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Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
180 Little Neck RdCenterport, NY 11721
(631) 854-5555
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
15 reviews for Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium
15 reviews in English
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Review from Dan T.
Manorville, NY
2/4/2012
This will serve as the review that reaches farthest back in my life. I attended a rather mummified class trip here in the '90s, and can only say they put the ***** in in a sarcophagus here.
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Review from Jane B.
Riverhead, NY
1/16/2012
Recently took some tourists to visit. What a wonderful place, getting a bit run down, really hope the county steps up and gives them some funding for repairs. THe docents are very knowledgable and friendly and the tour is fact filled. The plantarium was closed for repairs, but the sight of it reminded of me of my high school days and the light shows, during which we listened to Pink Floyd and indulged in illegal substances. Oh for the good old days. :)
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Review from Zaleina K.
Lynbrook, NY
3/20/2011
A 3000-year old mummy, extensive collection of taxidermy (including some of the most colorful birds I've ever seen), 500-year old paintings hanging casually on the walls, and a rich, colorful history of one of the famous Vanderbilts - all this in one lovely, picturesque mansion on the water!
The mansion tour was a bit dull for my 4-year old child but I was engrossed -very good tour guide (he was knowledgeable and made the stories very real and entertaining). We came across a man playing the organ in the large living room (for a second, I thought the guy was a prop!). There are gorgeous views of the bay from the breakfast nook and Vanderbilt's master bedroom....Wait till you see the luxurious bathrooms and closets! A girl's dream...
The museum's website is very informative - I hope this museum sticks around for a long time.
The only problem seems to be the dilapidated state of the planetarium and the lack of kid-friendly shows in the daytime. We saw the 4 pm showing of the Solar System and while I found it okay, my daughter didn't get much out of it. The carpeting and seats are old. The whole set-up is great but needs more fun documentaries for young children. Reasonably priced however. Lots of people took their kids so don't get discouraged by my child's reaction - could be nice for age 8 and up.
Overall, it's a small mansion compared to the ones I've seen in Newport Beach, RI, but it's worth a visit, with all the other eccentricities it has to offer for the whole family.
Inexpensive and inspiring visit; also a nice drive out to Suffolk County - please visit before summertime to avoid the highway congestion. -
Review from Jennifer S.
Huntington Station, NY
1/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
One word....Interesting. This guy lived the life. The dino exhibit was closed when we went but we got to see most of the grounds.
I suggest going in warmer weather. Theres a bit of outdoor walking involved getting from building to building.
Vanderbilt's private collection of taxidermy is ridiculously large. The marine building is full of icky looking things like marine worms and the like. ugh.
The views of the sound are breathtaking . Could you imagine living here?
They need money.....bad. There are quite a few things that need updating....especially when it comes to the planetarium.
All in all its an interesting time. I'd suggest spending the $12 to get the ticket into both the mansion and the planetarium. -
Review from Tracy K.
Syosset, NY
5/22/2011
Opulence and images from the industrial revolution are all here as a reminder of Long Islands past. Visit the Vanderbilty mansion and other remaining gold coast mansions online at http://www.goldcoastma...
Listed in: Gold Coast Mansions
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Review from Cristina B.
Merrick, NY
1/18/2011
Interesting museum on the life of the Vanderbilts. This museum has their mansion to tour, the grounds, the gardens in the spring and summertime, and various taxidermy buildings. It even has a planitarium. Unfortunately, the museum is having money issues, and certain things are due for an upgrade (planitarium, boat house, etc) Nevertheless, it's an enjoyable trip.
Tip: If you want a mansion tour, you need to call ahead! -
Review from Charles J.
11/11/2010
This is a really interesting place to visit. The taxidermy collection is huge.
Update: This museum has changed a lot over the years. It was once an open space where you could wander freely. It is now filled with docents who are overbearing and the place seems run-down. -
Review from Brian M.
Long Island, NY
7/11/2011
This is a great place to go on a summer day. The grounds are beautiful and maintained, and the views of the water are picturesque. The Vanderbilts were amazingly rich, and it shows. The museum staff were very friendly and even let my fiancé and I in free at the end of their tour hours. Definitely a can't miss if you are in the area.
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Review from Amanda M.
Islip, NY
12/10/2007
This is a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon. Where else can you find a sky full of stars, shrunken heads, a 35-lb lobster, stuffed penguins, a beautiful villa mansion and hundreds of sea specimens for only $10?
Okay, I think I may have made the Vanderbilt Estate sound like Ripley's Believe It Or Not, but it is a fun place to visit and has something for everyone. William Vanderbilt II was quite a well-traveled and well-rounded man, and over sixty years after his death, he has left quite a collection for Long Island to see. -
Review from raul z.
