American Museum of Natural History

New York City has absolutely no dearth of museums and there are museums that cover quite a diversity of subjects. There’s the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan museum, The Guggenheim museum, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum…the list is practically endless. Among the stalwarts of museums in NYC, there is yet another museum and that’s the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). It’s located just off of Central Park West and is a part of the famed Museum mile. AMNH has 46 exhibition halls that sit on beautifully manicured park-like grounds. The architecture of the building is as interesting as the exhibits one finds inside it.

AMNH has held the distinction of being one of the world’s most eminent institutions in science and research. If a visit to this museum is on your itinerary, be prepared to do a lot of walking as the museum is expansive, to say the least. If it’s not on your list, put it there immediately. You can’t leave NYC without visiting this remarkable museum. The exhibition halls are spread out over four floors of gallery space and the exhibits cover every stage of the earth’s evolution, right from birth to present day. The entire collection of the museum is estimated to hold more than 32 million specimens, and what you see in the galleries is a mere fraction of that number.

Among the more popular exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History, which may well have become its signature is the 94 feet long, life-sized model of a blue whale that’s suspended in the Hall of Ocean Life. Yet another of the popular sections, especially among the children (though adults are known to have gone gaga over the collection as well!) is the one that features the dinosaur exhibits. Make your way up to the fourth floor to see the giant dinosaur fossils of Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Apatosaurus, the Stegosaurus, and about one million other specimens.

Having gaped at the dinosaurs long enough, you may want to turn your attention to study the evolution of mankind in the Hall of Human Origins. This exhibit is the only one of its kind in America and it presents a very clear and thoroughly researched picture of human evolution.

Don’t forget to check out the new Rose Center for Earth and Space, which has come up in place of the old Hayden Planetarium. The clear glass cube of a room transports you into the pages of a science fiction novel and the most dominating aspect of the room is the sphere of the new planetarium theater. To go up to the theater you have to climb a spiral walkway and on your way up you can admire the scale models of stars, galaxies and planets hanging from the ceiling all the way down to the gallery’s floor.

The Museum of Natural History is a fascinating place to be in. Each corner and each room is filled with delightful exhibits. No matter how many times you come down here, it still feels like a whole new experience, every single time!

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