The American Museum of Natural History

Location

New York
United States
40° 46' 51.168" N, 73° 58' 22.5696" W
US
General info: 

From museum lovers to museum haters, this museum is the one not to be missed. The American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world. It comprises 25 interconnected buildings that house 46 permanent exhibition halls, research laboratories, and its renowned library.

Whether you're interested in dinosaurs or ecology, Native Americans or cosmic pathways, New York City's American Museum of Natural History has something for everyone.
The collections contain over 32 million specimens, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. In one day you can get an overview of the museum but to carefully go through everything, would take weeks.

The Museum boasts habitat dioramas of African, Asian and North American mammals, a full-size model of a Blue Whale, a 62 foot (19 m) Haida carved and painted war canoe from the Pacific Northwest, a massive 31 ton piece of the Cape York meteorite, and the Star of India, the largest star sapphire in the world. The circuit of an entire floor is devoted to vertebrate evolution. Among the many outstanding fossils on display include: Tyrannosaurus rex, Mammuthus, Apatosaurus, Brontops, ammonite, Triceratops and Stegosaurus, among many other specimens.
Make also sure not to miss the enourmous IMAX movie theatre with forty-foot-high, sixty-six-foot-wide screen and a state-of-the-art digital sound system. A spectacular setting that will bring the already impressive nature movies to another level.

The Museum was founded in 1869. The founding of the Museum realized the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore. Bickmore, a one-time student of Harvard zoologist Louis Agassiz, lobbied tirelessly for years for the establishment of a natural history museum in New York.

Getting there: 

Nearest Subways to the American Museum of Natural History: Take the B (weekdays only) or C to 81st Street. Two blocks west of the Museum, the 1 and 9 trains stop at Broadway and West 79th Street.

Costs: 

Admission Price: Suggested admission to the museum, including the Rose Center, is $16 for adults, $9 for children (2-12), $12 for seniors (60+) and students.
Opening Hours: Open daily, 10:00 a.m. - 5:45 p.m

Interesting places nearby

Timberline Four Season Resort is an old West Virginia favorite. The ski area provides skiers and snowboarders a peak elevation of 4,268 feet, 200 inches of average annual snowfall and a vertical drop of 100 feet.

The Homestead, located in Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, is great for skiing and snowboarding. The ski area consists of more than 45 acres of well maintained trails perfect for all ability levels.

Hidden Valley is another backyard ski area for New Yorkers. You will find 36 skiable acres serviced by four lifts on 12 runs. They have a vertical of about 620 feet.

Tenney Mountain is affordable, and hassle-free. Located in Plymouth, Tenney offers a fine environment for learning to ski or ride.

BASE: 748ft
SUMMIT: 2148ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1400ft

BASE: 774ft
SUMMIT: 1374ft
VERTICAL DROP: 600ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 5

Sunday River, located in Newry, Maine, has 133 trails and 16 lifts spread out across 743 skiable acres on 8 interconnected mountain peaks.