work of the legendary Harry Houdini! Join us for films, programs, and activities for the whole family to learn about the master escape artist—and maybe even try some tricks yourself!

Image: Strobridge & Co. Lith., [Zan Zig performing with rabbit and roses, including hat trick and levitation], Circa 1899, Library of Congress POS - MAG - .Z35, no. 2.

Saturday, August 18, and Sunday, August 19, 2018, 12 pm – 4 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Saturday, August 11, and Sunday, August 12, 2018, 11 am – 4:00 pm

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Image: William Sidney Mount, Dregs in the Cup (Fortune Telling, the Fortune Teller), 1838, N-YHS 1858.57.

Saturday, July 21, and Sunday, July 22, 2018, 12 pm – 4 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Don’t miss the final weekend of our Summer of Magic, and your last chance to shake hands with Harry Houdini—that is, if his arms aren’t stuck in a straitjacket or handcuffs! Marvel as Houdini, portrayed by Duffy Hudson, shares his incredible life story, performs illusions with playing cards, and manages to swallow—gulp—sharp needles!

Images courtesy of Duffy Hudson

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

What made Adelaide Herrmann the Queen of Magic? Don’t miss your chance to see magicienne and scholar Margaret Steele pay homage to Madame Herrmann while wearing a reproduction of a custom gown made for her 1899 Vaudeville debut. Enjoy her tribute to historical illusions like multiplying spheres, a vanishing and reappearing ring, a feather dancing in mid-air, and silk scarves that untie themselves!

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

As part of Houdini Weekend, be amazed by Adam RealMan, sideshow and variety performer, and his special tribute to Houdini’s escape acts. Practice how escape artists warm-up, take a look behind the curtain to see  how magicians free themselves from restraints, and marvel as Adam escapes a straitjacket, rope, and handcuffs!

Free with Museum Admission
Recommended for all ages

Be amazed by Adam RealMan, sideshow and variety performer, and his special tribute to Houdini’s escape acts. Practice how escape artists warm-up, take a look behind the curtain to see  how magicians free themselves from restraints, and marvel as Adam escapes a straitjacket, rope, and handcuffs!