Museum Of Natural History New York Hours

Hall Of North American Forests

The Hall of North American Forests is a one-story hall on the museum’s ground floor in between the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall and the Warburg Hall of New York State Environments. It contains ten dioramas depicting a range of forest types from across North America as well as several displays on forest conservation and tree health. Constructed under the guidance of noted botanist Henry K. Svenson and opened in 1959, each diorama specifically lists both the location and exact time of year depicted. Trees and plants featured in the dioramas are constructed of a combination of art supplies and actual bark and other specimens collected in the field. The entrance to the hall features a cross section from a 1,400-year-old sequoia taken from the King’s River grove on the west flank of the Sierra Mountains in 1891.

Hall Of Birds Of The World

The global diversity of bird species is exhibited in this hall. 12 dioramas showcase various ecosystems around the world and provide a sample of the varieties of birds that live there. Example dioramas include South Georgia featuring king penguins and skuas, the East African plains featuring secretarybirds and bustards, and the Australian outback featuring honeyeaters, cockatoos, and kookaburras.

Best Time To Visit Amnh

The best time to visit the American Museum of Natural History is as soon as they open at 10 am or at 3 pm when you still have two and a half hours left for it to close.

As with most New York attractions, the Natural History museum is most crowded during the middle of the day, from noon to 3 pm.

If possible, avoid weekends, school breaks, and winter holidays.

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Tickets To American Museum Of Natural History

There are two ways to explore New Yorks Natural History Museum.

While the General Admission ticket gets you access to all the exhibits at the Natural History Museum, the General Admission + One ticket gets you entry to one of the special exhibitions as well.

You can opt for one of the two tickets on the ticket booking page.

New York State Museum

• 222 Madison Ave., 222 Madison Avenue, Empire State PlazaAlbany, NY 12230
• Downtown Area

• Overview

  The New York State Museum in Downtown Albany explores the cultural and natural history of New York State. The Museum features a variety of history, science and art exhibitions. Within the main exhibit halls are popular long-standing favorites, including Adirondack Wilderness, Birds of New York, Beneath the City: Albany Archeology, Black Capital: Harlem in the 20s, The Cohoes Mastodon, Fire Engine Hall, Minerals of New York, Native Peoples of New York, and The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery, Response. Theres also a working full-sized carousel on the 4th floor of the Museum. The Museum is free donations are accepted. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 am – 5:00 pm. Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Visit us at www.nysm.nysed.gov or call 474-5877 for more information.

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American Museum Of Natural History Travel Tips

• Food court and cafes are present.
• It has the largest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world.
• VISA and MasterCard accepted and senior citizens should carry an identity validation.
• All the exhibitions are accessible by wheelchairs and wheelchairs are available at first-come first-serve basis.
• Service animals are welcome to visit the museum.
• There are several accessible entrances and exits in the museum.
• All belongings must be collected before the museum closes.
• Selfie-sticks are not allowed.
• Outside eatables are not allowed inside the museum.
• Flash photography is not allowed.

Restaurants Near The American Museum Of Natural History

On this page youll find restaurants near the museum of natural history categorized as quick eats, bang for your buck, delicious sit-down, brunch & coffee, vegan & juice, drinks, and splurge. Your tastebuds will thank you.

Heres our current shortlist for favorite food spots near the American Museum of Natural History:

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Top Ten Museums Included In Tourist Passes

Visiting Lady Liberty is likely on your list of must-see attractions in NYC.

Though you cannot visit for free, you can lower your costs if you purchase a tourist pass that includes a cruise ticket to the Statue of Liberty.

This is one of the top museums in the world and its collection of over two million works includes pieces from several different periods in human history.

This is a must-see museum, but tickets are $25 and they do not offer any free hours.

This very popular museum, located on an aircraft carrier is very engaging. Its mission is to educate the public about the history and science of sea, air, and space travel.

It is very interactive and great for kids.

Tickets are pricey, and though they have free hours one Friday a month, the best way to save on tickets is to consider a tourist pass.

Rose Center For Earth And Space

The Hayden Planetarium, connected to the museum, is now part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space, housed in a glass cube containing the spherical Space Theater, designed by James Stewart Polshek. The Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway is one of the most popular exhibits in the Rose Center, which opened February 19, 2000.

Tom Hanks provided the voice-over for the first planetarium show during the opening of the new Rose Center for Earth & Space in the Hayden Planetarium in 2000. Since then such celebrities as Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford and Maya Angelou have been featured.

