A brightly lit laboratory setting full of scientific equipment, framed by large windows in view of green trees and foliage.

Science Open House

October 16, 2026

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | At the Garden

The New York Botanical Garden is proud to participate in OHNY Weekend this year to give visitors a deeper look into NYBG’s unparalleled collections, science facilities, and innovative research. Learn how this storied institution’s collections are cared for and how research is conducted with drop-in hours, guided tours, and opportunities to learn from Garden staff. A variety of free tours will be on offer in addition to self-guided exploration time, but please note that space is limited to 15 people per tour, and tours are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign-ups are available at the entrance, but tours may fill up well before the scheduled time.

Black and white pages of a book are shown with an open book, showing an illustration of a cabbage, with the words Burppe, Phildelphia. The book is in a display case.

Explore the Library & Growing America Exhibition

Open House: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s outstanding collections represent over a century of commitment to botanical and environmental research. The Mertz Library staff are proud stewards of NYBG’s rich history and invite visitors to retrace its origins through a self-guided tour of historical documentation, photographs, and ephemera. See the library exhibition, Growing America, and celebrate America’s 250th anniversary at NYBG through the plants and foods that tell the stories of American history. In the Mertz Library, see historic botanical illustrations, planting ledgers, books, and cookbooks dating from the Revolutionary War to the Victory Gardens of World War II and beyond.

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Dive Into Our Herbarium Collections

10:30 a.m.
Tour begins at the 4th floor of the Orchid Rotunda in the Museum Building. Space is limited; first-come, first-served.

The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden is one of the largest collections of its kind in the world, holding 7.8 million plant and fungal specimens from around the globe, and representing 250 years of botanical research. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the treasures held in this museum of preserved plants to see historical collections made by Charles Darwin and other scientists, learn how the collections are made, and discover their integral role in scientific research and conservation.

A person examines a set of test tubes in a laboratory

Discover the State-of-the-Art Pfizer Lab

11:30 a.m.
Space is limited; first-come, first-served. A sign-up sheet will be available at the entrance to the Pfizer Lab 30 minutes before the start of the lab tour.

NYBG Science encompasses several departments and programs and includes more than 100 scientists, including staff, graduate students, Emeritus Curators, and Adjunct Scientists. All are working toward the Garden’s scientific mission to explore, understand, and conserve Earth’s vast botanical diversity. Tour will begin in the Pfizer Laboratory lobby.

Before New York: The Bronx Exhibition

1 p.m.
Ross Gallery

Before New York, there was nature. After New York, there will also be nature. Nature was, is, and forever will be a co-creator of the city we call home. The more closely we align our lives with the ways in which nature operates, the longer our city will endure and the richer and more profound our lives will become. To see the nature of the place we now call the City of New York, ecologist Dr. Eric W. Sanderson and colleagues have spent more than 25 years reconstructing lives of the inhabitants of this remarkably rich and diverse coastal landscape as it existed on September 12, 1609, on the eve of a visit by the English navigator in Dutch employ, Henry Hudson. Join Dr. Eric Sanderson for a tour of Before New York and learn about the plants and landscape of the Bronx as it existed 400 years ago.

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