NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

The American Museum of Natural History is the largest natural history museum in the world with a mission commensurately monumental in scope. The entire museum spans 4 city blocks and consists of some 25 interconnected buildings.  Though today the phrase "natural history" is restricted to the study of animal life, the museum—founded in 1869 on the heels of discoveries by Darwin and other Victorians—uses it in its original sense:  that is, the study of all natural objects, animal, vegetable and mineral.

The museum has scientists who study the diversity of Earth's species, life in the ancient past and the universe. The museum contains more than 40 exhibition halls, displaying a portion of the institution's 32 million specimens and artifacts. The exhibition program rotates as much of this material into public view as possible. Possessing the most scientifically important collection of dinosaurs and fossil vertebrates in the world, the museum has six halls that tell the story of vertebrate evolution. Two new halls feature some of the public's favorites—including Tyrannosaurus rex and Apatosaurus. Also on view in the Roosevelt rotunda is the tallest free-standing dinosaur exhibit in the world, which has been remounted to reflect current scientific theory about dinosaur behavior. This tableau depicts a massive mother Barosaurus trying to protect her calf from an attacking Allosaurus.

The Hall of Biodiversity is devoted to the most pressing environmental issues of our time: the critical need to preserve the variety and interdependence of Earth's living things. Other permanent exhibits, known for their striking dioramas portraying people and animals on indigenous ground, include the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples, the Hall of Asian Peoples, the Hall of African Peoples, the Hall of South American Peoples, the Spizter Hall of Human Origins, the Hall of North American Mammals, the Hall of African Mammals, the Hall of Ocean Life, the Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians and the Hall of North American Birds. For geology buffs there are also the separate halls of meteorites, minerals and gems.

The stunning Rose Center for Earth and Space is a $200 million glass box created by architect James Stewart Polshek. Enclosing a great white sphere, it opened to international acclaim in early 2000. The center features the Heilbrunn Cosmic Pathway, where each step equals about 75 million years of cosmic evolution; the Scales of the Universe, which illustrates the vast range in sizes in our universe; the Cullman Hall of the Universe, focusing on discoveries in modern astrophysics; and the new Hayden Planetarium—the world's most technologically advanced—which offers an absorbing three-dimensional tour of the universe and a multisensory re-creation of the Big Bang.

The first wing, the Romanesque Revival exposure running along West 77th Street, dates from 1872 and is based on a design by Calvert Vaux and J. Wrey Mould. In 1892 the two turrets, central granite stairway and arcade of arches were added based on a design by J. C. Cady & Co. The 77th Street entrance leads to the Grand Gallery, which holds the 63-foot-long Great Canoe, carved from the trunk of a single large cedar tree. It was acquired in 1883 was created by craftsmen from more than one of the First Nations of British Columbia.

As one of the world's preeminent scientific research institutions, the museum sponsors more than 100 field expeditions each year, including ongoing research projects in Chile, China, Cuba, French Guiana, Madagascar, Mongolia and New Guinea. It maintains three permanent field stations: Great Gull Island, St. Catherine's Island and the Southwestern Research Station.

• Directions: Subway: B, C to 81st Street - Museum of Natural History

• On-Site Food: Museum Food Court, adjacent to the Rose Center, offers hot and cold menu items; Cafe 77, in the 77th Street lobby, has sandwiches and salads; the Cafe on 4, fine dining on the fourth floor, Central Park West side.
• On-Site Parking: Metered on-site lot, enter from 81st Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.
• ADA Compliant Restrooms
• Disability Access: Fully accessible
• Disability Assistance: Video displays are captioned for the hearing impaired.
• Gift Shops: The Planetarium Shop features scientific instruments and items related to space. The Satellite Shop is designed for children and features space-related toys and games. The Museum Shop is a three-story retail space on the Central Park West side.