Museums on Long Island: These 3 sites offer a lot in a small space
Frankie Verni, 8, of Southold, takes in the exhibits at the Southold Indian Museum. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Although short on square footage, Long Island’s small museums offer an astonishing array of exhibits. Want to gaze at colorful butterflies (live or under glass), check out a certain Long Island singer-songwriter’s vintage bike collection, or mark November’s National Native American Heritage Month celebration by viewing 10,000-year-old Indigenous artifacts? Here are three places to check out:
Southold Indian Museum
1080 Main Bayview Rd., Southold
The approximately 2,000-square-foot museum was built in 1962 to house the collection amateur archaeologists Roy Latham and Charles Goddard. Its two levels showcase thousands of Indigenous artifacts, said Lucinda Hemmick, president of the Long Island chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association, which owns and operates the museum.
“The upper level concentrates on local Algonquin artifacts,” including clovis points, folsom points, and other handmade stone tools, said Hemmick. The lower level features artifacts from South, North and Central America, Hemmick said.
“We also have an area where children can see Pow-Wow toys, including Kachina dolls, and make arts and crafts projects,” she added.
Open 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays or by appointment. Email indianmuseum@optonline.net, call 631-765-5577 or visit southoldindianmuseum.com. Admission is $10 for adults, free for K-12 students and children under the age of 5.
Hicksville Gregory Museum
1 Heitz Place, Hicksville
At this three-room museum inside a former 19th-century courthouse, exhibits include more than 1,000 moth and butterfly specimens, as well as other insects — mostly under glass, but sometimes live.
On a recent day, docent and resident entomologist Paul Manton, of Levittown, told a caller that he had brought out a live female mantis to show museum visitors. “I’m feeding her lanternflies,” he said.
Also on display: Fossils and the “largest collection of rocks and minerals on Long Island that is open for viewing by the public,” Manton said.
There’s also a Long Island history collection featuring 19th-century maps and photos. It will soon include a portrait of Valentine Hicks, who was Hicksville’s founder and namesake, Manton said.
Open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call 516-822-7505 or visit facebook.com/hicksvillegregorymuseum. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for seniors 65 and older and children ages 4 to 16. Free for Hicksville residents.
20th Century Cycles
101 Audrey Ave., Oyster Bay
Hicksville native Billy Joel is best known as a rocker, but he also has a passion for rollin’: The “Piano Man” loves to collect vintage motorcycles. Dozens of his bikes — including immaculately restored models dating to the 1940s — fill this one-room storefront. And although guests aren’t allowed to take them for a spin, the cycles are not just museum pieces.
“All of the bikes in the collection have been transformed in one way or another into rideable, practical machines,” according to the museum website.
Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Visit 20thcenturycycles.com. Admission is free.
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