The Brooklyn Museum’s Museum on Wheels Returns for 2026 Season

Museum on Wheels: Coney Island, 2025. (Photo: Argenis Apolinario)

The custom-designed Airstream trailer will bring hands-on cultural and creative experiences directly to Brooklyn neighborhoods from May to October.

The Brooklyn Museum is proud to announce the return of Museum on Wheels, a mobile arts initiative housed in a custom-designed Airstream trailer, for the 2026 season. Museum on Wheels will travel to neighborhoods across the borough from May to October, including Bushwick, Coney Island, Flatbush, Fort Greene, Kensington, and Williamsburg. Each stop is created collaboratively with local arts and community groups, inviting intergenerational visitors to participate in creative experiences such as art-making, cultural storytelling, and learning activities inspired by the Museum’s collection.

“We saw an incredible response to Museum on Wheels last summer,” says Laval Bryant-Quigley, Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships, Brooklyn Museum. “At its core, this work is about building lasting relationships between the Brooklyn Museum and those we encounter around the borough. By meeting people where they are and reflecting their experiences, we create strong pathways to the Museum that go beyond a single visit.”

Museum on Wheels officially launched in 2025 as part of the Museum’s 200th anniversary celebration, bringing hands-on cultural experiences, art-making activities, and educational resources to communities in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn Heights, Coney Island, East New York, Williamsburg, and more. Appearing at block parties, community festivals, and celebrations, the Museum on Wheels team, including the Museum’s Community Engagement staff and teaching artists, worked collaboratively with local community groups to serve over 4,100 participants throughout the season.

In 2026, the team is maintaining relationships built during the program’s first year, both with community groups that helped shape each stop through listening tours and with participants who visited Museum on Wheels. Testimonials from prior attendees show what a visit from Museum on Wheels means to them:

“It’s an excellent and worthwhile experience,” says participant Anna Zhao. “My daughter and her friends enjoy the Museum on Wheels! We love the arts and crafts, artifacts from the Museum, games, big bubbles, [and] the decorations in the bus.”

“Watching it all come together was emotional,” says Caniea Brown, Parent Power for Cultural Equity (Cool Cultures). “It felt like a reminder that art doesn’t need walls to matter. Culture doesn’t need a ticket . . . sometimes it just needs wheels.”

“Museum on Wheels sparks creativity and leadership in our youth, giving them hands-on ways to engage with art and their community,” says Karyne Tinord, Yadestiny Treasure Chest. “It helps build confidence, connection, and a sense of ownership in local cultural experiences.”

The 2026 Museum on Wheels schedule is below. Stops and details are subject to change. For the latest information, follow Museum on Wheels’ route across Brooklyn and subscribe to Brooklyn Museum newsletters  to see where it’s headed next.

MAY 9 – DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

Show Brooklyn Some Love Fest
On Mother’s Day weekend, visitors are invited to honor mothers, caregivers, and loved ones with creative experiences for all ages. Activities include making flower mandalas inspired by Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party, games, custom poetry, and a Brooklyn-themed photo booth.Created in partnership with Brooklyn Org and Brooklyn Bridge Parents.

MAY 16 – BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK

Kite Festival
Inspired by Iris van Herpen’s exploration of movement, nature, and design, this activation invites visitors to engage with themes of flight, aerodynamics, and transformation through hands-on activities and visual storytelling. Created in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Park.

JUNE 4 – FLATBUSH

Brooklyn-Queens Day Block Party
Museum on Wheels joins a vibrant neighborhood celebration centering Caribbean identity, memory, and storytelling and featuring a potential collaboration with artist JR’s “Inside Out Project.” Created in partnership with Brooklyn Public Library and local organizations.

JUNE 14 – FORT GREENE PARK

Juneteenth Celebration (The Lay Out)
As part of Fort Greene’s annual Juneteenth celebration, Museum on Wheels joins a powerful day honoring Black joy, expression, and community through music, art, and cooperative economic initiatives. Created in partnership with The Lay Out.

JULY 25 – CONEY ISLAND

City of Water Day
This coastal-themed activation features tactile encounters with marine materials from the Staten Island Museum and connections to Iris van Herpen’s nature-inspired designs. Created in partnership with Coney Island Beautification Project.

AUGUST 8 – WILLIAMSBURG

ENVSN Fest
This dynamic gathering uplifts young creators who are women of color, highlighting innovation, entrepreneurship, and the next generation of cultural leaders. Created in partnership with ENVSN Foundation.

SEPTEMBER 27 – ATLANTIC AVENUE

Atlantic Antic / Playtopia
This high-energy street festival activation brings manga-inspired programming to life while connecting with local businesses and community partners.

OCTOBER 24 – KENSINGTON

Day of the Dead Parade (Casa Cultural)
Museum on Wheels participates in one of Brooklyn’s most vibrant cultural traditions—a community-led celebration honoring remembrance and ritual. Created in partnership with Casa Cultural.

Credits

Museum on Wheels is generously supported by the Howard and Nancy Marks Foundation, the De Sole Family Foundation, the Hayden Family Foundation, and the Sharon S. Davis Foundation.

Special thanks to the supporting sponsors of 2026 Museum on Wheels season, Brooklyn Org and TF Cornerstone.

About the Brooklyn Museum

For 200 years, the Brooklyn Museum has been recognized as a trailblazer. Through a vast array of exhibitions, public programs, and community-centered initiatives, it continues to broaden the narratives of art, uplift a multitude of voices, and center creative expression within important dialogues of the day. Housed in a landmark building in the heart of Brooklyn, the Museum is home to an astounding encyclopedic collection of more than 140,000 objects representing cultures worldwide and over 6,000 years of history—from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to significant American works, to groundbreaking installations presented in the only feminist art center of its kind. As one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country, the Brooklyn Museum remains committed to innovation, creating compelling experiences for its communities and celebrating the power of art to inspire awe, conversation, and joy.