Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Central Park West at W 79th St. Subway B, C to 81st St. 212 769 5100,
www.amnh.org
. Daily
10am-5.45pm. Suggested admission $22, children 2-12 $12.50, IMAX films, space show & special exhibits
extra ($13, children $10 to cover all).
MAP
This elegant giant fills four blocks with a strange architectural melange of heavy Neoclas-
sical and rustic Romanesque styles that was built in several stages, the first by Calvert Vaux
and Jacob Wrey Mould in 1872. The museum boasts 32 million items in its holdings, superb
nature dioramas and anthropological collections, interactive and multimedia displays, and
an awesome assemblage of bones, fossils and models. Top billing goes to the crowded
Dinosaur Halls
.
The Hall of Diversity
, focuses on both the ecological and evolutionary as-
pects of nature, while other delights include the massive totems in the
Hall of Northwest
Coast Indians
, the taxidermal marvels in North American Mammals and the giant whale
suspended in the
Hall of Ocean Life
.
The
Hall of Planet Earth
, a multimedia exploration, takes on the formation of planets,
earthquake-tracking and carbon dating. The centrepiece is the
Dynamic Earth Globe
,
where you can watch the earth via satellite.
Housed inside a metal and glass sphere, the
Hayden Planetarium
is one of the prime fea-
tures of the
Rose Center for Earth and Space
; it regularly screens a 3D movie and the
space show
Dark Universe
about the past century of space discovery.
