By The Times/Ledger
American Museum of the Moving Image
35th Avenue at 36th Street,
Astoria * 784-0077
The only museum in the United States entirely devoted to the arts, history and technology of film and motion, especially television and video. Offers exhibits, screenings, collections and interpretive programs. Admission is $8; $4 ages 5 to 18; $5 seniors and students; free under age 5. Film screenings are included with admission. Open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends.
Chinese Cultural Center
41-61 Kissena Blvd., Flushing * 886-7770
Offers a wonderful exhibit of traditional Chinese instruments and masks, a large library of Chinese books and a social hall.
Godwin-Terbach Museum at Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing * 997-4747
The museum has a collection of more than 2,000 works of art which represent all media from ancient to modern times. It offers wide-ranging exhibits and educational programs and presents four major exhibits each year with reception and gallery talks which are open to the public. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
Directions: Subway E, F, G, R to Continental Avenue, then Q65a bus to Kissena Boulevard; No. 7 subway to Main Street then Q17 or Q25 bus.
Institute for Contemporary Art, P.S. 1 Museum
22-25 Jackson Ave., Long Island City * 784-2084
Founded in 1971, the institute is primarily dedicated to transforming abandoned buildings in New York City into exhibit, performance and studio space for contemporary artists. This 85,000-square-foot museum features film and video screening rooms and a large auditorium for dance, performance presentations and sculpture installations.
Directions: No. 7 subway to 45th Road; E or F train to 23rd Street
King Manor Museum
150-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica * 206-0545
The 29-room house was the home from 1805 to 1827 of Rufus King, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, one of New York's first two senators and the United States' first ambassador to Great Britain. It is the among the oldest historic house museums in the country. A brief introductory video and a guided tour of the early 19th century period rooms are offered along with information about King and his family, the early history of Jamaica and daily life during the early 19th century. Special programs and activities for both children and adults are available. Open March through December, noon to 4 p.m., weekends; 12:15 to 2 p.m. on the second and last Tuesday of each month. Tours in Spanish provided on weekends. Admisison is $2, $1 children under 12.
LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
31-10 Thomson Ave., Long Island City * Tel. 482-5065 Fax 482-5069
Features a variety of exhibits on the history of New York City with a major emphasis on its mayors. Visitors may use the archives for free. Open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Living Museum, Creedmoor Psychiatric Center
80-45 Winchester Blvd., Queens Village * 264-3490
This is the only museum in the U.S. dedicated to the mentally ill. The building features a 40,000-square-foot multimedia installation created by hospital patients which includes thousands of paintings, murals, sculptures and poems. Call for hours.
Louis Armstrong House & Archives at Queens College
34-56 107th St., Corona * Tel. 478-8274, Fax 478-8299
Opened in 1998, this former home of jazz great Louis Armstrong has been converted into a museum and educational center. Entertaining and informative slide/tape presentations are based on treasures from the archives. View photographs, scrapbooks and manuscripts and listen to some of Armstrong's recordings.
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th St., Flushing * 699-0005
Located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, this museum has been ranked as one of the best in the country. It has more than 160 exhibits, most of which are hands-on for both children and adults. Don't miss the 30,000-square-foot science playground exhibit and the outdoor laboratory – open April through November – where experiments are performed on more than two dozen pieces of equipment. Open 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Wednesday; 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends. Admission is $6, $4 children and seniors.
Old Quaker Meeting House
137-16 Northern Blvd., Flushing
Maintained by Flushing Society of Friends, the meeting house and a burial ground are still used as a workshop. Open for tours Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Poppenhusen Institute
114-04 14th Road, College Point * 358-0067
Home of the first free kindergarten in the United States, Poppenhusen Institute was built as College Point's town hall and education center with money donated by Conrad Poppenhusen. Today the New York City and national landmark is a cultural center and a museum of local history. Tours, which can include slide presentations, are available of its old village jail cells and its Native American and First Free Kindergarten exhibits.
Queens Botanical Garden
43-50 Main St., Flushing * 886-3800
The garden features 39 acres of seasonal displays, permanent living collections and an arboretum. There are also demonstration gardens, a rose garden, a Victorian-style wedding garden and a flowering cherry circle. Open through October from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. Open November through March from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays except legal holidays.
Queens County Farm Museum
Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose,
73-50 Little Neck Pkwy., Floral Park * 347-3276
The museum, which reflects the agricultural history of New York City, features a landmark farmhouse that dates back to 1772, planting fields, an orchard, a farmyard and livestock on its 47 acres. Guided tours of the restored farmhouse are available, as are quilting courses, craft courses, educational tours and workshops. Grounds open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and by appointment. Farm house open weekends only.
Queens Museum of Art: New York City Building
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Flushing * 592-2405
Various exhibits of contemporary art, architecture and design installments by both international and Queens-based artists. Be sure to see the panorama of the city of New York, a 9,335-square-foot scale model of New York City which includes skyscrapers, parks, rivers and bridges. It has been updated to include recent developments. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Friday; noon to 5 p.m., weekends. Groups welcome Tuesdays by appointment. Admission is $4, $2 students and seniors.
Rockaway Museum
634-2649
This traveling museum is a new project recently chartered by the New York State Board of Regents that will explore the historical and cultural life of the community through traveling exhibits and lectures.
Socrates Sculpture Park
Broadway at Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City * Tel. 956-1819 Fax 626-1533.
The Socrates Sculpture Park is a remodeled outdoor museum where artists from around the world exhibit contemporary sculptures. The park is handicapped-accessible. Open Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to sunset.
Vander Ende-Onderdonk House Museum
1820 Flushing Ave., Ridgewood * 456-1776
Maintained by the Greater Ridgewood Historical Society, this 1709 farmhouse is home to a collection of colonial artifacts including bottles, china, clay pipes and ceramic beer bottle tops. Open noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday; other times by appointment. Admission is $2, free for children.
