Housed in an historic 1936 IND subway station (as it really should be) the New York Transit Museum is a treasure sprawling beneath the streets of downtown Brooklyn — and not just because it makes an excellent rainy day activity. The museum's exhibits explore the building of the subway system ("Steel, Stone and Backbone") as well as the story New York's trolley and buses above ground ("On the Streets).
Kids can hop in the diver's seat of a bus, pretend to collect fare in a token booth, and push through older versions of subway turnstiles. While the whole museum is cool, the action really happens on the platform level, where trains from previous decades are on the track and open for boarding and exploring (complete with era-appropriate advertising.) The museum also hosts children and family programs every weekend, and for the family that's totally train-obsessed, try a special program like the Nostalgia Rides, which feature the 1930s trains making a trip to Coney Island or Orchard Beach.
Boerum Place & Schermerhorn Street
Tickets: $7/adults; $5/kids 2-17
Downtown Brooklyn
718-694-1600
Online: web.mta.info
photo: Black Paw Photo