Reviews of Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (Museum)

Patricia Yamada

Always a pleasure. Interesting , Changing displays

Lívia Badiani

Although not a huge museum, extremely interesting takes on contemporary design projects and great selection of pieces from the past, very informative. Highly educational, the experience with “the pen” (which allows you to “save” the artwork and pieces you love so you can get the pictures and the full information at home) is great! I really enjoyed the interactive spaces and the friendly staff.

Neil Cavendish

Ok so I didn't really know what to expect from the design museum. But it loved up to it's hype. Went on a Saturday after 6 for pay what you want entry (nice little bonus). The exhibits are well detailed and interesting,.with some being interactive. I like the system where when you find something interesting you can save it to your digital I'd to review more when you get home. It's a simple process and works well. If it's a nice day make sure to check out the garden space that feels very relaxing to just sit down and unwind in. The cafe provides refreshments and there are tables and seats available.

Adam Kruschwitz

Small but interesting museum! Worth visiting if you're interested in innovative product design, I recommend going on Saturdays when there are tickets at your own price

Mark Fajans

Loved this! The special exhibits were incredibly interesting, and loved the interactive aspect of it all!

Massimo Savona

Great museum. If you're interested in design history you need to go there. We loved it. Very interesting

Seán McCord

Absolutely fascinating exhibits. Innovative system for recording and obtaining more detail (the "pen"). Very interactive and informative.

Deirdre-Vega Liu

By far one of my favorite museums to visit in New York. The staff has been friendly every time I visit, and it's very cool to be able to "take home" my trip.

Jesper Magnusson

Nice museum with a temporary exhibition on artificial intelligence. Saturdays 6-9 pm voluntary admission fee

K Hill

This was absolutely fabulous!The Design awards conference was going on today. We attended so many sessions with fascinating speakers such as Tinker Hatfield, shoe designer for Nike and Susan Kare, icon designer for Apple. We want to go back tomorrow. Good design is invisible, but it is part of every facet of daily life. What a great day!

Jennifer Hensley

If I had my pick of any Museum to work at.. It would be this one. It's amazing.

Michelle S

A good museum. It’s a lot smaller than other well known museums like the Met, Moma, Guggenheim, Whitney etc (and less crowded). It’s also not an art museum but a “design” museum. We saw the Nature exhibit that showed a lot of eco friendly, cool projects. For example there was a video of a guy who lived as a mountain goat for 3 days, eating grass and crawling around in a prosthetic exoskeleton. That was very interesting. I was not that impressed by the garden, or the AI exhibit which was a bit simplistic. The “tree of 40 fruit” that had been mentioned in a few news articles was underwhelming too. It’s just a regular looking, small tree, with few leaves and no fruit. Still, a lot of other things there worth seeing and you will have no problem seeing it all in a few hours.

Jerry Suiter

Very interesting museum. It was small but really good with details. The pen is a good idea to drive interaction however I don’t think as a technology it’s ready for masses.

Kenneth Karan

Exhibits are abstract, have little relationship to the real world, and interactive features don't work. Oh, and it costs $18 to see this junk. The best part is that it's located in the old Carnegie mansion which is neat.

Corey Law

If you're on the fence about going to this museum, go ahead and get a ticket. My fiance and I are fairly frequent museum-goers, but we had never managed to get around to having a visit. We loved the interactive quality to the exhibits - you can save your favorite pieces and check out everything you saved through an online portal. It's a beautiful mix of historical perspective and a look to the future. Also - the building itself is like a piece of art itself.

Daniel Zolotor

Design , art and concept united to make the museum just a little more interesting then most. A must do is find the spinning chairs and have a whirl. I've never been there and found it to crowded

Margareta Mina

A truly interesting and novel exhibit covering a variety of emerging technologies (bio, nano, AI). The interior architecture is stunning as well.

darlene lanausse

It was fun for my little girl ❤️

Nathan Judd

It's a neat museum. It's really long so expect to be on your feet for a long while. Theres not a whole lot of interaction either so it's a lot of reading and learning. Definitely would only recommend to 15+.

Gwen Hofeldt

Helpful staff. Nice garden music. Fun things to view.

J Foster

We really enjoyed the exhibit. The building is also a beautiful backdrop.

Seth Grossman

What a great and innovative little museum. The building itself is beautiful, and the exhibits were wonderful. GO check it out. Special shout out to the cafe and garden. The cafe was reasonably priced and I had a delicious panini. And the garden outside was a wonderful place to enjoy the panini. And then I hung out with a book and enjoyed sitting outside for a couple hours. A very enjoyable afternoon!

