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4.5
17,872 votes

American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, New York 10024 USA

$$
Reasonable
Open Now
Thu 10a-5:45p
  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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Iconic Attraction

Our Take

The massive museum is so chock-full of incredibly rendered and arranged displays and exhibits that it might make other natural history museums look chintzy. The highlight of the institution, though, is probably the Hayden Planetarium; If you visit the museum without experiencing the planetarium, you’re making a mistake. Also, it's located on the opposite side of Central Park from the Met, so it’s a great idea to take a day to experience the park and both museums.

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“a panorama of the world's cultures!”

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since its founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures. To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe. In 2006, the Museum established the Richard Gilder Graduate School which includes a Ph.D. granting program in comparative biology within the Museum. Accordingly, the Museum’s Charter was amended by the Board of Regents of the State of New York as follows: “to confer the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.) to duly qualified graduates completing registered curricula at the Graduate School of the American Museum of Natural History, and to award from the Graduate School the Honorary Degrees of Science (D.Sc.), Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) and Master of Humane Letters (L.H.M.) to those selected by the Board of Trustees.”

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Reviewed by
Tatiana Danger

  • Road Warrior
  • 1,169 Reviews
  • 910 Helpful
July 14, 2014
Rated 5.0

This museum is one of NYC's most popular attractions, and for good reason. It's four floors of basically every natural history exhibit you could possibly want to see. From dinosaurs to rocket ships. You'll definitely want to grab a museum map to orient yourself. It's free with price of admission. There are IMAX shows and Space Shows, that last about 40 minutes. But it's good to get to the theater about 10 minutes before your show to get good seats. I highly recommend taking a Highlights Tour. These are offered from 10:15am to 3:15pm, and they're free. There's food available right outside the museum, and there are also cafes in the museum. Also, the gift shop is exceptional.

2 people found this review helpful

Reviewed by
Alexandra Perry

  • 4 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
February 13, 2022
Rated 4.0

Way too big to explore it all in one day. The dinosaurs were really cool, but the exhibits about ancient peoples didn't hold the kids' attention much. I also wasn't enthralled by the space exhibits. The walkway from the planetarium was pretty cool, but we didn't go in the planetarium (walked up and back). It was really easy to get to via subway and right across from Central Park.

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Reviewed by
Niki_L.

  • 13 Reviews
  • 6 Helpful
June 09, 2018
Rated 5.0

This museum is located on the west side of Central Park, so it's a beautiful location. It is a "name your own price" admission fee. We were only there for two hours so that was a very nice feature, not have to pay the full suggested price of $28.
We took the subway there from close to Times Square, so we went in a much smaller entrance. There was absolutely no line for us. Staff was very helpful in telling us exactly where must see items are.
We saw a few of the things featured in the movie "Night at the Museum" (The reason we knew about this museum ). We had never been to NYC before, so we did not know that most of what was in the movie does not look like the actual museum. So if you're going to this museum to see exactly what was in the movie, you will not be able to do that.
It is still a fantastic place to go, I wish we had more time there because there is so much to see.
Afterwards, we grabbed an ice cream outside and sat in Central Park for a while.

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Reviewed by
Nancy Sewell

  • 1,228 Reviews
  • 412 Helpful
March 17, 2016
Rated

Your admission of what would be $22 without a pass only gets you in. Each exhibition is at an additional cost so in all an incredibly expensive day. The stuff inside was far too laid out. Not a lot of detail of where the stuff comes from or about its history.

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Reviewed by
ChristyClemens

  • 13 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
July 17, 2015
Rated 4.0

A wonderful family attraction. The dinosaur exibets alone are beyond amazing. Wiether alone, a couple, or a family definitely plan to stop in for some fun and culture.

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Reviewed by
ChristyClemens

  • 13 Reviews
  • 1 Helpful
July 17, 2015
Rated 4.0

A wonderful family attraction. The dinosaur exibets alone are beyond amazing. Wiether alone, a couple, or a family definitely plan to stop in for some fun and culture.

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Reviewed by
sag

  • 13 Reviews
  • 3 Helpful
January 26, 2015
Rated 5.0

Absolutely beautiful, interesting, enjoyable, both kids and parents loved it.

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American Museum of Natural History

Central Park West at 79th Street
New York, New York
10024 USA
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Hours

Open now until 5:45 pm
  • Sun - Sat: 10:00 am - 5:45 pm

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