Introduction
The American Museum of Natural History, nestled in an 18-acre park off Central Park West in Manhattan, comprises 27 interconnected buildings. These house 45 permanent exhibition halls, a library, a planetarium, and spaces for temporary exhibits and scientific research. Founded in 1869 as a museum and library to promote scientific study, it organized exploratory expeditions to remote regions including Pacific islands and Africa. These expeditions significantly expanded its collection, which now exceeds 32 million specimens and artifacts. The museum continues to conduct about 120 expeditions and field projects annually worldwide. Voted the Number One Family Attraction in New York City, the museum is the largest of its kind globally. It offers a wide array of artifacts, displays, and exhibits that unveil the secrets of the natural world, making it a top destination for visitors.
Another museum favorite is the 94-foot-long model of a blue whale, which dominates the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life on the first floor, surrounded by videos showcasing ocean life. The Hayden Planetarium is housed in the Rose Center for Earth and Science, an illuminated sphere within a transparent cube designed by James Stewart Polshek. It opened in 2000.
The museum’s internationally renowned dioramas, where science meets art, are among the most impressive sights. Painters, photographers, naturalists, and taxidermists meticulously recreate geographically precise scenes from nature. They populate these scenes with anatomically correct specimens like thundering elephants, American bison, African lions, wading birds of the Everglades, and more.
Rose Center and Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium, now part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space, is housed in a glass cube containing the spherical Space Theater, designed by James Stewart Polshek. It’s connected to the Museum. The Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, a popular exhibit in the Rose Center, opened on February 19, 2000.
Founded in 1933 with a donation from philanthropist Charles Hayden, the original Hayden Planetarium opened in 1935. In 2000, the $210 million Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space was unveiled, marking a new era. Designed by James Stewart Polshek, this architectural marvel features a six-story glass cube enclosing an 87-foot illuminated sphere, which Polshek called a “cosmic cathedral.” Located on the Museum’s north facade, the Rose Center and its plaza are celebrated Manhattan landmarks. Spanning 333,500 square feet, the facility includes research, education, and exhibition spaces, such as the Hayden Planetarium and the Museum’s Department of Astrophysics. Polshek also designed the 1,800-square-foot Weston Pavilion, a transparent structure of “water white” glass, adding a new entrance and exhibition space on the Museum’s west facade. Additionally, the planetarium’s magazine, The Sky, merged with The Telescope to create Sky & Telescope, a leading astronomy publication.
Library
Since its inception, the Library at the American Museum of Natural History has burgeoned into a global treasure trove of natural history resources. It burgeoned with significant contributions like the John C. Jay Conchological Library, the Carson Brevoort Library on Fishes and Zoology, and Daniel Giraud Elliot’s Ornithological Library. In 1903, the American Ethnological Society enriched it with its library, followed by the New York Academy of Sciences in 1905, adding 10,000 volumes. Today, the Library houses over 550,000 volumes, including monographs, serials, archival materials, and rare books, meticulously preserved within its 55,000-square-foot space designed by Roche-Dinkeloo in 1992. The collection spans diverse fields from mammalogy to anthropology, with artifacts dating back to the 15th century. Its architecture, featuring five “conservation zones,” ensures optimal preservation conditions, making it a pinnacle of scholarly excellence in natural sciences.
Surroundings
The Museum, located at 79th Street and Central Park West, is accessible by the BC trains. Visitors can access the Museum directly from the 81st Street subway station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line.
The Museum also houses the stainless steel time capsule, designed by Santiago Calatrava after winning a competition. They sealed it at the end of 2000 to mark the millennium. Visitors can access the Museum via the 81st Street – Museum of Natural History subway station. Calatrava described it as resembling a flower. It stands on a pedestal outside the Museum’s Columbus Avenue entrance. The capsule is to remain sealed until the year 3000.
In popular culture
- In the fourth volume of Mirage’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Michelangelo acts as a tour guide for visiting aliens. His initial task is to accompany Saurian Regenta Seri and her Styracodon bodyguards, who desire to visit the Museum, specifically the dinosaur exhibit.
- The 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow features several scenes set in the Museum’s halls.
- The AMNH appears as a Resistance-controlled building in the Sierra game Manhunter: New York.
- Portions of the Sony PlayStation game Parasite Eve take place within the AMNH.
- The novel Murder at the Museum of Natural History, by Michael Jahn (1994), features the museum.
- In 2009, the Museum hosted the live finale of the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice.
- In the early seasons of Friends, Ross Geller works at the Museum.
- How I Met Your Mother” showcases the museum, albeit under the name “Natural History Museum.
- In a second-season episode of The Spectacular Spider-Man titled “Destructive Testing”, Spider-Man fights Kraven the Hunter in the Museum.
Neighboring area
The museum sits within a 17-acre (69,000 m2) park known as ‘Theodore Roosevelt Park’. The park contains pleasant park benches, beautiful gardens and fields, and a dog run. This small park has made the area around the museum highly desirable. After the completion of the renovation of the southern-facing museum facade, some of the most expensive real estate in the Upper West Side is located in this area. The American Museum of Natural History is an Awesome Place. In 2007 it was not uncommon to see museum-facing apartments sell for as much as $2000 per square foot. Additionally, many gourmet restaurants surround the museum, offering outdoor cafes where patrons can sit outside and enjoy the view.