Saul Kaiserman

Probably one of the top three museums in the city for your elementary school aged kids... Many interactive exhibits, with appeal to anyone interested in art, design, tech, engineering... It is like a STEM workshop. In a beautiful building, and convenient to bus, subway, Central Park, restaurants, etc. Also...Outstanding day camp that is one of the unknown treasures of NYC.

Aashita Mathur

They have electronic pens that allow you to save all information about a particular piece you are interested in so you can read about it later on by looking up everything you have saved on a web page! Also, they have a lot of interactive art pieces so it is a great place for children as well!

Lucais Horsley

This is a small museum that brings Art and Science together in interesting pieces by designers, scientists, architects, etc. Many of the attractions are interactive, and I left inspired with some DYI project ideas of my own. This place should make success with children as well. Spring and Summer are the best times to visit since the garden holds a tree made out of 40 different species. So it must be a show on its own to see it in blossom and fruits.

Sean Q

Visited Saturday 6-9 pay as you wish, not very crowded. Not many interactive exhibits, but many designs across nature, fabrics, and sciences. A touch screen lets you make your own designs based on. The exhibits.

Mariana Palazuelos

I love it. One of my favorite places! Great exhibitions

Alesia Selezneva

Best museum I've ever been. No boring old stuff, just pure interactive science. The fee is $18 and it's totally worth it. I have a Smithsonian magazine subscription and it makes me a member, so I got 2 tickets for free :) If you're a member don't forget your membership card. And if you like learning new stuff, consider arrive several hours before closing, I was really upset when the time was out and there was plenty of awesome things to know left.

Jennifer King

This museum was recommended by our Airbnb host and we were so glad we decided to check it out! The interactive exhibits are awesome and there was a fun mix of old and new. The museum is housed in an old mansion with beautiful architecture throughout. Chris offered us a demonstration of the interactive design tables and explained how we could save our favorite items and access them online later. This is a must see for anyone interested in design of any kind.

Christian Pasquel

Beautiful museum. It has very science/tech orientes exhibitions that are really cool although it would be nice if they had a bit more of explanation or background details. They have a very interesting system that allows you to save your favorite places of the visit using some sort of pen and then you can check them using a code on the internet

Ariana Alejandro

7/20/19: This museum makes for a relaxing yet informative excursion. The building itself is a beautiful old mansion worth admiration.

Solo Flyer

Always a great & interesting museum to visit. This year the exhibitions were Paisley on the 2nd floor and the other what goes into creating bioengineered products these are items made from algae, seaweed, etc. etc. Also on display was a marker that used captured carbon to create ink and limited edition ADIDAS made from what I believe is fish netting and recycled plastics. I like the fact that people out there are making strides towards reduce our waste production. The exhibitions were informational without boring you to death. I would highly recommend NATURE BY DESIGN.

David K.

On Saturdays from 6-9 pm they have pay what you can. it was an amazing museum

Toni-Ann Henry

I visited the Cooper Hewitt museum for the first time during National Design Week. For this reason there was free admission for the week. The staff on every floor were helpful and a few of them offered suggestions on areas of the museum I needed to experience before leaving. The Immersion Room and the chairs on the ground floor were my favorite part of the museum.

Juan Figueroa

This place is heaven for designers. Their partnerships with MIT and NYC organizations give you a great insight into the great work currently being performed by some of the most creative minds in the country. I love this place, it never gets old, exhibits on the first and third floors are constantly changing and they never fail to exceed expectations. If you want to be inspired or research current trends within every aspect of progressive innovation make sure to visit Cooper Hewitt.

Alan Gary

Good place to see.lots of interesting exhibits. The building housing the museum is amazing

Jason Robinson

Hands on interactive learning for the whole family. Great community resource!

Tracey Becker

OMG! Nature meets design. So many different applications and ways to approach this question, it's mind-boggling. Museum did an incredible job.

Johanna Meier

Such a fun museum - it really strikes a balance between being informational, having a bunch of interesting and intriguing exhibits, and adding an element of entertainment to the whole experience! I loved being able to record pieces of art that I loved to revisit later with a special pen they provide upon entry and experimenting with designing my own buildings and furniture. I would recommend this to adults and children alike, as I believe their exhibits are truly friendly for both. It's also not too much to take in, and a nice change from places like the Met or the Natural History museum that truly take an entire day (if not two or three!) to properly explore.

