The Heckscher Museum of Art

This is a cute little establishment located in an absolutely gorgeous Park in Huntington. It consisted of about four rooms of art and was something that you could do in 45 minutes to an hour easily. Some of the art was very beautiful and some little strange but hey that's art. It was open and bright and a nice little thing to do. It wasn't really a children's museum but they did have some activities for kids and I would consider taking your children there if they are learning about anything to do with some of the pieces. Right now there is a whole room full of Asian influences art which I might take my children to when we discuss the continent of Asia. The surrounding Park is so nice. Parking is a hassle but I would assume that it would be much easier on a weekday. All in all worth the trip.

To visit the Heckscher its highly recommended to place a reservation ahead of time online. The museum, even though it's small in size, is full of art with two exhibitions running simultaneously. When I visited, I saw the Moonstruck and Global Asias exhibit. The staff are friendly and the environment is very calm and quiet. Not many people are in the museum during the days, so it's pretty much empty (unless there's an event happening). I loved the collection of artwork the curators put together. It was such an immersing and educating exhibit.

The works of art were beautiful and we would have enjoyed the museum more had we not been followed around and made to feel unwelcome. We were given clipboards to complete activities during our visit but this was quickly overshadowed by the conversation had with me about the delicate nature of the exhibits and the importance of keeping the group in control. The group that attended consisted of 5 well behaved 10 year old cub scouts that were supervised by 3 adults. The guard in the museum shadowed us during our visit within the small 3 room museum. There were other children visiting with families that were not given the same “attention” as our group. This was a disheartening feeling for the adults in our group that felt uncomfortable during this time. The scouts were filling an art requirement for an elective earning over the summer and this was a missed opportunity to reinforce and instill a love of arts through questioning and exposure. I would not recommend this museum to my Cub Scout pack for a future visit. As a classroom teacher, I would not recommend this museum for any class visit.

I was first there in the 90s, with myself and other Park Rangers, to speak to the public about Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in OysterBay. It's been an absolute pleasure to be there again for one of my niece's (Courtney Leonard) and her Native/Environmental Art Instalations. The museum is still as beautiful and comforting now with its caring staff and lovely grounds. It's wonderful! 🥰