NYSCI’s Climate Week Shows How NYC Tackles Extreme Weather

New York’s Hall of Science is opening its doors for a full‑blown Climate Week, a seven‑day series that runs from September 20 through September 27. The schedule is designed to pull back the curtain on the ways the city’s streets, sewers and parks cope with everything from sudden downpours to sweltering heat waves.

It’s a bit of a milestone, too – five years after Hurricane Ida flooded the museum with more than a million gallons of water, NYSCI is turning that trauma into a teaching moment. Visitors will wander through the revamped CityWorks exhibit, where interactive displays break down how storm‑water drains work, how sewage systems divert floodwater, and how green spaces act like giant sponges.

Friday, September 25, brings the Queens Climate Expo, hosted alongside Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. The family‑friendly afternoon, held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., will feature hands‑on workshops on home energy upgrades, resilience planning, a mobile library, and even a few critters from the Alley Pond Environmental Center.

Beyond the expo, the Design Lab will be buzzing with activities. Kids and adults alike can build emergency shelters, experiment with biodiversity projects, sketch sustainable city plans, and learn the basics of recycling in a tactile setting.

NYSCI’s regular hours stay the same – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – and the museum is keeping Fridays open for free community hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., so families don’t have to worry about tickets.

Whether you’re a climate‑concerned resident, a school group looking for an educational outing, or just someone curious about how the city stays afloat when the weather turns wild, this week of events offers a front‑row seat to the engineering and ingenuity that keep New York moving.