The Battery’s newest attraction, the SeaGlass Carousel, is nothing like you’ve seen or experienced before. Forget the old-fashioned horses and carnival music that come to mind when you think carousel, and get onboard for a unique aquatic adventure.
A Different Look
The SeaGlass Carousel is housed in a shiny pavilion built to look like a huge chambered nautilus (a type of mollusk). Once you step inside, you feel as though you are swimming with a school of fish. There are 30 enormous fiberglass fish of various species (including Angelfish, Lionfish, and Butterflyfish) to choose from for your ride. Most of them move up and down (ask the staff which go the highest), though there are some that are stationary if that is your preference.
The fish are beautiful pastel colors, illuminated internally with color-changing LED light fixtures. The pinks, yellows, blues and greens change hues as the individual pods dance around thanks to a huge electric turntable. Within the larger turntable are three smaller ones which spin in different directions, gliding you around the entire space of the pavilion. Sometimes it feels as though you may collide with other fish, but rest assured you won’t (though it is fun to try and keep track of the other members of your party as they whirl around with you).
The roughly three-minute ride is topped off with calming music provided through integrated audio systems and a further feeling of being underwater courtesy of multiple light projectors hung from a light ring at the apex of the pavilion. I challenge you to ride just once! As soon as our first spin was over, my 4-year-old son said, “That was super cool,” followed by my 8-year-old daughter begging to go on again. We ended up buying a pack of 10 tickets and I have to say I was a bit dizzy after riding three times! We happened to visit during the day, but I imagine that dusk may be the best time to go. The darkness combined with the illuminated fish colors is sure to be thrilling.
More to Do
At this point, you may be wondering if it’s worth it to take a trip down to the tip of Manhattan just for a jaunt on a carousel. I could easily say yes, but the great thing about the location of SeaGlass is that there is so much else to do within walking distance, so you can combine your carousel rides with other great activities.
The Battery itself is worth a stroll, with some pretty parkland, several memorials, and great views of Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty. If you didn’t know, the park is also the launching point for ferries that go to both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Advance reservations are highly recommended though you can get last-minute tickets at Castle Clinton (in the northwest part of the park), a National Monument run by the National Park Service. Park rangers offer free tours of the historic fort a few times a day and there are a couple of small displays that tell the history of the area. Castle Clinton was actually the first site of the New York City Aquarium (to which the SeaGlass Carousel pays homage), from 1896 to 1941.
Once you’ve had your fill in Battery Park, there are any number of other things to do nearby. My husband, our kids and I actually walked up to the World Trade Center site after our time at SeaGlass. Though we didn’t plan ahead for a visit to the National September 11 Museum, we did stop by the beautiful, moving Memorial to pay our respects.
Other alternatives include a visit (for free) to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, located at the tip of Bowling Green (see our Let’s Go To article in the November 2015 issue). Or you can take a free ride on the Staten Island Ferry for more great views of the Statue of Liberty and the city.
So, whether you start your adventure in Lower Manhattan at the SeaGlass Carousel, or choose to end your day there, make sure to put it on your list of must-do activities the next time you’re in the area. You and your kids will enjoy channeling your inner fish or little mermaid.
Andrea White is an Edgemont-based writer who loves to go on adventures with her family.
When You Go …
SEAGLASS CAROUSEL AT BATTERY PARK
Battery Park
(phone or GPS directions: 17 State St., New York, N.Y.) seaglasscarousel.nyc 212-344-3491
HOURS
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (check facebook.com/ SeaGlassCarousel for weather-related updates/closings)
TICKETS
Buy on-site $5 each; pack of 10 tickets $45
Children under age 1 ride free
All children under 42 inches tall must ride on an adult’s lap, with only one child per lap. Both children and accompanying parents must have a ticket. Dogs must be leashed in the park, and are not allowed in the pavilion or on the ride.
