Museum of the Moving Image
A museum about how film and television are actually made, on the site of the historic Astoria studios, with a permanent Jim Henson collection and a hands-on core exhibition.
- What it costs
- Moderate admission. Free or discounted evening hours have historically run on Fridays — check the current schedule.
- Best in
- Any season
- Where
- 36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106
- Official site
- movingimage.org
It's about the craft, not the celebrities
The core exhibition, Behind the Screen, walks through how moving images are actually produced — cameras, editing, sound design, makeup, licensing and merchandising — with around 1,400 objects and a lot of hands-on stations.
You can record your own dialogue over a film clip, make a flipbook, do a stop-motion animation. It sounds like a children's museum and isn't; the depth is real.
The Jim Henson Exhibition
A permanent gallery holding hundreds of objects from Jim Henson's career — original Muppets including recognisable Sesame Street and Muppet Show characters, puppets from The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, sketches, storyboards and film.
It is unexpectedly moving, and it is the main reason a lot of people make the trip.
The screening programme
The museum runs two cinemas with a serious repertory and premiere programme, frequently with directors and crew in conversation.
Check what's screening the day you go — the exhibition is two to three hours, and pairing it with a film in the same building makes a full afternoon.
Astoria's food is five minutes away in any direction, which is a strong argument for going in the late afternoon.
Getting there
The M or R to Steinway Street, or the N or W to 36th Avenue — both about a five-minute walk. Around 25 minutes from Midtown.
It sits beside Kaufman Astoria Studios, which is still a working film and television lot.
Getting around once you're there
Fully step-free with lifts to all floors — it's a modern renovation and it's done properly. Steinway Street on the M/R is not accessible; check alternatives if that matters.