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MEDIA GAME LAB

The labs are open during regular Museum hours.

The Media Game Lab is open for visitors to study, play, and create games and moving images. Stop by these dynamic spaces to enjoy digital-media activities for the whole family. These activities are part of the Museum’s mission to present video games alongside, and as a part of, the art and history of the moving image.

A young woman wearing a virtual reality headset and holding a controller, bathed in purple light

Media and game experiences are offered for all ages in these labs, and in the second- and third-floor galleries of our core exhibition, Behind the Screen. Recommended for ages 7 and up. 


Upcoming programs:

Mini-Game Retro Jam 

April 23–25, 2024 

Join us in person at MoMI for our spring 2024 game jam! Participants will bring the fun from the big screen to the arcade in a game jam hosted in our state-of-the-art Game Lab! The Mini-Game Retro Jam is a unique three-day program for teens ages 14–19. Using the fantasy console PICO-8 game engine, teens will explore the Museum and create retro-style mini-games to share with friends and family. Completed mini-games will be showcased in our new custom MoMI arcade consoles for Museum visitors to play 

Learn more!


Past programs:

Media Lab Artist Takeover

January 5–29, 2023 

The Media Lab Artist Takeover featured media-making activities that thematically relate to an artist’s work. As part of the video installation Office of In Visibility Presents: SAN TV (Sanitation Art Network Television), artist sTo Len, who is currently a Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) at the New York City Department of Sanitation, collaborated with the Museum’s Education department on a news broadcast green screen activity and a Phil D. Basketinspired game design activity. Phil D. Basket, illustrated by Alphonse Normandia, is a 1960s cartoon character that was created by the Department of Sanitation and the Citizens Committee to Keep New York City Clean to promote the disposal of trash in waste baskets. In the Media Lab, as if on a news broadcast, using the green screen effect, visitors can report from various shuttered waste sites in New York City, such as the Fresh Kills Landfill. In the Game Lab, visitors can play and modify a Phil D. Basketinspired game by digitally drawing their own trash into the game or designing a new outfit for Phil D. Basket.


Character Design Jam

August 18, 2022, 3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m.

Join us Thursday, August 18 at MoMI’s Game Lab for our free Character Design Jam. In this teen-led event, Museum visitors can learn how to create a character, and bring it to life in the virtual world of a video game. Take control of your character as your drawings transform into interactive digital art! Recommended for ages 7 and up. Learn more!


Mini-Game Retro Jam

July 6–July 8, 2022, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Join us in person at MoMI for our summer 2022 game jam! Participants will bring the fun from the big screen to the arcade in a game jam hosted in our state-of-the-art New Media Game Lab! The Mini-Game Retro Jam is a unique three-day program for teens ages 14–19. Using the fantasy console PICO-8 game engine, teens will explore the Museum and create retro-style mini-games to share with friends and family inspired by movies and media represented in MoMI’s Behind the Screen gallery. Completed mini-games will even be playable for Museum visitors in our new custom MoMI arcade machines! Learn more!


Earlier 2022 Programs:

“Night at the Movies” Teen Game Jam

February 22–24, 2022 (10:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.):
Apply by February 16, 2022

Participants will bring the fun from the big screen to the arcade in a game jam hosted by our Media Game Lab. The “Night at the Movies” Game Jam is a unique three-day program for high school students that takes place in person at MoMI. Using the fantasy console PICO-8 game engine, they will create retro-style games inspired by the movies represented in the Museum’s exhibitions.

Learn more here!


Spend a few summer days at Game Design Lab, a unique three-day program for high school students at Museum of the Moving Image. The Lab is completely free.

What You'll Do

DISCOVER some of the newest independent games being created; play and discuss classic games; learn what makes your favorite game fun.

DESIGN modifications to your favorite games to make them your own; collaborate with Lab partners to develop creative solutions; play test your ideas.

CONNECT with professional game developers; explore college and career opportunities in game design; gain behind-the-scenes access to games in the Museum’s collection; network with peers from other schools.

Questions? Call 718.777.6854 or email [email protected]