Since 2000, the United Nations has sponsored International Migrants Day, a day to raise awareness and action about the human rights of people who, for many reasons,  leave the place where they live in search of a new home. According to the 2018 World Migration Report, there are 244 million migrants (which includes migrant workers,…

This fall, our version of the British Library’s exhibition Harry Potter: A History of Magic has truly transformed our Museum into a place of wonder and wizardry. (There’s even a castle in our lobby!) How did this fantastic, spellbinding exhibition come together? Rachel Walman, assistant director of DiMenna Children’s History Museum, sat down with two…

Our Reading into History Family Book Club met yesterday to discuss Ship of Souls with author Zetta Elliott and we had a marvelous time! In case you missed it, we have a few more signed copies of her book available at the NYHistory Store for fans out there. Check out what she has to say…

If the winter cold has got you down come, join us at the Museum for some stories to warm the heart! We have an extensive collection of books in our Barbara K. Lipman Children’s History Library that visitors are always free to browse, plus free-with-Museum-Admission story time programs every week. Check out some of our…

This afternoon, hundreds of New-York Historical Society Family Members will gather on 77th Street right outside the Museum to watch a Thanksgiving tradition: the inflation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. Today, the exuberant parade, a roasted turkey, and family gatherings on the fourth Thursday in November are all hallmarks of the holiday, but…

On November 10, 1898, a group of white supremacists in Wilmington, North Carolina—upset by the results of a local election and angered by the writing of the local black press—violently overthrew the newly elected government and installed their own supporters instead. This is known as a coup d’état—and it’s the only such event in American…

The midterm elections are coming up! On Tuesday, November 6, most Americans who choose to participate (and that number is far too small) will show up at a polling station to vote. Nowadays, voters fill out a paper ballot and run it through a scanner. Or votes can cast ballots early or using absentee ballots….

In the last couple of decades, cats have reigned supreme as the royalty of the internet. But cats have been American favorites long before they entertained us on YouTube! Just take a look at these seven amazing cats we found in our Museum and Library collections. (For the record, there are way more cats in…

It’s that time of year when 19th and early 20th century Americans celebrated the end of a cycle of seasons and began to look forward to the year ahead. I’m not talking about New Year’s though—I’m talking about Halloween! Halloween is always special to us here at DiMenna Children’s History Museum, especially now that we…