Travelers know that
New York City is replete with a myriad of cultural, entertainment,
dining, shopping and outdoor experiences, but the best museums in
Manhattan are on par with the finest galleries and exhibitions in
the world. If you are traveling to the city anytime soon, make sure
you set aside an afternoon or two to visit the American Museum of
Natural History.
Located at Central Park West
at 79th Street, The American Museum of Natural History has
been a world-famous attraction for decades. Ben Stiller's blockbuster
hit, "A Night at the Museum," gave viewers an "inside"
look at what goes on within the walls of the museum after closing
time. To see all the exhibits, you would need at least a full day.
However, if you pick and choose the exhibits that sound most interesting
to you, plan to spend about four or five hours wandering the great
halls of the museum. The Museum's normal operating hours are 10:00
a.m. to 5:45 p.m. daily.
The Museum has a number of
permanent and traveling exhibitions. The permanent exhibits include
the Audubon Gallery, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall
of Human Origins, the Fossil Halls (featuring T-rex),
the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites, the Milstein Hall
of Ocean Life and the Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth.
Each floor of the Museum is
divided into numerous halls with detailed dioramas displaying environmental
portraits.
The Fossil Halls encompass
Saurischian Dinosaurs, Ornithischian Dinosaurs, Primitive Mammals,
Advanced Mammals and Vertebrate Origins.
The Culture Halls encompass
Northwest Coast Indians, Eastern Woodlands and Plains Indians, African
Peoples, Asian Peoples, Mexico and Central America, South American
Peoples and Pacific Peoples.
The Mammal Halls feature
Asian Mammals, North American Mammals and African Mammals.
The Hall of Biodiversity
has an amazing Rain Forest diorama and the Spectrum of Life.
New York City Birds, North
American Birds and Birds of the World are on display in the Bird
Halls.
Other halls to check out include
Ocean Life, Minerals and Gems, Meteorites,
New York State Environment, North American Forests,
Reptiles and Amphibians, Primates, and the Theodore
Roosevelt Rotunda and Memorial Hall. Expert curators stand by
in each exhibit to answer any questions. Some of the current traveling
exhibits include the Butterfly Conservatory, Exoplanets, GOLD, Undersea
Oasis: Coral Reef Communities, Vital Variety and Spectacular Stibnite.
In addition to tickets to the
museum, you can purchase tickets to see the Space Show at the Hayden
Planetarium in the Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose
Center for Earth and Space. The current Space Show, "Cosmic
Collisions," is narrated by Robert Redford and was developed
by a team of NASA scientists. The Museum also features IMAX films
in the LeFrak Theater. The tickets might be a little pricey, but
the films are compelling and dramatic.
If you're hungry, the Museum
has numerous eateries so you don't have to miss any precious time
visiting the exhibits. Dining options include Café on
One, the Museum Food Court, the Starlight Café,
the Gold Nugget Café, a juice bar, a tapas bar and
several Dippin' Dots Ice Cream carts.
Tickets to the Museum and
Rose Center are $14 for adults, $8 for children and $10.50 for
seniors or students with ID. SuperSaver ticket packages are more
expensive but allow you to visit the special traveling exhibitions
and see the Space Show and an IMAX film.
Don't miss out on an incredible
experience to learn about natural history in one of New York's finest
museums.
