The New Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education is now open! With more than 25,000 square feet of public space, the new Center is designed to provide the optimal environment for learning, study, and inspiration. The beautiful new classrooms, studios, and library reaffirm the Museum's commitment to quality in the more than 20,000 educational programs and events it offers each year. Innovative uses of new technology will afford the opportunity to explore new directions in teaching and learning about art and art making, while maintaining the Museum's core principle of presenting excellent programs that welcome everyone—students, teachers, families, adults—to explore the world of art.
Above: Photograph by Evan Lee.
Director Philippe de Montebello offers a glimpse of the state-of-the-art new Center in a special slideshow-enhanced episode of Met Podcast.
Download the audio file.
(1.50 MB)
Listen to the full audio program. 
(3:11 minutes)
See Met Podcast for more information, including a transcript.
Photograph by William Miller.
Overview
The New Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education comprises 25,000 square feet of public space, including an orientation and entrance area, a meeting hall, a lecture hall, an art study room, several classrooms, a studio, and an expansive library. Download a floorplan (PDF; 99 KB) of the new Center. Ground-level access to the new Uris Center is at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street and through the garage entrance at Fifth Avenue and 80th Street.
Diane W. Burke Hall
As visitors enter through the Diane W. Burke Hall—a welcoming space with an admissions desk, information desk, and Audio Guide rental desk—they will be greeted by dynamic screen displays providing information about current exhibitions, Museum galleries, and scheduled events and programs.
Carson Family Hall
This spacious gathering area is built to accommodate many different programs and events. After entering at 81st Street, school groups visiting the Museum will move to the Carson Family Hall to check in and meet their Museum instructors. Family festivals and other special art activities will also meet here on weekends and other times.
Photograph by Jackie T. Neale Chadwick.
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall
The Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall—equipped with dedicated projection facilities—is the Museum's primary space for lecture and conference events for up to 125 participants. Adjacent spaces are suitable for breakout sessions.
Art Study Room
The Art Study Room allows curators, conservators, Museum scientists, and educators to bring together objects from the collection for serious study by students, professors, scholars, and other researchers. With state-of-the-art security, storage, natural lighting, and optimal HVAC conditions, this room will house Curatorial Studies Classes, Scholars' Days, and other specialized discussion and teaching occasions that require access to the objects themselves. The space is also equipped for videoconferencing and other media uses. The Metropolitan is the only major museum with a dedicated study room of this kind.
Carroll Classroom, Seminar Room, and North Classroom The Carroll Classroom serves as a classroom and a studio. It will house classes, study sessions, and breakout sessions for conferences, as will the Seminar Room. Just off the Carson Family Hall and Diane W. Burke Hall, the North Classroom is the ideal place for Museum educators to work with small groups that have special access needs.
Studio
Art-making programs for visitors of all ages will take place in the studio. Designed to accommodate children, adults, or both, this space will allow participants to work in a variety of media.
Photograph by William Miller.
The Uris Center also houses the Nolen Library, the only Museum library that is open to the public, serving visitors of all ages. With a core book collection of some eight thousand volumes, it provides valuable access to the Museum's library resources for teachers, students, and all Museum visitors. The Children's Reading Room, a special area of the library set aside for families, includes a place to read together and to use computers that provide basic orientation to the Museum.
Photograph by Christine Butler.
The Teacher Resource Center within the Nolen Library houses a wide variety of materials to assist teachers, curriculum designers, and other education specialists in planning class visits to the Museum and in incorporating art into their curricula.
Photograph by Jackie T. Neale Chadwick.
See Events and Programs for descriptions and schedules of the ongoing programs offered by the Museum, or see the calendar to find out what's happening on a particular day.
Photograph by William Miller.
The Education e-newsletter lets you know about upcoming programs, classes, and other events offered at the Museum. Sign up now.
Photograph by William Miller.