While You're in the Neighborhood
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is located in central Brooklyn, at the heart of a culturally rich neighborhood that includes the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Children's Museum, Prospect Park and the Prospect Park Zoo. These cultural institutions form a cultural partnership called the Heart of Brooklyn. After your visit to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, be sure to take advantage of the cultural opportunities just steps away in the Heart of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Right next to BBG is the second-largest art museum in the United States, the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The collections encompass every culture in the world and range in time from ancient Egypt to the present day. The museum's collections include holdings of ancient Egyptian art; classical and ancient Middle Eastern material; European painting and sculpture; American paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photographs, and decorative arts; the arts of Asia; Islamic art; native American art; and one of the largest collections of African art in this country. In addition, the Brooklyn Museum of Art offers a wide range of special exhibitions and public programs for the entire family, as well as its popular free First Saturday celebrations, which take place on the first Saturday of every month except September.
Brooklyn Public Library
West of BBG on Eastern Parkway is the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. Housed in a 1941 Art Moderne building, the library features a broad range of multimedia materials for adults and children. Among its outstanding departments are the Multilingual Center, the Youth Wing, and the Brooklyn Collection, an invaluable resource that contains over 35,000 photographs from the late 19th century to the present, the "morgue" of the old Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, maps, drawings, and other ephemera.
Prospect Park and Prospect Park Zoo
Prospect Park Zoo
Across the street from BBG's Flatbush Entrance is Prospect Park, a 526-acre urban oasis that is the masterpiece of the famed landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The park includes a complex water system, rolling meadows, and shaded hillsides. It is also home to a remarkable antique carousel, whose artful figures were carved by Charles Carmel, one of the foremost carousel designers of his time. Prospect Park also includes the 90-acre Long Meadow, Brooklyn's only forest, and a 60-acre lake. The nation's first urban Audubon Center is located in the historic Beaux-Arts Boathouse, which is surrounded by a system of scenic nature trails. Seasonal pedal boating, electric boat tours, guided nature walks, and horseback riding afford visitors up-close views of the park's thriving ecosystem. The Prospect Park Zoo, operating under the auspices of the Wildlife Conservation Society, houses nearly 400 animals—representing 80 species—living in environments that mirror their natural habitats.
Brooklyn Children's Museum
Brooklyn Children's Museum
Brower Park, a few blocks east of BBG, is home to the Brooklyn Children's Museum, the world's first museum especially for children. The Brooklyn Children's Museum invites families to explore hands-on exhibits about world cultures and natural science. It also presents multicultural concerts, theater performances, and special programs for children under five. The museum is located in a unique 35,000-square-foot underground structure that houses a permanent collection of 27,000 cultural objects and natural history specimens and presents a wide range of special exhibits and public programs.
Heart of Brooklyn
The Heart of Brooklyn consortium heightens cultural awareness, increases educational programming, and works to establish central Brooklyn as a must-see destination.
A free Heart of Brooklyn trolley, funded by the Brooklyn Borough President's Office, operates on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The trolley departs from Prospect Park's Wollman Center and Rink every hour on the hour from noon until 6 p.m. and makes stops throughout the Park, near the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Prospect Park Zoo, and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A connection to the Brooklyn Children's Museum Trolley is also available. The nearby neighboring communities of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Windsor Terrace, and Flatbush offer a wide range of restaurants and retail shops.