Out of the ordinary tour

Hi. We will be visiting New York in late April and in addition to all the standard tourist type stuff we would love something a little different.

Does anyone have suggestions for perhaps a good ghost tour, or an underground tour, behind-the-scenes tour, something technology related (ie: old electrical station) tour. Also, any good science or technology musuems perhaps? I think you get the idea of what we are seeking.

To give you an idea, on the same holiday (from Australia) we are visiting Hoover Dam and Nasa in Florida, and we are so disappointed that Cheyenne Mountain no longer does tours.

Thanks in advance - Mark

Out of the ordinary tour

Not a technology or science guy myself but I found a few things that might be of interest to you.

The most obvious is a visit to the Museum of Natural History. Great dinosaurs (dead, in case you were wondering). Would be surprised if they didn%26#39;t have some sort of science and/or technology exhibit. And right next door is the Hayden Planetarium. Excellent for astronomy buffs.

The Sony Wonder Lab on 56th and Madison may be a children%26#39;s place (I don%26#39;t know--never been) but you could check their website at Sonytechlab.com.

The good news is that there is a ghost tour (or something close to it) and you even get to ride around in a hearse. If ';hearse'; is not a familiar term in Australia, it%26#39;s the vehicle that transports dead bodies. The tour seems to concentrate on celebs and famous and infamous New Yorkers who apparently went to their final reward shall we say ';unwillingly'; and are attempting revenge. Details at Cryptkeepertours.com.

If you%26#39;re into money and want to see what 900 tons of gold looks like, the Federal Reserve Bank offers tours. The Stock Exchange also offers tours but does not include the prisons in which many CEOs are currently serving time.

CNN, the worldwide news TV station, recently started ';behind-the-scenes'; tours if you%26#39;re interested in the ins and outs of how CNN makes up the news.

The New York Movie Tour claims to visit movie locations. It is not, however, done in a hearse, apparently.

If you have any interest in movies or TV, the Astoria studios in Queens are the oldest continuously operating movie studios in the U.S. and an excellent movie museum is on the premises. There is also a Radio and TV Museum in Manhattan.

You might like to spend some time at the Intrepid Air, Sea %26amp; Space Museum. Located on the aircraft carrier Intrepid, docked along the Hudson River, this is one of New York City%26#39;s more popular destinations. This one I recommend.

And finally, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at one time gave tours of the inner workings of the subway system. But I don%26#39;t know if it%26#39;s done any longer. Check MTA.com.

Out of the ordinary tour

I don%26#39;t know if this is the type of place you%26#39;re thinking about, but one of my favorite NY museums is the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, on Orchard Street. It does a beautiful job communicating the immigrant experiece. This is a museum you will find only in New York.

As far as behind-the-scenes tours are concerned, there is a behind the scenes tour at Radio City Music Hall that I have had on my ';to do'; list forever.