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American Museum of Natural History

(212) 769-5100
Central Park West at 79th Street,
New York, NY 10024

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Akeley Gallery -- Art (Museum), Art (Photography) Cost: Included in admission This corridor linking the Akeley Hall of African Mammals with the Hall of African Peoples provides gallery space for special photographic exhibitions.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Audubon Gallery -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Opened to the public for the first time in decades (as of Mar. 31, 2007), the renovated and restored 3100-square-foot Audubon Gallery has been painstakingly refurbished. Ellen V. Futter, President of the Museum said "This grand space, now restored to its original elegance, will be dedicated to exhibitions that exemplify the view that art and science are prisms through which we examine the beauty of the natural world and endeavor to understand our place within it."	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Dioramas -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The Museum's habitat group dioramas, located extensively throughout its halls, are among the most renowned and beloved exhibits at the Museum. With precise depictions of geographical locations and the careful, anatomically correct mounting of specimens, these stunning dioramas are windows onto a world of animals, their behavior, and their habitats. Moreover, since many of the environments represented have been exploited or degraded, some dioramas preserve places and animals as they no longer exist. The viewer of a habitat group diorama is able to travel not only across continents, but also, in some cases, through time.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Grand Gallery and Great Canoe -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The museum completed a major renovation of its historic 77th Street lobby early in 2007 that restored the grandeur of the original 1904 design and showcases the preservation and revitalization of a century-old Museum icon - the 63-foot-long Great Canoe. The newly renamed "Grand Gallery" is the first phase of a major renovation and restoration project involving the famous "castle" facade on 77th Street.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Advanced Mammals -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The Museum's tradition of excavating, studying and exhibiting fossil mammals has an even longer and more illustrious history than its work with dinosaurs. The Museum's first expedition to search for such fossils was launched in 1891, and in 1895, before its scientists had found a single dinosaur, the Museum opened a full-scale hall of fossil mammals. This original hall, which has displayed such specimens continuously since then, now features advanced mammals with such traits as hoofs and eye sockets near the snout, in addition to those traits featured in the Hall of Primitive Mammals. A wide range of animals is represented along these evolutionary branches, including cats, seals, bears, primates, horses, whales and elephants, along with their extinct relatives. Up until about 10,000 years ago, mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, camels and giant ground sloths roamed across North America. Then, an episode of extinction wiped all those animals out. The cause of this wave of extinction is unclear, but possible explanations include dramatic climate changes at the end of the last ice age, hunting by humans and infectious disease.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of African Mammals -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Since its opening in 1936, the Akeley Hall of African Mammals has been considered one of the world's greatest museum displays. The hall is named after Carl Akeley (1864-1926), the explorer, conservationist, taxidermist, sculptor and photographer who conceived of, designed and collected for the hall. All the mammal dioramas in the Museum were created using his highly refined taxidermy and mounting techniques. The animals have been reconstructed with such scientific accuracy and detail that they appear astoundingly lifelike. Akeley's meticulous attention to veracity, which was applied to the plants, the painted backgrounds and even the lighting in the dioramas, resulted in faithful and vivid reproductions of the worlds that he wanted to preserve. The 28 dioramas in this hall, true works of art, depict some of the many animals and habitats of Africa, from the bongo and mandrill of the dense rain forests to the impala and elephant of the savannah. Carl Akeley had a lifelong devotion to the continent of Africa and the conservation of its beautiful wilderness areas. He traveled there many times, embarking on three expeditions for the Museum. During his final expedition, he fell ill and died. He was buried in Albert National Park (now Virunga National Park), the first wildlife sanctuary in central Africa, which he had helped to establish. The mountain location of his grave is near the scene depicted in the gorilla diorama in this hall.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of African Peoples -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Africa, a continent of nearly 12 million square miles and more than 700 million inhabitants, boasts a rich array of cultures. The Hall of African Peoples explores this great diversity, highlighting the traditional lifestyles and customs of people living in Africa's grasslands, deserts, forests and river regions. The religious, political, economic and domestic aspects of life are highlighted through artifacts and dioramas. On display are masks, musical instruments, farming tools, religious idols, ceremonial costumes and more. Dioramas depict a variety of scenes, from the Berbers of the desert in North Africa to the Mbuti pygmies in the Congo. Also featured are the Yoruba, Pokot, and Bira peoples, among others.