Huntington, NY
10/9/2009
A great villa that I did enjoy very much walking on the grounds and enjoying the fantastic views of the Long Island sound. There was a Corvette show while I was there so it was a lot of fun to see these fun cars on the grounds.
However, the place is in need of much renovations and, in fact, one of the workers did tell us that they are barely making the bills to keep the doors open... sadly, the place needs some painting and up-keeping, the boathouse is falling apart and closed. Some parts of the grounds need to be taken care of and even the inside of the house needs some de-humidifiers as my sinuses and hedeaches went crazy as soon as I stepped in...
The place is a fab place to take the family for a nice afternoon to the planetarium, the marine museum and the grounds for the kids to play and run around.
Truly, I hope this place gets some grants to fix whats needs to be taken care of and keep the doors open. -
Review from Frank T.
Oakdale, NY
8/11/2008
I try to visit this place once every two years because A)the grounds are cool to walk around on and take pics. B)The mueum exhibits lots of cool aquatic life in jars like Young Frankenstein would keep brains in. C)The planetarium will always remind me of being a kid and thinking it was so cool to "take a trip to the planets". However, it seemed better/more real when I was young. Maybe because today we live in an HD world, and, we're used to seeing things vivid with sick contrast!! When seeing the shows the last 3 years, the stars, sky and planets seem a little blurry and old-school by todays standards. And they got rid of the NASA ICECREAM in their gift store..
I dont know; I hope some of the space shows get more current and wicked, wild, main and mint. But, I'll still give it 3 outta 5 stars, son -
Review from Craig K.
Lake Grove, NY
8/11/2008 5 photos
I like this place, if nothing else but to wander the grounds and view William K. Vanderbilt's amazing collection of artifacts, animals and other various things collected during his extensive travels. The word "extensive" doesn't do this man's collection justice.
The Vanderbilt estate, which was known as "Eagles Nest", is located on 43 acres and was built during the Gold Coast era of Long Island's super wealthy. This Spanish style mansion can be scene in the movie "Crocodile Dundee II" as a drug dealer's house. Keep wandering around and look in little nooks and crannies and places not on any tour. You'll see a giant Whale Shark, a scale model of the estate, an actual mummy, and so on. Don't be confined to where you're allowed to go.
The planetarium was built in 1970 and doesn't seem to have changed or upgraded since then. They still have the same exact shows for as long as I can remember. "A Trip to the Planets"..yada yada yada. It's nice the first dozen or so times, but a change would be OK (and not just a new laser light show). It's a shame since I believe it's the biggest facility of its kind on Long Island. But hey, check it out since it's pretty cool the first time. And kids will love it. -
Review from Heather M.
New York, NY
11/29/2008
this place is great for kids, its just ok for adults. Take in the show at the Planetarium though, its worth it. Grounds are very pretty.
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Review from Loui R.
San Diego, CA
4/27/2009
the planetarium is definitely starting to show it's age. the seats are getting old and the sound system is sounding a little crappy. other than the it's still a nice place to see the stars.
the mansion and maritime museum are definitely interesting to see. in the hall of fishes there are tons of fish mounted and painted. i think there was over 600 species of fish in there. the second floor of the fish hall is a place for the strong stomached. there you will find the preserved remains of thousands of fish and other aquatic specimens. all of them are a pale white/yellow color and it just seems gross to look at. many of the dates on the containers are from the 1930's through the 1950's. in the mansion there are also a bunch of stuffed animals and mounted heads, there's even a real egyptian mummy in one of the rooms. -
Review from William H.
Huntington, NY
6/25/2011
ok, so i remember this being a really cool-looking place as a kid. i checked online and prices seemed very fair. i told my wife and kids we are heading to the planetarium to see a space show and everyone was excited. drove 40 minutes and arrived for the 11:00 show. the place really looked run down and had kids runing around because they rent it out for birthday parties. i went to buy tix for 2 adults and 3 kids and it was $42. i was confused, but seems you have to buy a gen admission pass to the museum in addition to the planetarium tix. i told the cashier we just wanted to see the show, not the musuem which is on the other side of the grounds. this was not an option, so i paid the $42 and recieved 5 tickets as well as 5 museum passes. there was some sort of tech problem so the show was delayed. i dropped $25 in their lousy gift shop while waiting. by 11:45 they said that there would be no show due to tech probs. my kids were disappointed and i felt bad but stuff happens. i went on line to get a refund and they would only give me back $19 of the $42. i told them i don't want to go to the museum today...especially since if we try this again, i will be forced to pay for the museum side and we'll do both that day. they refused to give my $ back. i was mad and all the other people in my situation started flipping out so they gave out full refunds. UPDATE: we went back the following week and enjoyed the grounds and marine museum as well as habitat section (many cool trophy animals). planetarium show was ok, but no rainbow or sunset as described on their website.
