We took our campers to the NY Transit Museum to learn about the world-renowned NYC subway system. The museum wasn’t a gritty steampunk labyrinth for Morlocks like in HG Wells’ “The Time Machine” with steam bellowing up from tunnels and crawlspaces, furnaces smelting iron, and peons laboring for an omnipotent master. Instead, it was an attractive, well-organized educational museum with a wonderful array of displays, posters, illustrations, models, and more, all perfectly suited for children and adults alike.
Our guide was knowledgeable and bubbly, making the time spent there enjoyable. She answered our questions and shared some trivia with us so we could leave with a better understanding of how the subway system works.
Most of our discussions happened inside the train cars. We learned about the materials used on the trains, how the passengers interacted with one another on the trains, what the ads were like, and more. There are many similarities to today’s train rides and many differences.
The scale models were a big hit. Everyone enjoyed that part of the exhibit, possibly because the models resembled toys…
This little fellow couldn’t resist touching, despite the sign suggesting otherwise.
And finally, there was a humorous performance from some of the workers. It was a blast! There were spoofs of popular songs that taught about the train system and it ended with an all-inclusive dance-off. Take a look!