History Detectives

At our We the People-themed 2018 Family Benefit Party, families celebrated the history of democracy in the United States, including reenacting elections from the past three centuries. In one of these elections, families had the chance to vote in one of the most historic and often forgotten elections in U.S. history—the election of 1872. Although Ulysses…

By the time the Vietnam War ended in 1975, it was already one of the most fraught and controversial conflicts in American history. It can be a difficult war to understand for historians of all ages—the many dimensions of the war lead to a lot of questions. Where does the Vietnam War fit into both…

Chugga chugga CHOO CHOO! The New-York Historical Society’s December School Vacation Week from December 26 – January 2 is all about trains. Friends big and small have been stopping by to check out Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection to journey on a special train scavenger hunt and join us for Train Tales and…

In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote that every human has a right to three things: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He argued that no person had the right to take any of these three things away from another person. However, while he wrote these words about liberty for all, at home…

Buzz! Clank! Thud! Woo woo! Our annual exhibition Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection is chugging along in full swing! This year, we’ve got more train programs than ever. Every Friday through February, we’re opening the doors early at 7:30 am for Rise and Ride the Holiday Express so you can get your train fix in the morning. From Tuesday, December 26, through Monday,…

The holiday season is upon us! Here at the New-York Historical Society we are celebrating with our special annual exhibition Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection and lots of associated family programs designed to engage and delight our youngest visitors and their caregivers. Downstairs in DiMenna Children’s History Museum, we have an…

Our special exhibition The Vietnam War: 1945–1975 is an expansive, chronological investigation of factors leading up to and after the Vietnam War. The exhibition highlights themes of civic duty, citizenship, and what it means to be patriotic through text, visual aids, and historical objects. The Vietnam War era remains a complicated time in American history…

This Friday kicks off Veterans Day Weekend at the New-York Historical Society! And one of the ways we are honoring those who served in the armed forces is by bringing three centuries of military history to life. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, meet a variety of Living Historians portraying soldiers from the American Revolution, Civil…

In conjunction with our new exhibition The Vietnam War: 1945-1975, our Reading into History Family Book Club welcomes National Book Award winning author Thanhha Lai to our November 12 meeting.  Thanhha Lai discusses her stunning semi-autobiographical book-in-verse Inside Out and Back Again and then joins us on a special tour of our Vietnam War exhibition….