Unique Kids' Gifts from New York City Museums

By Kaitlin Ahern February 6, 2015

Looking for an original gift for a special little person in your life? Look no further than those amazing NYC cultural hubs -- the museums! Here, our friends over at ThoughtGallery.org present a gift guide featuring presents for future engineers, vintage kids, aspiring artists, and wee New Yorkers. Then head over to ThoughtGallery to see the full gift guide, which includes suggestions for all ages.

Future Engineers

1. Blockitecture

Cultivate the future urban planner in your life with a hand-painted set of Blockitecture from the Brooklyn Museum Shop. Wooden blocks nest in a variety of combinations, ready to evolve as quickly as New York City. $25.

2. Metal Marvel One World Trade Center Replica

Add the latest addition to the New York skyline to someone’s collection. Easy to follow instructions help this laser-etched Metal Marvel One World Trade Center Replica from the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library Store rise considerably quicker than its downtown inspiration. $7.95.

3. Voice Recorder

In the rustic spirit of folk art, no two of these Voice Recorders from the American Folk Art Museum Shop are alike. Little hands can experiment with speed and pitch as they work up half-minute recordings. $54.

For Vintage Kids

1. MoMA Modern Play House There’s no reason a dollhouse can’t reflect impeccable taste. Help a little friend kit out a miniature world of mid-century modern design with the nesting boxes of the MoMA Modern Play House from The MoMA Store. $19.99. 2. Original Colorforms Set Colorforms went from accidental discovery in a Manhattan apartment to the Toy Hall of Fame. This reissue of the Original Colorforms Set is a throwback classic, complete with 350 vinyl decals. Sold in The Shop at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. $35. 3. Classic ABC Blocks No bleeps, blurps, or video screens needed here. These Classic ABC Blocks from the American Folk Art Museum Shopprovide learning the old-fashioned, tactile way, with 28 cubes made of quality Michigan basswood. $36.

For Aspiring Artists

1. Bigshot DIY Digital Camera Kit

Little photographers can take extra pride in their shots because they’ll be building this camera themselves. The Bigshot DIY Digital Camera Kit for The New Museum Store produces a versatile device, with capacity for regular, panoramic or 3D snaps. $125.

2. Do Art Travel Easel

Rising art stars can carve out space at the coffee shop and scene-sketch all day long with this art-on-the-go set. The Do Art Travel Easel from The Met Store comes packed with chalkboard, white board, pastels, markers, chalk, colored pencils and a drawing pad. $34.95.

3. Free Form Magnatab

Take inspiration from artist Jenny Holzer’s LED installations with this Free Form Magnatab from the Whitney Shop. The littlest of hands can manipulate the stylus and bead board to let imaginative shapes take form. $24.

For Wee New Yorkers

1. 4D New York Cityscape Puzzle Bring the skyline to life with this 4D New York Cityscape Puzzle from the Shop at the Museum of the City of New York, which nestles together 120 NYC building icons. The fourth “D”? That would be time, as the structures span from 1812 to One World Trade. $45. 2. Brooklyn Water Tower Model Kit No New York skyline is complete without water towers. Recycled cardboard in this Brooklyn Water Tower Model Kit from The Store at the Museum of Arts and Design comes together quickly to make a worthy miniature of this Gotham icon. $22.95. 3. G Train Model Convey a life lesson about the virtues of patience as you wait for this G train from the Children's Museum of Manhattan Store to roll on through. It’s part of a set of MTA-licensed wooden subway cars that will have the house ringing with calls of “step in, stand clear.” $11. See the full gift guide, filled with for your favorite foodie, fashionista, art lover, or New Yorker in exile.