The New York City Panorama was featured in two 2011 fictional works: the movie New Year's Eve directed by Garry Marshall, and the book Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, and also in a subsequent Wonderstruck film. A revamped lighting system was installed in 2017, as part of a sponsorship promoting the film. Photographer Spencer Lowell took images of the model in the art series New York, New York, New York in 2016, and these were acquired by the museum and versions were sold at art fairs. The model was also featured in the 2021 documentary series Pretend It's a City. Every year, the Queens Museum hosts the "Panorama Challenge", a trivia contest run by The City Reliquary ; the inaugural contest was held in 2007. Contestants use the Panorama to identify various New York City landmarks.