Who We Are
Through the experience of an immigrant family’s 1890s home, the Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden preserves and interprets the cultural and horticultural heritage of Flushing, Queens and adjacent communities to engage their ever-changing populations.
The Voelker Orth Museum engages audiences through the arts, education, nature, horticulture and local history in the interests of Elisabetha Orth, who donated her home to become a museum. Today, we are committed to presenting multi-disciplinary programs that use different modes of inquiry and discovery.
We value hospitality, authenticity, collaboration and visitor-centered engagement.
Our collections start with the Voelker and Orth family’s house, papers, and objects. We study, exhibit and conserve the items that reflect the family’s life from the 1890s-1930s as examples of middle-class living in Flushing through the three generations of an immigrant family. Period furnishings allow the public to experience the sense of an early 20th century domestic space when attending programs or visiting for a tour.
Our Victorian-style garden welcomes and educates visitors and provides a habitat for birds and backyard wildlife. The house and garden offer a gracious venue for public and private events.
