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Even Mister Softee has a home at CityWorks, the new NYSCI exhibit that explores urban life. 

Planning CityWorks at NYSCI

CityWorks is the first major, large-scale exhibition NYSCI has put together since the pandemic and Hurricane Ida forced a pair of long-term closures at the institution. It's been a long time coming: Initial research began in 2019 with conversations stemming from NYSCI's Cardboard City installation and connected activities.

The topic itself is meant to inspire creativity and play as kids work their way through the space and also encourage budding minds to become advocates for the ever-changing city environment that surrounds them.

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Little kids will love the subway-themed train table that's just their size in CityWorks. 

Highlights of CityWorks at the New York Hall of Science

CityWorks covers five major topics of urban life: transportation, water and wastewater, sanitation, construction and urban development, and integrated systems, offering hands-on activities that invite a variety of ages to engage with the work.

In looking at transportation, for example, a toddler might spend hours at the train table modeled after NYC's subway map, while an older sibling experiments with whether adding a new subway stop or ferry landing would break the city budget.

A huge focus of the exhibition takes visitors between the walls and under the ground, uncovering inner workings that are oft-overlooked...until they break down. A simulation of the water system allows guests to see how the water flows, whether it's down the drain or raining from the sky, and how the combination can lead to an overflow at the city's storm drains. After seeing this exhibit, those NotifyNYC texts about clearing local street drains in advance of a heavy rainstorm made more sense to me!

You'll learn about the aqueduct system that brings freshwater from upstate way underground to the city and how little help it needs to climb to the top floor of a mid-rise apartment building.

As you work through the exhibition, it's easy to see the effort put into entertaining and educating guests. Sorting your garbage has never been as fun as it will be during a visit to CityWorks, where colorful balls come flying down a conveyor belt and you attempt to grab them before they hit the long, winding road toward the landfill.

There are K'Nex kits to build skyscrapers on a table that simulates the various bedrock formations found deep under NYC. Speaking of the underground, step into the simulated elevator to learn what you'll find buried under the city streets—from groundhog dens to artifacts, mail chutes, and even a huge stash of gold!

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Put the knowledge you've learned at CityWorks to the test on these building tables.

Once you've explored each individual city system, it's time to put the knowledge together: The exhibit culminates in a series of digital tables that let you build your own city. As you play urban planner—adding everything from parks and museums to bodegas, apartments, and pizza shops—you'll get real-time feedback about the level of traffic, trash, and water use through both graphics and some entertaining tweets generated by real-life New Yorkers.

Know Before You Go to CityWorks

• CityWorks opens to the public on Saturday, May 3, 2025, with a fun-filled celebration, including a touch-a-truck rally outside the museum, and it's meant to last a decade or more—with plans to update the material as the city continues to evolve!
• CityWorks is included in regular museum admission.
• An all-ages attraction, there are activities for toddlers to teens at CityWorks—and parents will learn something new, too!

All photos by author