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Asian Mammals -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Between 1922 and 1928, Museum Trustee Arthur S. Vernay and British Colonel John C. Faunthorpe conducted six expeditions to collect animal specimens in India, Burma (now Myanmar) and Siam (now Thailand). The specimens were then donated to the Museum and formed the foundation for this hall, which opened in 1930. The mounting of the animals in the Hall of Asian Mammals was overseen by James L. Clark using Carl Akeley's methods and the hall's layout is similar to that of the Akeley Hall of African Mammals. As in the Akeley Hall, a group of elephants forms the centerpiece. These complementary exhibits allow the visitor to note the differences between the two types of elephant: The Asian elephant is generally smaller in size, with smaller ears and a higher forehead. The animals featured in this hall also include the water buffalo, gaur, leopard and rhinoceros, and many represent species threatened by poaching and loss of habitat. Two examples of Asian mammals, the Siberian tiger and the giant panda, were among the animals relocated to the Endangered Case in the Hall of Biodiversity when it opened in 1998.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Asian Peoples -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The Museum's holdings in Asian ethnology constitute one of the finest such collections in the Western Hemisphere. This extensive collection provides the foundation for the Hall of Asian Peoples, the Museum's largest cultural hall. The hall explores such topics as prehistoric Eurasia and the rise of civilization, early Asian cultures and Asian trade, and includes such vastly different and diverse regions as Korea, China, India, Armenia and Siberia. The hall also documents the rise of the great world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Confucianism. Highlights include the shaman diorama, which faithfully re-creates a late 19th-century healing ceremony of the Yakut of Eastern Siberia. The scene depicts a shaman who has come to heal a woman whose soul has been captured by evil spirits. Also featured in the hall is an ornate wedding chair, which would have carried a traditional Chinese bride to her new life with her husband's family. The chair is covered with auspicious symbols to invite good fortune.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Biodiversity -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The Hall of Biodiversity is a groundbreaking exhibition devoted to what many scientists believe is the most pressing environmental issue of our time: the need to protect and preserve our planet's biodiversity, the variety and interdependence of Earth's life forms. The 11,000-square-foot hall, which opened in 1998, represents an important step in the Museum's efforts to expand public understanding of Earth's diverse and often endangered life forms, while painting a vivid and inspiring portrait of the breathtaking beauty and abundance of life on Earth.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Birds of the World -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Although some bird species cross the boundaries of oceans and mountains and a few are found worldwide, each area of the world has its indigenous birds. The Birds of the World Hall shows some major faunal areas and their characteristic birds. Its purpose is to give visitors an idea of the diversity of birds and an appreciation of their graceful presence in every corner of the globe. A presence often threatened, as this extinct Dodo specimen seems to suggest.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Eastern Woodlands and Plains Indians -- Art (History/Science), Art (Jewelry/Gems), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission These halls showcase artifacts such as cooking utensils, clothing, weapons and jewelry from traditional Native American cultures in the East and in the Plains. The Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians focuses on the traditional cultures of the Mohegan, Ojibwa, Cree and other Native American peoples living in the Eastern Woodlands of North America. In addition to artifacts, this hall features models of Eastern Woodlands lodgings, from the wigwam of the Ojibwa to the longhouse of the Iroquois. The Hall of Plains Indians focuses on the cultures of the mid-19th-century Blackfeet, Hidatsa, Dakota (Sioux) and other peoples of the North American Plains and is also home to one of the Museum's greatest treasures, the Folsom Point. This flint arrowhead, found near Folsom, New Mexico, in 1926, provides irrefutable evidence that there were humans in the Americas as early as the last ice age.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Gems -- Art (History/Science), Art (Jewelry/Gems), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The Hall of Gems displays groups of stones that showcase an extraordinary range of size, color and shape. Among these specimens is the 563-carat Star of India, the largest and most famous star sapphire in the world. Formed some two billion years ago, the Star of India was discovered several centuries ago and donated to the Museum by J. P. Morgan in 1900. Also featured in the Hall of Gems is the Patricia Emerald, a 632-carat specimen that is one of the very few large, gem-quality emeralds that have been preserved uncut. The specimen is exceedingly rare not only because of its size and color, but also because of its dihexagonal, or twelve-sided, shape.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Human Origins -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission The story of Homo sapiens is the topic of this hall, which explores human biology and anatomy, traces the path of human evolution and examines the origins of human creativity. It is the only major exhibit in the country to present an in-depth investigation of the mysteries of human evolution. The hall features four life-size dioramas of human predecessors Australopithecus afarensis, Homo ergaster, Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, showing each species in its habitat and demonstrating the behaviors and capabilities that scientists believe it had. Also displayed are full-sized casts of important fossils, such as the four-million-year-old "Lucy" skeleton and the 1.7-million-year-old "Turkana Boy" and Homo erectus specimens including a cast of "Peking Man." In addition, the hall features replicas of striking Ice Age art found in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. These beautiful limestone carvings of horses were made nearly 26,000 years ago and represent what is believed to be the earliest artistic expression of humans.