Do I have to take a tour?
Yes. The Tenement Museum is only available by guided tour.

Where do tours start and end?
Tours begin and end at The Museum Shop, located at 108 Orchard Street, on the South East corner of Delancey Street.

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Can I take pictures in the Museum?
Photography is not allowed in 97 Orchard.
Visit our Flickr page for photos inside the tenement.

Members of the press who would like to take photographs for a story should call 212-431-0233 x235.

What else can I see at the Tenement Museum?
We lead walking tours of the Lower East Side and host Tenement Talks, regular events about New York City.

In our Museum Shop, visitors can see a complimentary video about the history of immigration in America.

The Windows of 97 Orchard feature art about contemporary immigration. These exhibits are free and always on view. They are best seen before or after a tour, not instead of visiting our tenement.

Where do I buy tickets?
Tickets are sold at The Museum Shop, located at 108 Orchard Street, on the South East corner of Delancey Street.

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Are reservations required?
Reservations are recommended, especially during holiday seasons or if you have a large group or tight schedule. However, reservations are not required.

Tickets are available daily at the Museum Shop, on a first-come, first-serve basis.

If online tickets are no longer available for a tour, is the tour completely sold out?
No. Even if online tickets are sold out, tickets for all tours are still available at the Museum Shop, in limited quantities.

You open at 11am during the week, but the first public tour is not until 1pm. Why?
The Museum hosts school groups during morning hours; afternoons are reserved for tours for the general public.

Do I have to take a tour? Which tour should I take? Which is appropriate for our age group?
The Tenement Museum is only available by guided tour. While all of our programs can be tailored to any age or experience, the Museum recommends the following tours for grades K-12.

Meet the Residents: Victoria Confino K-12

Meet the Residents: Bridget Moore K-6

Meet the Residents: Tenement Inspectors 4-8

Tour the Building: Hard Times 4-12

Tour the Building: Sweatshop Workers 4-12

Tour the Building: Irish Outsiders 9-12

Neighborhood Walking Tours: Outside the Home 5-12

Neighborhood Walking Tours: Taste of the Tenement 1-6

Neighborhood Walking Tours: Foods of the Lower East Side 7-12

Neighborhood Walking Tours: Then & Now 5-12

We also recommend reading the tour descriptions and deciding based on the themes that best fit your group's interests.

Where do I check in?
All groups check in at Museum Shop at 108 Orchard St, on the Southeast corner of Delancey Street

What should I know before I arrive?
The Tenement Museum is a National Historic Landmark. We take great pride in protecting our building and ask that all group visitors adhere to the following rules for the duration of their visit:

• Please do not touch any of the objects on display in 97 Orchard Street, nor the building itself.
• No photography is permitted inside the Museum. Visit http://photos.tenement.org to access the Museum's photo database, including pictures of the building's interior.
• Eating, gum-chewing, and drinking are not permitted inside of 97 Orchard Street. Bottled water only may be consumed during your tour.
• Cell phones, beepers, and other electronic devices should be turned off prior to the start of your tour.
• Visitors are expected to remain with their Museum Educators at all times. In the case of an emergency, your Educator will be glad to help escort you out of the building.

Other things to bear in mind:

• Backpacks are not permitted inside of 97 Orchard Street. Please leave any backpacks at home or on your bus prior to your group's arrival. Limited storage facilities are available to groups who arrive with backpacks.
• Our historic tenement is neither wheelchair accessible nor does it have an elevator. All visitors must climb at least one flight of stairs to enter the tenement. If anyone in your group has mobility impairments, please notify the Group Services Department so we can make appropriate arrangements. We would be happy to provide any member of your group with a Virtual Tour.
• The tenement is not air-conditioned. If you are visiting during the summer, be prepared for warm temperatures inside the building. Your group is encouraged to bring water bottles to help beat the heat.

Can my group visit the gift shop?
The Museum's Gift Shop and Visitors Center is a very small space and cannot accommodate for large groups. If your group would like to visit the Gift Shop, please split into smaller groups of ten people or fewer and be prepared to take turns going inside.

A visit to the Museum's Gift Shop is not included in your tour programming.

Where can I take my group to eat?
The Tenement Museum does not have any eating facilities available to groups.

If you are planning on bringing your own food, nearby Seward Park provides benches and plenty of space for groups to spread out and eat. Seward Park is located five blocks southeast from the Museum at Hester & Essex streets.

The Lower East Side is home to a number of excellent restaurants. Visit our Area Guide at http://www.tenement.org/guider.html for suggestions.

Are there restrooms available?
The Tenement Museum has very limited restroom facilities. Two individual unisex restrooms are located within our Museum Shop and Visitors Center, with an additional two located inside the Museum at 97 Orchard Street.

Groups that anticipate needing use of the restrooms should plan on arriving well in advance of their scheduled tour time to accommodate for long restroom lines. If at all possible, please have your group use the restroom prior to your arrival at the Museum.

What if I'm running late on the day of my tour? Who should I call?
If you are running late on the day of your tour, please call the Museum Shop and Visitors Center at (212) 982-8420 extension 6. If a member of the Group Services team is unavailable, please notify the shop staff of your situation.