Founded in 1869, the AMNH Exhibitions Lab has since produced thousands of installations. The department is notable for its integration of new scientific research into immersive art and multimedia presentations. In addition to the famous dioramas at its home museum and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, the lab has also produced international exhibitions and software such as the Digital Universe Atlas.

The exhibitions team currently consists of over sixty artists, writers, preparators, designers and programmers. The department is responsible for the creation of two to three exhibits per year. These extensive shows typically travel nationally to sister natural history museums. They have produced, among others, the first exhibits to discuss Darwinian evolution,human-induced climate change and the mesozoic mass extinction via asteroid.

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Exploring The American Museum Of Natural History

On the natural history side, the museum is perhaps best known for its bright and airy Fossil Halls containing nearly 600 specimens, including mammoth crowd-pleasers such as gargantuan Apatosaurus, tremendous Titanosaurus and a fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex frozen mid-prowl . Triceratops and Stegosaurus also put in appearances. Advancing forward a few million years, theres also a complete mammoth skeleton.

For those who prefer their wildlife skin-on, there are plentiful animal exhibits packed with American and world species the stuffed Alaskan brown bears and giant moose are always popular stops. The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life contains dioramas devoted to marine ecologies, weather and conservation, as well as a beloved 94ft replica of a blue whale suspended from the ceiling in a position that mirrors the whale skeleton in the Natural History Museum in London .

The museums Mignone Halls currently accessible on guided tours are devoted to gems and minerals, with an impressive set of geodes, gemstones, crystals, and raw metals, including some impressive, supersized gold nuggets. Kids who are inspired by the collection can pick up souvenir minerals in the gift-shop.

Entry To Mignone Halls Of Gems And Minerals

The 11,000-square-foot Mignone Halls housesone of the worlds most important collections of gems and minerals.

The newly redesigned part of the museum showcases 5,000 specimens from 95 countries.

All American Museum of Natural History tickets includes entry to the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.

However, visitors must join a virtual line once they arrive at the museum.

Once inside the museum, look for signs near the entrances for instructions or ask a staff member.

Since the Halls of Gems and Minerals is popular with visitors, spots in the virtual line often fill up by early afternoon.

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American Museum Of Natural History With Citypass

If you are in New York on an extended holiday and want to visit the American Museum of Natural History, we recommend the New York CityPass.

With CityPASS, you can save up to 41% on New Yorks top attractions and also skip the ticket lines at all places.

With the best New York discount card, you get to see some of the citys most popular attractions, such as the Empire State Building, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, Statue of Liberty, American Museum of Natural History, etc.

CityPASS includes general admission to AMNH, one Special Exhibition, and entry to Rose Center for Earth and Space.

Adult Pass : $136Child Pass : $112

How Much Time Do You Need At The American Museum Of Natural History

There is so much to see and do inside the museum, you could spend the whole day there! Plan to take at least 2 hours and 30 minutes to tour the museum to make the most of your visit. However, if you are planning on viewing a show or special exhibition, plan to be there for up to 3 hours and 30 minutes.

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The Cornerstone Of New York

For as long as most people can remember, the American Museum of Natural History has been one of the defining museums of New York City. And now, the museum is able to remain open with timed-entry tickets. It is an educational opportunity and wonderful experience for families, children, couples, and anyone that has a hankering for cultivating knowledge of the past, the present, the future. Not to mention the museum is located on the west side of the iconic Central Park, where guests can explore the park after a day of learning and experiencing the American Museum of Natural History.

Sanford Hall Of North American Birds

The Sanford Hall of North American birds is a one-story hall on the third floor of the museum, above the Hall of African Peoples and between the Hall of Primates and Akeley Hall’s second level. Its 25 dioramas depict birds from across North America in their native habitats. Opening in 1909, the dioramas in Sanford Hall were the first to be exhibited in the museum and are, at present, the oldest still on display. At the far end of the hall are two large murals by ornithologist and artist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes. In addition to the species listed below, the hall also has display cases devoted to large collections of warblers, owls, and raptors.

Conceived by museum ornithologist Frank Chapman, construction began on dioramas for the Hall of North American Birds as early as 1902. The Hall is named for Chapman’s friend and amateur ornithologist Leonard C. Sanford, who partially funded the hall and also donated the entirety of his own bird specimen collection to the museum.

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Hall Of Reptiles And Amphibians

The Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians serves as an introduction to herpetology, with many exhibits detailing reptile evolution, anatomy, diversity, reproduction, and behavior. Notable exhibits include a Komodo dragon group, an American alligator, Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, and poison dart frogs.

