American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History Review

The largest natural history museum in the world is also one of the most impressive sights in New York. Four city blocks make up its 45 exhibition halls, which hold more than 30 million artifacts and wonders from the land, the sea, and outer space. With all those wonders, you won't be able to see everything on a single visit, but you can easily hit the highlights in half a day, some of these are described below.

The Rose Center for Earth and Space should not be missed. Journey to the Stars, narrated by actress Whoopi Goldberg, launches viewers through space and time; you'll never see the night sky in the same way again.

In 2012, after a $40 million renovation, the museum reopened its two-story Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, which includes the restored Central Park West entrance, the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, and the reinvisioned Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. The hall now includes a new bronze statue of a seated Roosevelt, a new bronze medallion in the floor, celebratory murals honoring the Conservation President, touchscreen timelines, film footage, and the restoration of the Hall of North American Mammals (the hall originally opened in 1942 and many of its displays feature scenes from National Parks that were signed into being by Roosevelt).

Plan a route before setting out. Be sure to pick up a map when you pay your admission. The museum's four floors (and lower level) are mazelike. To get the most from the museum's stunning riches, try to allow enough time to slow down and take advantage of the computer stations and the volunteer "Explainers," who are knowledgeable and able to point out their own favorite exhibits.

An amazing assembly of dinosaur and mammal fossils covers the entire fourth floor. The organization can be hard to grasp at first, so head to the Wallace Orientation Center, where a short film explains how each of the Fossil Halls lead into each other. Highlights include a T. rex, an Apatosaurus (formerly called a Brontosaurus), and the Buettneria, which resembles a modern-day crocodile. The specimens are not in chronological order; they're put together based on their shared characteristics.

Head for the Reptiles and Amphibians Hall on the third floor to check out the Komodo dragon lizards and a 23-foot-long python skeleton. The weirdest display is the enlarged model of the Suriname toad Pipa pipa, whose young hatch from the female's back. The Primates Hall carries brief but interesting comparisons between apes, monkeys, and humans. Also on the third floor is the upper gallery of the famed Akeley Hall of African Mammals.

The small Hall of Biodiversity includes a shady replica of a Central African Republic rain forest. Within a few yards are 160 species of flora and fauna—and also evidence of the forest's destruction. Nearby, the Spectrum of Life Wall showcases 1,500 specimens and models, helping show just how weird life can get. The wall opens into the gaping Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, designed to give it an underwater glow and to show off the 94-foot model of a blue whale that's suspended from the ceiling. The hall focuses on the vast array of life in the ocean that covers our planet.

If you're hungry, the main food court ($) on the lower level serves sandwiches and burgers. Kids love the animal- and planet-shape cookies. The small Café on 4, has premade sandwiches and salads but no hot food and few kid-friendly items. The Café on 1 sells warm sandwiches, soup, salads, beer, and wine at New York prices. The Starlight Café is open on the weekend for light refreshments.