Photographer Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr., a lifelong resident of Yonkers, played a key role in the creation of the museum,[4] as did sculptor Isidore Konti,[5][6] and George J.

[7] Central to its history is the Glenview Mansion, a house built in 1877 from a design by American architect Charles W. Clinton, and once the home of one John Bond Trevor.

In 1969, as part of a major expansion of the museum campus, a planetarium was built with a 40-foot dome, seating for 120 and a Spitz Space Transit Projector.

The museum has also hosted watch parties for many astronomical events, beginning in 1971 with the close approach of Mars, to Halley's Comet in 1986 and the solar eclipses of 2017 and 2024.

[16][17] The museum's diversity is part of what led to its citation as one of the most unusual cultural facilities by the New York State Council on the Arts in 1972.

[29] An exhibition room and staircase from the museum’s interior appear in the Apple TV+ series Severance, and the exterior of Glenview Mansion was enclosed to portray a replica of Kier Eagan’s home as constructed in the Lumon Perpetuity wing.

[3][32][33] The facility experienced a resurgence in the 1990s, received a number of grants and awards, saw increased funding from Westchester County, and was able to expand in time for its 75th anniversary.

[34] In the wake of these cutbacks, the museum began to host private events and offer tours, particularly to groups of school children, as a means of increasing income.