Spooky City: Faces and Places of NYC
Celebrate Halloween at the Museum of the City of New York during Spooky City: Faces & Places of NYC, a day of family-friendly artmaking, storytelling, games, and festive fun inspired by New York City's rich history, neighborhoods, and the people who have shaped them. Designed for families with children and welcoming visitors of all ages, the festival invites everyone to discover the many faces and places of New York through creativity and imagination.
Throughout the day, explore the galleries with Cracking the Code: Break the Spy Code of MCNY and the Faces & Places Scavenger Hunt, enjoy complimentary popcorn and Halloween candy, and get creative at our art-making stations. Create a haunted city with Spooky Scene Collages: Build Your Haunted City, design a Halloween mask with Mystery Makers, make a colorful foam spider with Creepy Crawlers, or decorate your own treat bag with Haunted Haul: Design Your Candy Bag.
Timed experiences include Shadow Stories: Shadow Silhouette Portraits and Tell It Together!: A Community Story Circle, followed by a festive Costume Contest for multiple age groups and a lively Monster Mash Dance Party finale
This event is included with Museum admission.
Register for the Costume Contest
Important Note: This is not a drop-off program. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times during the program.
This program is presented in connection with the MCNY Kids Art Studio.
Activity Schedule
| Drop- In Activities | |
|---|---|
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Creepy Crawlers: Foam Spider Creation Build a three-dimensional spider using foam pieces, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom-poms, and other colorful craft materials, then decorate it with your own spooky style. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | A Haunted Haul: Design Your Candy Bag Personalize a blank Halloween treat bag using fabric markers, stickers, foam shapes, and other festive decorations. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Hidden Faces Halloween Mask Making Design a wearable Halloween mask using blank masks, markers, washi tape, and other decorative materials. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Build Your Haunted City: Spooky Scene Collages Use construction paper, patterned papers, scissors, glue, and Halloween-themed collage pieces to create your own spooky NYC skyline, neighborhood, or imaginary haunted city. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Cracking the Code: Break the Spy Code of MCNY (Ages: 9 and up) Put your detective skills to the test as you explore all of MCNY using a set of clues to solve five history-inspired codes and use close looking and critical thinking to uncover a secret message. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Faces and Places Scavenger Hunt (Ages: 5 and up) Explore MCNY’s galleries as you search for clues, discover fascinating New York faces and places, and complete a fun gallery-wide challenge. |
| 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM | Treat and Eat: Popcorn & Candy Giveaway Stop by for a complimentary Halloween treat! Each visitor can enjoy a bag of popcorn, while trick-or-treaters can pick up Halloween candy to keep the spooky fun going all day. |
| Timed Activities | |
|---|---|
| 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM | Shadow Stories: Shadow Silhouette Portraits Join this timed, hands-on workshop inspired by The Occupied City to create a silhouette portrait using light, shadow, and collage; each session is limited to 30 participants. |
| 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM | Tell It Together!: A Community Story Circle Join this interactive storytelling experience inspired by Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Future, where children and caregivers work together to create an original Halloween story through oral storytelling, imagination, and shared ideas. |
| 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM | Shadow Stories: Shadow Silhouette Portraits Join this timed, hands-on workshop inspired by The Occupied City to create a silhouette portrait using light, shadow, and collage; each session is limited to 30 participants. |
| 12:30 PM – 1:00 PM | Tell It Together!: A Community Story Circle Join this interactive storytelling experience inspired by Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Future, where children and caregivers work together to create an original Halloween story through oral storytelling, imagination, and shared ideas. |
| 1:00 PM –2:00 PM | Performance TBD |
| 2:00 PM –2:30 PM | Costume Contest Show off your Halloween creativity and compete for prizes in categories for ages 0–5, 6–12, 13–18, and families and groups 18+. Register for the Contest. |
| 2:30 PM –3:00 PM | Monster Mash Dance Party Dance, move, and celebrate Halloween together at a lively Monster Mash finale for the whole family. |
Supporters
Museum of the City of New York’s Family Programs are made possible, in part, by the Rochlis Family Foundation, The Eshe Fund, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Members: To receive your discount, click on the "Buy Tickets" button above, then sign in to your account on the ticketing page.
Groups of 10 or more get discounts; contact us at programs@mcny.org or 917.492.3395.
Accessibility: Assistive listening devices are available and our auditorium wheelchair lift can accommodate manual and motorized wheelchairs (max. capacity 500 lbs). Please contact the Museum at 917.492.3333 or info@mcny.org with any questions.
Related Exhibition - Ongoing
The Occupied City
Supporters
The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution is made possible by presenting partners, the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, an Anonymous Family Foundation, Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst, and The Hearthland Foundation.
Special thanks to our benefactors, Elizabeth K. Belfer, Matt and Marisa Brown, The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
Additional support provided by advocates, The Achelis and Bodman Foundation, Chris Brown, Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), Heather and William Vrattos. Thank you to sponsors, Daryl B. Uber and New York State Council on the Arts; and friends, Matthew Breitenbach and Terry Schwartz Breitenbach, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Peck Stacpoole Foundation.
Curatorial and collections work on this exhibition is provided by the Laura and Ray Johnson Fund and Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe.
Andrew Carnegie Foundation, Griffin Catalyst, The Hearthland Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Futures is made possible with leading support from The Puffin Foundation and Valerie and John W. Rowe. This exhibition is funded, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts.
Support for curatorial and collections work on this exhibition is provided by the Mellon Foundation and the Laura and Ray Johnson Fund.
Museum of the City of New York’s Family Programs are made possible, in part, by the Rochlis Family Foundation, The Eshe Fund, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click below to see answers to frequently asked questions about the festival.
If you have questions about Museum guidelines, such as photography policies or coat check, please visit our general FAQ page. If you have questions regarding accessibility at MCNY, please visit the Accessibility page for more information.
Children of all ages are welcome to join the Museum festival. Activities are designed for children ages 3+ and their grownups, though we welcome visitors of all ages to take part.
The Museum has a main entrance located at 1220 Fifth Avenue. The Museum’s accessible ramp entrance is available on East 104th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues.
Yes. Stroller parking will be available to all guests on the day of the program.
Kids’ guides are available at the Museum’s volunteer desk on the 1st floor and in each of the associated exhibitions to support children and their grownups in exploring our exhibitions.
Yes—all participating guests, including children, should be included when you purchase your tickets online.
Please contact the Family Programs team.
For more information, visit our FAQs page.
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