I am a MASSIVE geek, so a trip to the Natural History Museum seemed like an obvious choice when I visited New York; if I didn’t work in Marketing, I think I would be a paleontologist.
The museum is located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and our mode of transport: walking. Our hotel was located two blocks away from Times Square so we cut decided cutting through Central Park would allow us to see a bit of the park while getting to our destination.
When we went (back in 2010), there wasn’t a set entry free, but you were given the option of donating a few dollars to help with maintenance and funding costs.
Upon entry into the foyer area, there is of course the iconic dinosaur skeleton (If i were a paleontologist I could’ve named it!) placed right in the centre of the customer entry hall. That alone was enough for me, I felt like I was in a Jurassic Park movie. However, if you’re thinking more Night at the Museum, don’t be fooled, the layout isn’t very similar to the film.
After having a wander around the exhibitions for a while, it suddenly dawned on me that the museum was never ending. It’s spread over 5 floors (4 plus the lower ground level) with the floor split into “halls”, and halls then further divided into individual exhibitions. You could honestly spend more than one day here, it has everything from dinosaurs and fossils to space, mammals, American history and sea life areas – certainly something for the whole family.
Hands down, my ultimate, all-time favourite museum. Even the canteen/cafe has several different food stations (the pizza was good!!).
Here’s a link to the museum’s website and extensive interactive floor plan: here.
Have you ever been to the American Museum of Natural History?
What’s your favourite Museum?