Nancy Savage

A hidden gem! Interesting displays amongst the fabulous architect of the Carnegie mansion. Worth checking out

Doreen Pampani

Fun interactive got to save what you liked to look at later beautiful building

Jake Fishkin

Was able to visit the museum for National Design Week. They’re design in nature exhibits are so interesting, definitely check it out!

Anastasia Blashkova

They have 3 open floors, and I was told on the reception that people usually spend here 1,5-2 hours. I spend 3 hours for just top floor, saw second floor on gallop speed and didn't check the first floor at all - it was SO interesting (I visited the museum in August 2019, it was eco-fashion exhibition).

Heather J. Chin

Three floors of manageable yet uncompromising size and breadth, clever scanner sticks so you can save exhibits to look over at home, lovely architecture, a fantastic small park space where people actually play and relax, and a cafe that has somewhat decent prices for the area.

Ashley Lindsey

Beautiful space with interesting exhibits. Plus not crazy expensive!

Hana Frluckaj

Really no other museum in the city like this one. It's a bit on the small side, but the exhibits are so interesting and intriguing that you spend just as much time in here as you would for a larger museum. It has a great mix of history and technology, and it's a super interactive experience. One of my favorite museums and I always thoroughly enjoy walking around here.

Dorothy Griffiths

The Asian ticket desk attendant and the one waiting on the steps to issue tickets to reserved ticket holders refused to assist me in setting up my free Saturday ticket on my phone but she was happy to help another white person who was quite curt with her. I gave up trying, hissed my teeth and left.

Victoria

Amazing musuem.you should totally go there.beauriful exhibitions and interactive as well

Harris Samuels

The scale of the place was just right for spending a couple of hours learning about the decorative arts. Kid friendly place where you are invited to touch things. Am only sorry that we didn't time things to do the free tour.

Itai Epstein

This museum is beyond amazing. No matter when you decide to come, the exhibits they have are always interesting, thought provoking, and engaging. One unique aspect of the museum is a custom pen that you can pair with exhibits to either interact with them or tap on them if you find interesting. This is a great place for all ages.

Where's WeeWoo

Super cool place. Great for kids, lots of interactive points on the bottom floor.

Grégory Quéromès

Get there early enough to get one of their interactive pens. We missed it but the exhibitions were still very interesting. We went for the Wyss Institute collection and loved it

Sophia Snipes

I was a bit underwhelmed by this museum. I left it without having learned much of anything about design, and the collections of items were a little bland compared to other museums I’ve seen around. There were a few interesting pieces on the third floor about mixing design and new science materials, but it all seemed rather esoteric, and not likely to lead to anything useful in the future. In sum, I wouldn’t recommend it, at least with the current exhibitions.

Miles Callan

As an industrial designer, it's always fascinating to see what museums do with designed objects. How they interpret them for the visitors, and how the curated collections are displayed to tell a story. The cooper-hewitt absolutely knocks it out of the park. From the seamless way to remember items from your trip by touching a stylus to an RFID tag next to the object to the incredible interactive screen tables that allow you to explore more than the physical collection on display, it's doing technology right without hitting you over the head with it. Andrew Carnegie's unbelievable mansion is the backdrop for this adventure, the rooms themselves steal the show a lot of the time. Featuring absolutely unbelievable carved mantle pieces, Tiffany lamps, beautiful murals, the mansion has been carefully altered to make it more museum like, and it works very very well. The nature inspired exhibit I visited filled the entire museum, which is a fascinating approach to doing a medium sized museum like the C-H. Everything was of exceptionally high execution, very inspiring from a designer's point of view. The staff was also very enthusiastic about the museum, I had a long conversation about AI with a very kind staff member, and yet another was once a designer themselves! So it adds a remarkable richness to the experience walking through. I cannot wait to return and see whatever they come up with next to display inside.

Leah Wonski

Beautiful former Carnegie home converted into an excellent design museum. Staff was friendly, helpful, and incredibly informative. Can’t wait to go back!

robin kirner

Beautiful old building, housing new ideas. Enjoy this place inside and out. Nice cafe, and courtyard to take a break. Great gift shop

Dan Web

No real theme evident in this disjointed place. The Carnegie home is more engaging than the museum content. Plus we were subjected to a life story speech by a museum security agent under the guise of a museum overview. Odd.

Glen Zimmerman

It was a great experience. Informative, interior of the mansion was nice. Pay what you want Saturday night was a bonus.