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Meteorites -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission Meteorites are solid particles from space that survive the passage through Earth's atmosphere to fall to the ground. In addition to such specimens as moon rocks and a meteorite studded with tiny diamonds, the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites contains the Cape York Meteorite, the world's largest meteorite on display. This 4.5-billion-year-old specimen is so heavy (34 tons), that its supports go straight through the floor down to the bedrock beneath the building. The massive meteorite, which probably comes from the center of a small planetary body that was broken apart, is a type known as an iron meteorite; it is composed of metallic iron and nickel, similar to the metallic core at the center of Earth. When Arctic explorer Robert E. Peary (1856-1920) discovered the specimen in 1894, he learned that it had been used for centuries by the Inuits as a source of iron for knives and other weapons. When touching the meteorite, visitors are touching an object that is both part of human history and a relic of our solar system.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Mexico and Central America -- Art (Folk Art/Crafts), Art (History/Science), Art (Jewelry/Gems), Art (Museum), Art (Sculpture) Cost: Included in admission The diverse art, architecture and traditions of the Maya, Toltec, Olmec, Aztec and other Mesoamerican pre-Columbian cultures are the subjects of this hall. The outstanding collections on display include monuments, figurines, pottery and jewelry that span from around 1200 B.C. to the early 1500s. Each object provides clues about the political and religious symbols, social traits and artistic styles of its cultural group. Especially striking works on view include Costa Rican gold ornaments and a 3,000-year-old Olmec jade sculpture called the Kunz Axe, which may represent a chief or a shaman who transformed himself into a jaguar to partake of the animal's power. Also displayed are 9th-century Mayan stone carvings depicting scenes of conquest. Existing as early as 1500 B.C., the Mayan culture did not consist of a single empire, but rather was a collection of independent city-states that alternately warred and traded with one another.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of Minerals -- Art (History/Science), Art (Jewelry/Gems), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission In the Hall of Minerals the visitor finds minerals composed of a single element, such as gold and copper, and groups that combine several elements, such as the silicates quartz, amethyst and mica.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of New York State Environment -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission This hall chronicles the development of New York State's natural landscape over time. It describes the geological history from Precambrian times (2 billion years ago) to the present day, including glaciation, and displays of local fossils showing that New York was a marine environment at one time. The hall uses the area of Stissing Mountain and the Village of Pine Plains in the Hudson Valley as an example because of its varied terrain: mountains, natural lakes, forests, variety of rock formations and both wild and cultivated land.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of North American Birds -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum), Art (Comedy/Drama) Cost: Included in admission The Hall of North American Birds is named for Frank M. Chapman (1864-1945), the Museum's renowned ornithologist. Under the direction of Chapman, a leader in the study of bird speciation and distribution in the Western Hemisphere, the Museum's bird collection grew to become one of the greatest in the world and now holds 99 percent of all known species. The peregrine falcon diorama in this hall is one of many that Chapman conceived, and it re-creates a scene he actually saw on the Hudson River Palisades. The diorama shows an adult arriving at a nest site with a newly caught pigeon.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of North American Forests -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission This hall, exploring the ecology of North American forests, features a piece of a giant sequoia tree. The sequoia, which was cut down in 1891, had survived for more than 1,300 years and its full height exceeded 300 feet. Around the central point of the tree slice are concentric rings, some of which are invisible to the naked eye; each of these represents one year's growth. Conveying the immense age of the tree are markers on some of the growth rings corresponding to significant historical events, such as Charlemagne being crowned Holy Roman Emperor (800 A.D.). Traveling through scale rather than time, a diorama of the forest floor represents a cross section of the soil, enlarged to 24 times its actual size. This scene demonstrates the process of decomposition, by which natural debris is broken down into new substances, which exist in the soil as nutrients. While bacteria and fungi help break the debris down, so do some of the creatures re-created in the diorama.	Not Rated	Rate It	7/25/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/26/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/27/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/28/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/29/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/30/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m. 7/31/2008 10 a.m. till 5:45 p.m.



Hall of North American Mammals -- Art (History/Science), Art (Museum) Cost: Included in admission More than 25 Museum expeditions, ranging from Mexico to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, produced the magnificent examples of North American mammals displayed in this hall.