Please be aware that we are unable to extend or re-schedule your tour in the event that you are running late. Groups that arrive more than 30 minutes late run the risk of having their tour program cancelled. The Museum cannot issue refunds to groups whose tours are cancelled due to lateness.

Are tours offered in languages other than English?
All group tours of the Tenement Museum are given in English.

In some cases, the Museum may be able to provide a foreign-language tour to your group. Written guides are also available for some tours in a variety of languages. If your group speaks a language other than English, please contact a member of the Group Services Department to discuss your options.

The Museum offers special programming to ESOL students through our Shared Journeys workshops. For more information please visit http://tenement.org/shared_journeys.php.

When do you offer private group tours?
Private Group tours at the Tenement Museum are available 7 days a week.

Monday-Friday we offer the Confino, Hard Times, Sweatshop Workers and Irish Outsiders tours from 10AM-11.30AM. We offer the Confino, Hard Times and Sweatshop Workers tours from 11.30AM-1PM.

Additionally, the Irish Outsiders tour is available from 12.30-2PM or 1.30-2.30PM, the Confino tour is available from 1.30-3PM and 3.30-5PM and the Sweatshop Workers tour is also available from 1.30-3PM and 3.30-5PM on Wednesdays.

Saturday-Sunday we offer the Hard Times, Sweatshop Workers and Irish Outsiders tours from 10-11AM. The Confino tour is available from 10-11.30AM as well as from 4-5.30PM.

Walking Tours and After Hours programs are available upon request.

How many people can I bring on a Private Group tour?
The minimum capacity for the Confino, Hard Times and Sweatshop Workers tours at the Tenement Museum is 15 people. The Irish Outsiders tour has a minimum capacity of 12 people. It is possible to make a Private Group reservation for less than the minimum, however, you will be required to pay for the minimum.

The maximum capacity for the Hard Times and Sweatshop Workers tours Monday-Fridays is 45 people. The maximum capacity for Hard Times and Sweatshop Workers tours on Saturdays and Sundays is 30 people.

The maximum capacity for all Confino tours on both weekdays and weekends is 30 people.

The Irish Outsiders tour has a maximum capacity of 24 for senior and adult groups and 30 for K-12 groups.

The maximum capacity for an Outside the Home or Then & Now Neighborhood Walking Tour is 25 people.

We require that K-12 groups bring 1 adult chaperone for every 14 students.

How much does a Private Group tour cost?
The Tenement Museum offers tours at a reduced rate to visiting groups.

ONE BUILDING TOUR-WEEKDAY
$10 per K-12 student
$12 per college student
$12 per senior (65+)
$14 per adult

ONE BUILDING TOUR-WEEKEND
$12 per K-12 student
$12 per college student
$12 per senior (65+)
$14 per adult

ONE BUILDING TOUR + WALKING TOUR -WEEKDAY
$16 per K-12 student
$19 per college student
$19 per senior (65+)
$22 per adult

ONE BUILDING TOUR + WALKING TOUR-WEEKEND
$19 per K-12 student
$19 per college student
$19 per senior (65+)
$22 per adult

TOURS after 5.30PM
$15 per student
$15 per senior
$20 per adult

*Children ages 5 and under are free, but will be counted as part of your total reservation numbers.

Offsite programming is available upon request.

How do I make a reservation?
Groups interested in making a tour reservation can submit an online request form via our website: http://tenement.org/groups.php

Requests can also be made over the phone at 212-431-0233 ext 241, faxed to 212-431-0402 or emailed to groups@tenement.org.

What is your payment policy?
The Tenement Museum requires a 50% deposit payment within four weeks of making your reservation. The remaining balance is due on the day of your program.

The deposit is refundable up to 4 weeks prior to the reserved date. Only one rescheduling request can be made per group. Should the NYC Department of Education Chancellor cancel field trips due to snow, staffing strikes or other extenuating circumstances less than 4 weeks prior to your program, your deposit will be applied towards another date that school year. All programs, including Walking Tours, will occur RAIN or SHINE, SLEET or SNOW.

If you make a reservation less than four weeks prior to your scheduled program date, your 50% deposit will be due immediately.

Your program will be cancelled due to a late deposit.

Money orders, MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express are accepted. Checks are also accepted. Please do not send cash.

Do you have bus parking?
The Tenement Museum does not have a parking lot. However, there are several lots nearby.

The Broome Street Lot, managed by the Lower East Side BID offers complimentary two-hour parking for cars only.

Free bus parking is available by reservation. Email reservations@lowereastsideny.com at least 14 days prior to your visit and include the following information:

Your name
Group name
Date & Time of arrival
Phone number
Size of bus (coach, school bus, mini-bus, van)

You will receive a confirmation email if parking is available.

Do you offer admission remission?
**All visitors to the museum must pay. The Tenement Museum does not issue any complimentary tickets.
Due to the generosity of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the Tenement Museum is pleased to offer a limited number of free tickets for underserved populations throughout New York City. To apply to be a part of our Good Neighbor program, please complete and return the application found on our website on the Group/School Visit page.