New York City Fire Museum: Off the beaten path NYC with kids

When I lived in New York just after college, I went to a lot of museums. I kind of had close to no friends, and Hubs (who was my boyfriend, then fiancée, at the time) worked as a bartender and server so was always either gone or sleeping. I spent my time, then, either walking miles and miles all over the city or going to nearly every museum. I was surprised, then, when I recently discovered the New York City Fire Museum—a museum I’d never been to, let alone heard of! If that’s not off the beaten path in NYC, I don’t know what is.

This small, little known museum makes for a quick visit. The Fire Museum takes you back in history to when New York was still ruled by gangs, and fire fighting was a for-profit business. Then it takes you up to the current day with an emotional exhibit on 9/11.

If you have kids who are at all interested in fire fighters, you simply have to include this on your list of things to do in New York with kids. (My nephew just outgrew his obsession with emergency response vehicles, but he would have loved this quirky New York museum.)

And honestly, I think most kids would enjoy the New York City Fire Museum. Although they won’t be able to slide down a fire pole (#LifeGoals), they can dress up in fire fighter gear and check out the carriages that evolved into the fire trucks we know so well today.

So, if you’re looking for off the beaten path things to do in New York with your kids, mark the Fire Museum on your map.

What you’ll see at the New York City Fire Museum

The New York City Fire Museum takes up two floors of a former fire station in Soho. And just about every square inch of this quirky museum in NYC is filled with fire fighter artifacts, gear, patches and historical photos.

One of my favorite parts of the Fire Museum was seeing how fire fighting carriages eventually turned into cars. The different designs, from how they pumped water to how they sprayed the hose, were fascinating to see.

Anyone who likes steampunk or antiques will also fall in love with all the old fire fighting gear. The craftsmanship of the old lanterns, bells, clocks and medals sure beat out what we can buy today.

Typed explanations throughout the museum provide snippets of history, and how New York’s fire fighters fit into that past.

Level 10 travel tip: The Fire Museum is only one block away from the Color Factory, an interactive exhibit that celebrates color and creativity.

9/11 memorial at the New York City Fire Museum

Set apart from the main sections of the Fire Museum, a 9/11 memorial marks the sacrifice of the city’s fire fighters during the 9/11 attacks and the recovery that followed. I appreciated how the memorial had its own room, somewhat separate from the museum, for a few reasons. Firstly, the 9/11 memorial is an incredibly emotional, somber place. I was glad to have some privacy from the excitement and cool factor of the rest of the museum.

Secondly, not all parents will feel ready to take their kids to the 9/11 memorial. Having the memorial slightly tucked away enables parents’ choice of when and how to discuss the terrorist attacks with their children.  

I went into the 9/11 memorial at the Fire Museum on my own. I took the time to look at the portraits of the fire fighters who died that day, feeling overcome by sadness. I imagined all the people these fire fighters left behind, and the people they helped save.

The memorial itself is covered with their faces. The memorial has two rectangular gaps—absent of the towers that used to stand in Lower Manhattan.

Photographs from 9/11 and the days that followed fill one wall—from the plane hitting the World Trade Center Tower to the dust-covered faces of fire fighters to the funerals of those who didn’t make it out.

The New York City Fire Museum 9/11 memorial brought me back all those years to when I woke up to the news of the attacks. If you’d like to pay your respects to everyone who died on 9/11, and to honor the many people who survived and helped the rescue and recovery efforts, I recommend you visit the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan. The enormous—and enormously emotional—memorial stands in Ground Zero.

Level 10 travel tip: You may be more emotionally affected by the national 9/11 Memorial than you expect—I sure was. I ended up ugly crying on a bench next to the memorial. Don’t plan on breezing by the memorial—expect to need some time transitioning to your next activity. And be prepared to answer questions from your kids.

One of New York City’s unusual museums

While you’re in NYC, you’ll definitely want to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Museum of Natural History. I love each of those New York museums, and I make a point to visit them every time I go to NYC.

It’s also fun to find some of the city’s little known museums, like the New York City Fire Museum. This small museum is sort of like a kids’ meal: Just the right amount for a child’s appetite or, in this case, attention span. You won’t need to take tons of snack breaks or bribe them to go see your favorite painting; your kids will be able to make their way through this entire off the beaten path museum in one go.

So if you’re visiting New York City with kids, definitely put the Fire Museum on your list of things to do.

Is there someone you know who would want to visit this unusual museum in New York City? I’d love for you to share this post with them so we can all have more unique experiences in NYC. Thank you!