3. March 2025
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Museum of Sex (New York)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Museum of Sex (New York City)

Museum of Sex (New York City)
4.2

Rating

 4.2/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very good and educative museum
  • Nice selection of topics
  • Fun at the Super Funland

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Super Funland spoils the scientific impression a bit
  • Too pricey

New York City is full of iconic and strange places. Undoubtedly, the Museum of Sex in Manhattan is one of… both. At least at first sight. You might not expect a museum about that topic in the heart of a big city in the United States, especially as the country is often regarded to be a bit of prim. The more, I was curious about this place when I was in the city in April 2024. On top of that, it was included in my New York Sightseeing Pass, so I just had to do it. Here is my review.

 

Museum of Sex – Location & Admission

The museum is locate on the corner of W 27th St and 5th Ave and thus just a block away from the National Museum of Mathematics. There are some other key sights of New York City in short distance, like Madison Square Park or the Flatiron Building. The easiest way to get there is to take the NY Subway to 28 St. There are two branches, one serving lines 4 and 6 (incl. Express) and one lines N, Q, R and W. There is also a bus stop (lines M1, M2, M3) right in front of the museum, 5 Ave / W28 St (Southbound traffic). There is nowadays also an outlet of the museum in Miami.

The Museum of Sex is opening daily. Admission times on weekdays are 13:00 to 22:00. On Fridays, the museum is closing at midnight. Saturday and Sunday times are noon to midnight. You can pre-book standard tickets online, which include the museum itself and Super Funland (see below). The nominal price is 36 USD. However, there is an online ticket fee and taxes, leading to total of 43.55 USD (at the time of writing). The nominal price for short-term tickets is 44 USD. There are some upgrades and packages available. The Museum of Sex has a minimum visitors age of 18, you might be asked for an ID.

 

Museum of Sex – The Visit

You start your visit with the in-fact museum. Honestly, I had no idea what this place would be alike – and I was positively surprised. The Museum of Sex really tries to be educative and tries to emphases on the cultural significance of human sexuality, as the museum website is stating. Thereby. you initially visit a room with different items and exhibits illustrating the evolution of sexuality and its influence to life through different ages. The museum is not cheap or awkward at all, it really looks and operates like other museums, it is just a topic you might not be that used to.

Thereafter, there are more specialized exhibitions. For obvious reasons, I do not share too detailed pictures of the museum, but during my visit, you for example learned about the development of the BDSM scene or which role sexuality took over the ages in movies. Again, the museum was very educative in that part. This part of the museum also looked into the role of sexuality and erotics in literature and advertisement, for example, which I felt being really interesting. Another really interesting topic was male cruising in the Chicago parks, which was absolutely well made up.

 

Super Funland

The museum is on the upper floor of the Museum of Sex. After that educative visit, Super Funland is rather the entertaining part. It is like a little fun fair with some characteristic games. However, these have a certain rebranding towards sex and erotics. With the sightseeing pass I used, I had limited access to the attractions (you can buy individual games, though). I feel it on the one hand, Super Funland makes you leave this place in a good mood. Some of the games are a bit too obscure in my point of view, though.

 

Museum of Sex – Services

Super Funland is also having a bar area, which is selling (among other items) some… characterically named and served cocktails. The museum is also running a gift shop in the reception area. There are items related to the museum exhibits, but also some erotic toys and similar items. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

 

Museum of Sex – My View

First of all: the Museum of Sex is a really good museum. It is very educative and also leads a focus on topics, which you might not be aware of, e.g. discrimination of certain groups of people due to sexual habits. Super Funland is nice, but it also somehow spoils the scientific and educative approach of the museum itself. On the other hand, you can either have fun or be educated, which is actually a nice combination. The price is rather high though – but that’s not untypical in the Big Apple.

 

Museums & Exhibitions in New York City

Here are my reviews of museums and exhibitions in Greater New York City:

 

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