Located at the south end of Empire State Plaza is The Cultural Education Center.  This includes The New York State Museum, The New York State Library and The New York State Archives.

The New York State Museum occupies four floors of the Cultural Education Center.  It contains the 25,000 square foot Windows on New York exhibition. A few favorite exhibits include:  a walk-in Iroquois long house, a New York City subway car, and a historic working carousel.  The museum houses a mastodon skeleton that was excavated from nearby Cohoes, New York, as well as the country’s first permanent exhibition of artifacts that document the 9-11 World Trade Center attack.  The museum has an interactive hands-on Discovery Area for children.  Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.  The museum is opened year round, 9:30AM-5:00PM daily. 

The New York State Library holds over twenty million items. Some of these pieces include:  historical documents from New Netherlands, Theodore Roosevelt memorabilia, and rare genealogical materials.

The New York State Archives cares for more than 350 years of historical records from Dutch colonial days to the present.  The collection includes:  Native American Treaties, hand-written copies of all four New York state constitutions, Benedict Arnold’s treason papers, Erie Canal records, and Civil war muster rolls.

Address: 222 Madison Ave. Albany, NY 12230
Phone:  518-474-5877
Online:  www.nysm.nysed.gov