Polar Rink

My boyfriend thought it would be cool to skate atop the Natural History Museum. As soon as we got out of the cab in front of the museum, a couple who was just leaving saw us with our iceskates and said, «Don’t go to that rink. The ice is terrible.» We thought they were just picky people and went anyway.
AFTER we paid, the attendant told us, «Just so you know, it’s acrylic ice.» I don’t think either of us really knew what that meant until we got onto the «ice.» It’s not ice, it’s a slippery surface that ruins your skates. You can’t glide so you end up just stopping abruptly and stumbling. What a ripoff by the AMNH. Shame on them.

It was an experience, although not a good one
I love the design. But there are so many thing missing that the synthetic ice shouldn’t be the only issue. Here’s some others.
–No lockers
–Really small rink (think ½ the size of Bryant Park)
–limited skating time
As for the synthetic surface, New Yorkers are not used to it. This is the first time any of us skated on this, so I’m sure that’s where the complaint comes from. I thought it was okay, kinda like when they forget to send out the Zamboni machine in Bryant Park after a few hundred ppl made a few hundred slushies with the ice. You have limited speed on this surface. It just doesn’t glide very smoothly. In addition, you feel the surface is uneven, and some part of the surface is actually risen up which can cause you to fall.
The good news is, neither my gf or I actually fell. We couldn’t go fast enough I also reason that even we took a spill, it wouldn’t hurt as much as the plastic has way more give than ice. It just doesn’t hit back like ice does You also don’t have to worry about losing your little piggies cuz ppl are going too fast. Its really empty even on their last day of operation for that to happen.
One other plus: You can actually take pictures on the rink. Try doing that at Bryant Park or Wollman Rink.

Please.
Don’t come here.
It was awful! The shoes hurt SO bad and the ice was just rubbery things that were easier to walk on than skate. AND it was charged every 45 minutes and just so not worth it because most people get off before half a hour because this «ice» rink is so bad. Skating on the plastic puzzle pieces is harder than any real ice and not fun at all.
P. S. No lockers, so you have to lug your stuff around while you «skate». People seem fine leaving their shoes on the sidelines though, but still…

Worst. Ice. Skating. Experience. Ever.
Seriously.
I mean, it was literally like skating on pieces of oily plastic. The synthetic material was nothing like actual ice, and skating on it hardly resembled actual ice skating.
Please don’t waste your time. Go to Bryant Park or Wollman Rink.
On the plus side, after getting off the ice, post-​crappy skating, I asked the ticket person how much the museum was and she let me in for free, probably because she understood how terrible the skating was.

What the hell were they thinking? Skating on plastic puzzle pieces is no way & never shall be ice skating!
I went with some friends Friday night and the moment we stepped on to the plastic our faces all read WTF?! Yes we all read the sign that the ice is synthetic blah but we thought hey that’s cool as longs as it feels like we’re skating on ice who cares? But no one could even move on the rink because you could not push off.
There were just a bunch of pissed off people on the rink walking or just groups of friends & couples standing in place talking. At one point it became a photo shoot because well you couldn’t skate might as well get a picture of the scenery & the polar bear in the middle of the rink. I guess that’s what we paid $ 10 for.
I can go on but I wish to keep this short & will conclude with: Where’s the 0 star rating on Unilocal!!!

I went here with my daughter. We’re members of AMNH so I was prepared to love love love. My daughter is 5 and we spend many weekends at the Rose Center so overlooking while skating seemed like a perfect afternoon activity. And it would have been on ICE.
A little profile: I’m from Minnesota originally. I good deal of my free time in the winter playing hockey outdoors. I played hockety in high school sports leagues and have skated a bit since so I’m no slouch on the ice. This rink, an the dull skates provided by the AMNH, however, reduced me to someone who was hopeless. My five year old and I spent perhaps thirty minutes, how can I put it… walking on skates in an attempt to skate on this greasy plastic surface. It was impossible to do anything resembling «skating». No one I saw at the place seemed to be doing anything like skating so I didn’t feel bad. My five year old loved it. She loved skate/​walking at the rink in Prospect Park as well. But then, kids are easy. I can’t say I feel ripped off since I had heard the skating surface was weird and the lady at the checkout had made it clear that this was not ice. But I feel one star is for scenery. Next time, make it ice, please.

When I heard about the synthetic skating rink at the AMNH, I have to admit that I was intrigued. So, I decided to meet my friend there on a Friday night since we both had dinner plans.
The rink was supposed to be open until 10, and I got there around 9:20. I figured 40 minutes of skating was more than enough time, especially since it was FREEZING out.
First of all, nothing that I accomplished on the «ice» resembled «skating.» My friend and I did our best to shuffle across the synthetic surface. Towards the end, I improved a little and managed some gliding, but it was definitely a struggle.
While we tried to get into the swing of things, there was an announcement that the rink was going to close in fifteen minutes. So, we figured we had a few rounds around the rink left in us. However, one round and approximately two minutes later, the b*tchy lady who worked at the rink said that everyone had to get off the ice immediately because the rink was closing. I checked my watch; it was 9:43 (17 minutes before the published closing time).
After getting off the rink, I attempted to change back into my shoes and had a guard obnoxiously tell me I had to leave because the rink was closing… duh, I’m taking off my skates, sir!
And, right when everyone left, all of the lights (including the polar bear were turned off). I guess when they say the rink closes at 10pm, they mean completely closed at 10pm.
The combination of the synthetic rink, the rude staff, and the fact that there were no lockers leads to me never coming back here again. I would give this place zero stars if I could.

