We’ve been back nearly a week and I have so much to write about our trip to New York. I am such a city girl and coming home was bittersweet. I absolutely loved being able to walk to Times Square from the apartment we rented. But lugging the double stroller up and down the stairs to the Subway…not so much.
One of our “must see” activities was visiting the American Museum of Natural History. Admittedly, both the hubby and I were intrigued by Ben Stiller’s adventures in Night at the Museum. The museum is “one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions and renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections.”
Because the museum is HUGE (as in 500,000 square feet, 45 permanent exhibition halls in 25 buildings) and we only had one day there (you need at least a week…and I’m only half-joking), we decided to spend half the day exploring the museum on our own, and half the day on their special exhibitions. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you might find their new mobile application, American Museum of Natural History Explorer, useful. The app functions as an indoor GPS to help newbies like myself make the most of a day at the museum. The app pinpoints your location and offers turn-by-turn directions to halls and visitor facilities, information about exhibits, customizable tours, and a fossil treasure hunt. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can borrow one at the museum (something I wish I had known at the time).
The very first exhibit we ventured to was Lizards & Snakes: Alive which features over 60 live lizards and snakes in re-created habitats. A majority of the exhibits in the museum are not alive, so it was quite fascinating to see Madagascan Geckos and Red Spitting Cobras. If you can believe it, these scaled beings are as old as dinosaurs and live in diverse climates.
Lizards & Snakes: Alive is on display until September 6th.
A visit to the museum is incomplete without an IMAX film. Now through January 10th, you can see Hubble, an “awe-inspiring” film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio which features the Atlantis STS-125 crew. I have yet to see images of space so striking including, of course, the infamous Hubble Space Telescope.
Home to one of the most impressive planetariums in the world, the museum features it’s latest space show entitled Journey to the Stars. The film is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and features impressive images from telescopes on the ground and in space and takes us through a journey into space to follow stars through their life cycle. Journey to the Stars was created by the Museum’s astrophysicists, scientific visualization, and media production experts with the cooperation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and more than 40 leading scientists from the United States and abroad.
In November, the museum will house a new exhibit called Brain: The Inside Story. Visitors will explore how the brain produces thoughts, senses, and feelings.
For exhibit information and ticket pricing, just visit their site.
We spent the last half of the day navigating the remaining halls. Most of our time was spent in the mammal and fossil halls. It was striking how true-to-life the animals appear. The halls dedicated to mammals allow visitors the opportunity to travel across continents and through time to see North American, African, and Asian Mammals.
Unlike most 3 year old boys, my son is fascinated with dinosaurs. The AMNH houses the world’s largest collection of vertebrate fossils (nearly one million specimens). I have to admit that sometimes, I have a difficult time believing that such striking creatures once existed. After vising the museum (and a chastise from my husband), I’m a believer. Check out some of our photos:
If you’re visiting the museum with small children, I highly recommend checking out the museum’s website specifically targeted towards kids and families.
The museum is open daily from 10 am to 5:45 pm. Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: $16
Children (2-12): $9
Seniors/Students: $12
Photo Credit: {Rockin’ Mama – All Rights Reserved}
No compensation was received for this post. VIP tickets to the museum were provided which helped to facilitate this review.
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