American Museum of Natural History in New York, USA

The American Museum of Natural History occupies a large museum complex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, directly across Central Park West from Central Park. Its exhibitions cover dinosaurs and other fossil animals, living species, human cultures, minerals, meteorites, Earth science, biodiversity, and astronomy, while much of the institution’s scientific collection remains behind the scenes for research.

From the Central Park Arsenal to Manhattan Square

The museum was officially created on April 6, 1869, when New York Governor John Thompson Hoffman signed its Act of Incorporation. Albert Smith Bickmore had promoted the idea of establishing a natural history museum in New York and gained support from a group that included Theodore Roosevelt Sr., William E. Dodge Jr., Joseph Choate, and J. Pierpont Morgan.

The museum’s first exhibitions opened in 1871 inside the Central Park Arsenal on the eastern side of Central Park. The growing collection soon required more space. Manhattan Square, the block between West 77th and West 81st Streets and Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, was secured as the site of a permanent museum.

President Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone of the first building on West 77th Street in 1874. That building opened in 1877 at a public ceremony attended by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The museum later expanded around the original structure through a series of connected buildings that now form the larger campus.

Dinosaurs and the Fossil Halls

The museum’s fourth-floor fossil galleries contain specimens from major groups of dinosaurs and other prehistoric vertebrates. One of the best-known objects is AMNH 5027, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton displayed in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. Museum fossil hunter Barnum Brown discovered the specimen in Montana in 1908, six years after he found the first skeleton identified as T. rex.

A much larger animal is represented by the 122-foot-long Titanosaur cast in the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center. The dinosaur was so newly discovered when the exhibit opened in 2016 that the species had not yet received its formal scientific name. It was later named Patagotitan mayorum.

The fossil floors are arranged around evolutionary relationships rather than simply presenting dinosaurs as isolated skeletons. Displays connect specimens through anatomical traits and help show how different vertebrate groups developed over time.

The Blue Whale and Ocean Life

The Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life centers on a 94-foot-long blue whale model suspended from the ceiling. The model weighs about 21,000 pounds. It first appeared in the hall in 1969 and was later reshaped and repainted to reflect a more accurate understanding of a living blue whale’s appearance.

The 29,000-square-foot hall uses models, habitat displays, video, interactive material, and historic dioramas to examine marine ecosystems. More than 750 marine organisms are represented, ranging from small algae to large ocean animals. Displays include an Andros coral reef diorama, a sperm whale and giant squid scene, walrus and whale shark exhibits, and material on deep-ocean environments.

Earth, Minerals, and Meteorites

The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals contain more than 5,000 specimens from 98 countries. Their displays explain mineral formation and classification as well as the ways minerals have been used in science, technology, tools, and personal adornment. Objects include giant geodes, fluorescent minerals, and the Star of India sapphire.

Nearby areas extend the subject beyond minerals. The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth uses geological specimens to examine Earth’s formation, plate tectonics, climate, rocks, and the conditions that allow life to exist. The Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites includes more than 130 meteorites, including the 34-ton Cape York specimen known as Ahnighito.

Rose Center for Earth and Space

The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space examines scales and processes extending from Earth to the observable universe. Its large Hayden Sphere houses the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater and the Hayden Big Bang Theater.

The 360-foot Cosmic Pathway uses the length of the walkway to represent approximately 13 billion years of cosmic history. Other displays address stars, galaxies, planets, the scale of astronomical objects, and the structure and evolution of the universe. Planetarium space shows are timed experiences and may require a ticket beyond General Admission.

The Richard Gilder Center

The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation opened in 2023 on the Columbus Avenue side of the museum campus. Designed by Studio Gang, it creates more than 30 connections among 10 museum buildings, changing how visitors can move between older parts of the complex.

The Gilder Center places scientific collections and active research closer to public view. The Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Collections Core displays more than 3,000 objects drawn from museum research collections. The building also contains the Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium, the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium, exhibition areas, classrooms, and the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium.

Scientific Collections and Research

The objects displayed in public galleries represent only a portion of the museum’s holdings. The institution maintains more than 34 million specimens and cultural artifacts used in research covering anthropology, paleontology, vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, Earth and planetary sciences, biodiversity, genomics, and astrophysics.

These collections preserve physical evidence that researchers can reexamine as scientific methods change. Fossils, biological specimens, geological material, cultural objects, frozen tissue, and associated records can be used to investigate evolutionary relationships, environmental change, biodiversity, species distributions, and other questions that were not necessarily anticipated when an object was first collected.

The museum also operates the Richard Gilder Graduate School. Established in 2006, it includes a doctoral program in comparative biology, linking the museum’s research staff and collections with graduate-level scientific education.

Admission and What a General Ticket Covers

General Admission provides access to more than 40 permanent halls and a selection of exhibitions included with museum entry. Certain experiences—including designated special exhibitions, the Hayden Planetarium Space Show, and other ticketed attractions—require an additional timed ticket.

For visitors who live outside New York State, the museum currently lists Standard General Admission at $37 for adults, $30 for seniors and students, and $22 for children ages 3–12. New York State residents who provide accepted proof of residency may choose what they pay for General Admission only. Ticketed exhibitions are not included in the pay-what-you-wish option.

Admission policies, prices, and available ticketed exhibitions can change. Current options and timed-entry availability are published on the museum’s official visitor information page.

Getting to the Museum

The main address is 200 Central Park West, between West 77th and West 81st Streets. The B train on weekdays and the C train stop at 81st Street–Museum of Natural History. The 1 train stops at Broadway and West 79th Street, about two blocks west of the museum. Several city bus routes also stop nearby.

The 81st Street B/C subway station is not wheelchair accessible. The museum identifies the 72nd Street station served by the 1, 2, and 3 trains as the closest accessible subway station. Step-free museum access is available through entrances including the Gilder Center at 415 Columbus Avenue and the Rose Center at 54 West 81st Street. Detailed accessibility information is available on the museum’s official accessibility page.

Planning Time Inside the Museum

The museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. With more than 40 permanent halls spread across several connected buildings, seeing every gallery during a short visit is difficult. Visitors with limited time can plan around a few areas—for example, the dinosaur floors, Hall of Ocean Life, Gilder Center, or Rose Center—rather than trying to cover the entire campus.

The museum provides an interactive map, printable maps, and the free Explorer app for navigation. The app includes turn-by-turn directions to exhibitions and visitor amenities and can calculate accessible routes through the building. Temporary gallery closures can occur, so the museum’s current hours and hall-closure information are useful to check before arrival.