Some friends and I decided during out weekly Sunday Calle Ocho brunch ritual to go ice skating. I’d heard about the $ 10 deal at the new rink by the Natural History Museum and since it was a stones throw from the restaurant, we decided to check it out.
As stated in the previous posts the synthetic ice was pathetic. The only snow-​like thing about it was that it was white. It was essentially white plastic flooring that was treated with some supposedly slick substance. People were shuffling around miserably on the stuff so we all gave it a resounding thumbs down and walked down to Wollman Rink where we had a lovely time.

I’m a tough critic but also a very generous one. I’d give the pizza on the corner and the nut cart 5 stars. The gigantic polar bear and the backdrop of the Rose Center at the Polar Rink deserves 5 stars but once you hit the ice, all stars removed! The only way you’re gonna glide on this rink is if you’ve played hockey before. You have to be really powerful to push yourself and balance on this «ice». It’s like skating on carpet.
I should have known it was going to be bad from the very beginning. First of all, skating here is a one hour session. At all other rinks you can skate for hours. We got to the ticket counter at 11:10 AM and the woman charged us for the 11 o’clock session. I thought that was going to be a rip off since we’d only be skating for about 40 minutes but whatever, I’d roll with it. Plus the lady said it would be really fast to get our skates since no one was there.
I was handed two left skates and didn’t realize it until I thought my feet looked funny, my toes were painful, and another skater told me I definitely had two left feet. I switched my skates. No biggie.
There were no lockers. Good luck on stashing your stuff or balancing with your backpack while you skate. It’s a good thing the rink wasn’t crowded and it was only filled with families. We left our bags and shoes on a bench and when we returned to them everything was in tact.
I LOVE skating. I can’t triple lutz, skate backwards, or even stop without crashing into a wall but I can skate damnit. And on this synthetic ice at the Polar Rink, I found it impossible to even skate normal. Everyone was shuffling and walking on the ice (or shall I say plastic?).
I’m all for eco friendly but this ice rink gets a big fat F. I think we gave up after 20 minutes.
Save yourself the $ 10 and just put it towards your museum admission. We were talking to one of the museum employees and they even commented how horrible skating was at the Polar Rink. Apparently the blades are so dull it makes the skating very difficult. I even put my hand on the synthetic ice and it wasn’t cold. I think I skate better in socks on my vinyl floor. I had fun because I was with my friends but if you’ve come to skate, «Fuhgeddaboudit!» I whole heartedly agree with all the other one star reviews.

I attempted to enjoy the winter weather and go ice skating at this rink. Being on the UES, it made the most sense to avoid the tourists and midtown and head over to the UWS to the new ice rink at the Natural History Museum. From my brief ice skating research, it seemed that this might be our best bet since it was affordable at $ 10 a person with ice skate rentals. As we purchased tickets, we noticed signs that this ice was «synthetic» ice and that a refrigerator mechanism was not necessary to keep the ice cool. Not knowing or caring what this meant, we purchased 2 tickets for $ 20, grabbed our skates and hit the ice.
Apparently, synthetic ice is not ice. The flooring instead, was plastic and we could barely glide across the plastic in uncomfortable skates. This plastic ice was put together in puzzle pieces and the crap from the plastic would stick to your clothes and coat when you we fell — and yes, you will fall. Adults around us were walking on the ice, because god forbid you tried to skate, you would end up on the ground. At one point, the «ice» looked like a sea of dead children, with little bodies laying all over the ground. I honestly feel terrible for any kid who had his first ice skating experience on this rink.
We stayed for about 5 minutes, and made one lap around the ice. While we didn’t fight for our money back — after all, they warned us about the synthetic ice — we warned every person who came near the rink to turn around and leave.

Imagine yourself skating on tupperware. Now go to the Polar Rink to try it out.

This rink is AWFUL! It is plastic «ice» which is put together like a puzzle. In some places the puzzle pieces do not fit together properly so I am suprised no one has gotten hurt. But, considering you can’t even skate on this fake ice maybe it will not be a problem.
I have skated since I was 7 and I was holding onto the wall. After one time around, I was done. We went back to see if we could get a refund and the ticket people called the manager over. When she came she had security with her. Something tells me other people have been pissed before. She was pretty rude, but gave us a voucher to do something else at the museum. Then she asked if we were professional ice skaters — very professional!
Do not go «skating» here.

The lights are pretty. The rink is ridiculous.
There is no ice. It’s this horrible (and poorly connected) plastic sheeting. Plastic? YES, plastic. The skates get terribly dull, very quickly, and you cannot push off your blades at all. You just slip and fall. And, I CAN skate, so it wasn’t that. People were having their skates sharpened over and over again to no avail. We gave up after ten minutes. We saw many other people do the same. What a waste of money.
Also, there is no place to store your shoes, so don’t wear anything expensive!
There is an indoor spot to change into the rental skates as well as a café (the menu is on the web site) but it closes too early.
I would suggest you try another rink — ANY other rink. This one, though pretty, is a total waste of time.
They should get some ICE. I felt bad for the tourists from overseas who had clearly never ice skated before. They still haven’t.