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The Drawing Center is a museum that offers nonprofit exhibition space to focus solely on the exposition of drawings, both historical and contemporary. The Center has presented more than 230 exhibitions and has published over 85 catalogs. The New York Times has called the gallery "one of the city's most highly respected small art museums."

For a New York City history lesson, skip the text book and head straight to the source at the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. The archives were established in an effort to collect, preserve and make available primary information chronicling the social and political history of New York City. The archives serve researchers, journalists, students, exhibit planners and others. Some documents the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives has in its possession include papers of several mayors, the records of the New York City Council, the New York City Housing Authority, the piano maker Steinway & Sons and a Queens History Collection.

Hang out at the Staten Island Zoo to see cool animal attractions like the Serpentarium, an exhibit that houses one of the nation's largest rattlesnake collections. There are around 858 animals that live at the zoo, including its most famous resident, Staten Island Chuck, the city's official Groundhog Day forecaster.

If you want to check out live music in NYC, then the Bowery Ballroom is the place to see it. Known for reasonably priced tickets and not having a bad seat in the house, this venue has presented concerts by musicians like Tom Petty, Dierks Bentley, Robert Plant, Bruno Mars, R.E.M, Elvis Costello, Coldplay, Alanis Morissette, Kings of Leon, Muse, Depeche Mode and many more. The Bowery is famous throughout New York City and has appeared in movies like Coyote Ugly and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.