American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869, is one of the largest and most celebrated natural history museums in the world, occupying a grand complex of 28 interconnected buildings on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, directly across from Central Park. Its extraordinary collection of over 34 million specimens and artefacts — spanning the breadth of the natural world and human cultures — is housed in 45 permanent exhibition halls, with a further programme of major temporary exhibitions each year. The museum is perhaps best known worldwide for its breathtaking fossil halls, home to the world’s largest collection of dinosaur skeletons, including the towering Titanosaur and the famous Tyrannosaurus rex. Other highlights include the Hall of Ocean Life with its iconic 94-foot blue whale model, the Hall of the Universe in the Rose Center for Earth and Space, and the Hayden Planetarium, which hosts immersive space shows presented by leading scientists and narrators. The museum’s approximately 200 scientists conduct active field research across the globe, and the institution’s Richard Gilder Graduate School is the only museum in the Western Hemisphere to grant a doctoral degree. Family programming, school field trips, educator workshops, and public lectures make the AMNH an indispensable educational resource for the entire New York community. The museum is open daily from 10am to 5:30pm, with suggested general admission. New York City residents may pay what they wish for general admission.