If you’ve ever go to New York City, The American Museum of Natural History is one of the most fascinating places to spend a day, an afternoon or even just a few hours. If you like to read about everything you are looking at, well then, plan on spending a few days to visit the museum. There is so much to do and see in this place, your head will start hurting after only a few hours of just trying to digest all the information thrown your way.
The AMNH is only five stories high, but takes up what seems like an enormous city block. The setting is beautifully located across the street from central park and is easily accessible by bus or subway. The museum admission is suggested, so any donation you can give will get you into the permanent exhibits. Although the special event exhibits are quite intriguing, you do have to pay a standard admission to view them. This is true also for the planetarium and IMAX theatre. The museum is divided into "halls," each one different and intriguing.
Within many of these halls are fascinating dioramas. These are nothing like the shoebox presentation you put together in fourth grade. They are described as, "windows into a world of animals, their behavior and their habitats." The most renowned is the Mammal Hall. From grizzly bears to hyenas, you might think that you are looking at a landscape frozen in one moment in time. Some depicting life on other continents and some are of animals that no longer exist. This allows the viewer to simply stand and virtually travel through time and space.
Another captivating area is the Biodiversity Hall, that shows a diorama of the Dzanga Sangha Rainforest and it measures 90 feet long, 26 feet wide and 18 feet high. It reflects the rainforest in three different states; pristine, altered by natural forces, and degraded by human intervention.
The Culture Halls will take you through North West Indians, Eastern Woodlands and Plain Indians, African People, Asian People, Mexico and Central America, South American People and Pacific Peoples. These exhibits could keep you busy for weeks, but its’ a great place to do research, as these rooms are filled with intriguing artifacts and fascinating findings.
Yet, the most noted exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History is the place of the dinosaur fossils. AMNH has the world’s largest collection of vertebrate fossils with about one million specimens. They have reassembled the forms of these prehistoric animals, and it is something quite remarkable to see. The hall was renovated between 1994 and 1996 and now is a continuous loop on the top floor of the museum.
The rotating exhibits are phenomenal, but the permanent ones are definitely worth your time. Even if you visited the museum in the past, stop there again, as it's guaranteed to feed your appetite for knowledge and discovery.