In 1926, W. Douglas Burden, F.J. Defosse, and Emmett Reid Dunn collected specimens of the Komodo Dragon for the museum. Burden’s chapter “The Komodo Dragon”, in Look to the Wilderness, describes the expedition, the habitat, and the behavior of the dragon.

Allison And Roberto Mignone Halls Of Gems And Minerals

The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals houses thousands of rare gems, minerals specimens and pieces of jewelry. The halls closed in 2017 to undergo a $32 million redesign by Ralph Appelbaum Associates and reopened to the general public in June 2021. The redesigned exhibits adopt newer philosophies in exhibit design, including a focus on storytelling, interactivity, and connecting ideas across disciplines. The halls explore a range of topics, including the diversification of mineral species over the course of Earth’s history, plate tectonics, and the stories of specific gems.

The halls display rare samples chosen from among the more than 100,000 pieces in the museum’s collection including the Star of India, the Patricia Emerald, and the DeLong Star Ruby.

• Assorted faceted and polished minerals

• Quartz var. amethyst geode

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Alexander Hamilton Grange National Memorial

This house dating from 1802 was the home of Alexander Hamilton, one of Americas Founding Fathers and founder of the U.S. Treasury system.

You can see historically furnished rooms either on a ranger-guided tour and talk or on your own.

See their website for more information.

TIP: To see where he is buried, and hear about his duel with Aaron Burr, you can join our pay-what-you-wish Lower Manhattan Tour or explore on your own with our GPS-led audio tour.

What Should I Bring To The American Museum Of Natural History

• Camera: The museum encourages visitors to document their experience in photos, but keep in mind that selfie sticks arent allowed. You can use flash photography, although not in all areas.
• Bottle of Water: The museum doesn’t allow outside food, but you can bring in a bottle of water. Well-placed water fountains make great places to top off your bottle.
• Nothing bigger than a purse: You will need to check any items larger than a purse at the Coat Check, and the museum won’t allow you to check small luggage or oversized bags. Keep in mind that coat check does cost an additional $2, and the lines can get very long in the cold months. There is an extra coat check located in the Rose Center that is available during winter months

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Museums Included In Tourist Passes

Entry to some number of ticketed museums is included in most tourist attraction discount passes, which bundle several tours and attractions, including museums, into one pass at a flat rate price.

Also, having a pass saves you time because you dont have to wait online to purchase tickets and some passes offer skip-the-line privileges.

Buying a tourist pass makes a lot of sense if you are planning on visiting several museums, especially those that required a paid ticket.

With the major art museums costing $25 each, youd be wise to consider a pass if you plan on going to 3 or more such museums.

Whitney Memorial Hall Of Oceanic Birds

This particular hall has undergone a complicated history over the years since its founding in 1953. Frank Chapman and Leonard C. Sanford, originally museum volunteers, had gone forward with creation of a hall to feature birds of the Pacific islands. In the years up to its founding, the museum had engaged in various expeditions to Fiji, New Zealand, and the Marianas to collect birds for the exhibit. The hall was designed as a completely immersive collection of dioramas, including a circular display featuring birds-of-paradise. In 1998, The Butterfly Conservatory was installed inside the hall originally as a temporary exhibit, but as the popular demand of the exhibit increased, the Hall of Oceanic Birds has more or less remained closed by the museum.

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How Much Time Needed At Museum Of Natural History

Going to be in nyc on a day tour . Planning to take subway from Macy’s to museum when we arrive in city. How long will we approximately need to spend there? Were interested in getting the $32 package . I’m aware the museum closes at 5pm. Is the $32 package worth it? We have never been there before.

Well, it would depend on how “into” this stuff you are. We spent 2 hours inside and we barely brushed the surface. For me, some of the information is just too overwhelming. For others, it wouldn’t be. The Space area is really interesting, and one of my favorite parts of the museum. When we were there the last 2 times, they had a butterfly exhibit that was VERY cool!

I am not sure I understand your question. You do not “need” to spend any time there at all one may go or not go as one wishes. How much time you should spend there depends entirely on how many things in the various collections you want to look at, and how long you want to look at each of them. If you spend 10 seconds on each of three dinosaurs, you can be in and out in ten minutes, including taking photos out front. If you want to spend 30 seconds on every object on display, you will be there for months.

Helen in Aus – 96

shell, go to the Metropolitian Museum instead. The Museum of Natural History is just like the one in LA. Not much different at all.

My 3 teenagers thought this was one of the best places we visited in NY.

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