Selfie sticks, which are extendable rods to which a smartphone or a camera can be attached, are becoming very popular. View Full Caption Flickr/R4vi

NEW YORK CITY — Several of the city's top art museums have banned selfie sticks, museums official said.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim, The Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum have all outlawed the so-called "narcissist-sticks."

MoMA banned the device to "preserve the visitors' safety and the museum's works of art," a spokesman said. However "regular selfies" (and other photos for that matter) are OK if they are shot with hand-held devices.

The Guggenheim does not allow selfie sticks in the museum, and selfies and other photos are not permitted above the ground floor, according to a spokeswoman for the museum and the Guggenheim’s website.

“This decision was made out of concern for visitor safety and to protect the work on view,” a Brooklyn Museum spokeswoman said.

Other museums, such as El Museo del Barrio, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History, do not have a policy on selfie sticks but are considering banning the popular item, according to museum officials.