New Yorkers are getting a chance to see the internet in a completely different way this weekend.

The Internet Walk takes participants through Astoria, Queens, on Oct. 10 for a free guided tour focused on the physical infrastructure that keeps the digital world connected. The event is being led by writer, artist and mapper Ingrid Burrington as part of the Museum of the Moving Image’s Open Worlds 2026 programming.

A Walking Tour of the Internet You Can Actually See

The internet may feel like something that exists entirely on screens, but the networks behind it depend on equipment spread throughout American cities.

During the roughly one-hour walk, Burrington will show participants how to identify physical clues connected to internet infrastructure, including utility markings, manhole covers, electronic equipment, sensors and buildings involved in network activity.

Instead of sitting in a classroom, participants will explore an actual New York neighborhood and learn how ordinary streets and infrastructure connect to the larger digital network.

Astoria Becomes the Classroom

The walk takes place around Astoria in Queens, giving participants a chance to examine infrastructure outside Manhattan.

Burrington’s work has traditionally focused heavily on Manhattan, but the Queens walk expands that perspective to another New York borough. The event is designed to encourage participants to notice infrastructure they might normally pass without a second thought.

For many New Yorkers, a utility cover or painted street marking may look like an ordinary part of the neighborhood. The tour shows how those details can provide clues about the systems operating underneath and around the city.

The Tour Uses a Nature Field Guide Approach

One of the unusual features of the Internet Walk is the way Burrington approaches the subject.

Rather than presenting the infrastructure as dry technical material, the tour uses the style of a nature field guide. Participants learn to observe and identify different types of network-related infrastructure much like someone might identify plants, birds or wildlife.

That approach makes a complicated subject more approachable for people who may not have a background in technology.

Ingrid Burrington Brings the Internet Down to Street Level

Burrington is the author of Networks of New York: An Illustrated Field Guide to Urban Internet Infrastructure.

Her work focuses on mapping and documenting the physical elements of network infrastructure that are often overlooked in everyday city life. She has also written for publications including The Atlantic, The Verge and other outlets.

Before the walk, Burrington will hold a book signing featuring the revised edition of Networks of New York, which will be available for purchase through the Museum of the Moving Image’s shop.

The Event Is Free

The Internet Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Participants will meet at the Museum of the Moving Image’s Fox Amphitheater before heading out into Astoria. The group is expected to return to the museum at the end of the walk.

The event is free to attend, although the museum recommends an RSVP. A book signing is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. before the walk begins.

A Different Kind of Tech Event

The Internet Walk stands out because it turns a familiar piece of technology into an outdoor exploration.

Instead of focusing on new gadgets, apps or artificial intelligence, the event looks at the physical systems that make modern digital life possible. That includes the equipment, markings and structures hidden in plain sight across one of America’s biggest cities.

The result is part technology tour, part urban exploration and part neighborhood walk.

New York’s Digital Infrastructure Is Hiding in Plain Sight

Modern city life depends on networks that most people rarely think about.

Every time someone sends a message, streams a movie, checks a map or connects to a website, physical infrastructure is working somewhere behind the scenes. The Internet Walk gives participants an opportunity to connect those everyday digital experiences with the streets and buildings around them.

For anyone interested in technology, architecture, New York City or the unusual details hiding in plain sight, the event offers an uncommon way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

A Brooklyn Internet Walk Is Coming Next

The Astoria event is not the only Internet Walk planned for New York.

Burrington is also scheduled to lead a Brooklyn-focused walk through Red Hook on Oct. 11 in collaboration with Pioneer Works. That gives New Yorkers another opportunity to explore the physical side of the city’s digital infrastructure.