My wife and I first visited the National Museum of the American Indian – New York 13 years ago when we moved to NYC. It was also one of our favorite spots to take friends when they visited. And with enough blood in my body that I can rightfully claim to be a small part Native American (Choctaw), my kids feel an intimate connection to the displays.

The museum, part of the Smithsonian Institute and officially called the National Museum of the American Indian George Gustav Heye Center, celebrates American Indians and their history. There are rooms filled with paintings, pictures, artifacts and stories from all the major tribes. The Circle of Dance display is my favorite — a variety of clothing used for celebrations is displayed in a beautiful large room, while a large screen at the end of the room plays videos of the dances for which the clothing is used. The size of the room allows kids to try the dance steps they are witnessing on the screen for themselves.

Located in lower Manhattan inside the Alexander Hamilton Customs House, which is a beautiful feat of architecture constructed between 1902 – 1907, the museum is also worth visiting for its historical and architectural significance. The inside of the Beaux-Arts building is ornately detailed and many paintings and frescos date to the building’s early days. Some of the paintings do not quite fit the current use of the building, such as paintings that are left over from when one of the rooms showcased the greatest naval commanders in history. It is odd to see the glorified faces of those who brought disease, death, and persecution to American Indians next to the faces of American Indians commemorated throughout the museum.

There are other great reasons to visit with kids, such as Toddler Music Time, where little ones can sing and dance and create fun-themed crafts. My 3-year-old had a great time singing songs and pretending to be an animal. My 11-year-old and 9-year-old didn’t attend any of the classes, but they enjoyed walking around the museum and learning about American Indians while we were occupied with the class. As we usually do when visiting museums, my kids brought their sketchbooks and had a great time drawing some of their favorite exhibits.

The National Museum of the American Indian is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Admission is free, but they love donations, of course.

The museum is located at One Bowling Green in lower Manhattan. The closest subway stop is Bowling Green on the 4 and 5 lines, though it is a short walk from the Whitehall St/South Ferry stations of the 1 and R lines.

A version of this first appeared on One Good Dad.

From time to time, it is refreshing to have one of our NYC Dads Group members be a “guest blogger” and blog about one of our meet-up experiences or discuss the trials and tribulations about parenting. This week I asked Patrick, one of our more active and outgoing members, to describe our meet-up event this week…

It was an exciting day for Grace and me. We took the subway from the Upper West side down to Chambers Street where we then walked over to the Hudson and down to Wagner Park immediately north of the Battery.

We met up with 10 other dads for nearly 2 hours. The kids had plenty of room to crawl around on the blankets, on the grass, see other kids, and show off their tricks. When the kids look at each other, face to face, you can almost hear them saying, “Hey you have a nose too.” Kids are also always more interested in someone else’s toy.

After being with the group for nearly 3 months it’s great to see the growth in the kids and hear all the stories about cool stuff the kids are doing. Some of the kids eventually plugged into a bottle, and I fed Grace a lunch of cheese, chicken and strawberries. We all know the importance of keeping our kids “on schedule”, and it was just particularly nice to do this while talking with other Dads with Lady Liberty just over there (see the Statue in the background of picture above).

Dads came from all over New York City for this afternoon’s Meet Up. When it came time to go, I joined two other Dads in the trek north along the river path. Three men pushing strollers … unstoppable!

Smart Dads always know where they are in relationship to the “pub”… over 30 blocks later, we HAD to stop for a burger and a beer at the Chelsea Brewing Company at Chelsea Piers. Perfect. We work hard. We change diapers. We deserved it.

It was a great day for all…Grace and I hope to see the group and more new Dads next week.

Patrick & Grace (in picture – Patrick in green holding Grace in pink)