Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor

Along the north shore of Staten Island on the Kill van Kull are an endless line of ship repair yards and other industrial companies on the water. But as you ride along on the S40 bus on Richmond Terrace from the ferry terminal, you'll come upon this green oasis, a serene sanctuary. On the grounds of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center are a concentration of the treasures of Staten Island. In addition to the Botanical Garden, the Maritime Museum and Chinese Scholar's Garden is the little known Staten Island Museum.

Though the building dates from 1881, it has recently been modernized to be a LEED certified energy efficient structure. You'll notice the modern interior setback walls and windows are a stark contrast to the original exterior. The 3 floors of exhibits are not large due to the limited floor space, but I feel they could use what they do have more efficiently. For example, the Mastodon room has so much wasted floor space just having half a Mastodon sticking out of the wall and an electronic microscope on the other side just seems out of place. On the upper floor is an eclectic collection of historical artifacts and art that doesn't really seem to fit together as an exhibit theme except that they are here together.

Another temporary exhibit is the Impractical Jokers, showing props and videos from a locally produced cable show. This type of exhibit is themed more along the lines of the Museum of the Moving Image. It was funny and entertaining, but a little bizarre for this venue.

Admission is $8 ($5 for students & seniors), but I was able to get in on my company's corporate membership. I was also given an audio tour guide to be used at certain exhibits, but found that there weren't too many of them, except for some of the more prominent items in the collection.

Honestly, I was SOOOO impressed by the Impractical Jokers exhibit alone, I have to give the museum five stars.

Getting here isn't quick, but it is pretty easy. Take the Staten Island Ferry. Go outside and find the bus. Ride it to the stop right out front of the museum. You're there.

The staff was friendly and welcoming overall. We checked out the non-IJ exhibits first. It is not a very big museum, so it is easy to navigate.

Then it was time for the Impractical Jokers exhibit. It was extremely well curated, and as a long time fan of The Tenderloins and the Impractical Jokers, I was loving every single bit of it!! We spent more time inside than I expected honestly, but I really loved it. There was even a fun little photo booth, and you can e-mail yourself pictures "with" the guys.

There is a small souvenir shop at the entrance of the museum, so swing through on the way out for any goods.

I had just gotten off the Staten Island ferry and went to the address that was on a blog website. It must have been an old one once since when I arrive there the museum is being remodeled and has moved to another location. So naturally I use google maps for the new address that is present on a flyer in front and it was about 15 minutes from the old location.

The s40 transit was near by and in close proximity to where I was--I hoped on a local bus and hoped off at snug harbor ave. It literally lets you off across the street; I could have gotten a taxi, but I decided to walk. I entered the premises and found that there are so many other smaller establishments as well such as a botanical garden, the museum, butterfly sanctuary, etc.

I came for the museum and was able to experience so much more! The museum was quite small but it was worth going to!

Suggested prices are bit high, especially if you're making the trek to Staten Island, and weren't originally on it. My boo and I traveled from Queens down to the museum. We took the R train to Whitehall Station and then waited for the next Staten Island Ferry and then got lost at the SI Ferry station - it was confusing figuring out where to go for the right bus. Then we took a 15+/-min bus ride to the Museum. We went on Jan 5, 2019 and got to enjoy a rainy day indoors.

The museum is large and welcoming. Upon entering, there's an area; locked closet one can keep their coats and umbrellas. The front desk usually has one or two ladies that help out. They're both very professional and helpful and kind.

We went to see the Impractical Jokers exhibit. My boo is a fan. He had a great time! I enjoyed reading the shenanigans and watching some of the exhibits.

The museum seems massive, but in fact it is not so large. There were a few parts of the museum itself that seem to stay put and then some rooms where new exhibitions can be showcased.

We read about the local history and artifacts, and heard some of the Impractical Jokers' commentary on various arts and subjects. And we also went into the main exhibition space and got to read about four best friends and their story to becoming the famous dudes they are today.

They made it such that there was a good balance between sitting and standing for the various parts of the exhibit.

The restrooms were clean. The gift shop is at the main entrance. & the decals on the entry/exit doors were/are humorous.

Happy viewing!

I grew up on Staten Island. When I was ten, mt neighbor, Tom Brady, artist, gave me an envelope with a stamp he designed of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. After he retired & moved from 161 Penn Ave. He sent me three paintings. Now that I'm older , I thought the SI museum would appreciate a donation of his work especially the stamp. I was wrong. The response I received seemed to be dismissed the intended donation as just another stamp. Ok it's just my opinion. But because he lived on the Island I assumed the museum would have a section for artists who called it home. I understand they might not have room for the three small paintings of his... Dad. I just hoped his work could be housed on Staten Island for others to appreciate.

Stopped by here on our vacation. Had a great time. Staff are super friendly and knowledgable. Loved hearing the history on the location and ghost stories but most of all and the highlight was finding the hidden Impractical Jokers items. Love that show. Thanks for a great time.

Excellent museum.

1) I loved the Tibetan art collection. It was just fantastic.
2) The free audio guide was wonderful.
3) Will come back.

I am the only guest to this museum at Wednesday,
you can not go in the museum
until you walk to the main entrance
and it is locked
you need ring the bell so someone can come to open the door for you

it is good to own whole museum
but it is weird a museum need lock their main entrance door

A simple but aesthetic space. Learn about the history and heritage of Staten Island. Snug Harbor is a beautiful surrounding for it too.

Very cute and small Museum. With lots of information around Staten Island's history it's landmarks and reasons why streets are named as they are. Explain the cause and effects of my actions of the Islands starting between the alliences between the Union and Confederation. Not very big exhibits but everything is there for a reason and the Arts are beautiful.