Failing an overnight stay, spend a day at New York's Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869 with the primary goal of discovering, interpreting and disseminating information about the universe, the natural world and human cultures through a broad programme of scientific research, education and exhibition. It was first housed in the Arsenal in Central Park before moving to the building in which it is still housed today, built especially for it in 1877.

On entering, you come across a large Romanesque basilica at the centre of which are the skeletons of an apatosaurus and its young, facing an allosaurus. Although the New York Museum of Natural History has always been a benchmark in its field, it became very popular with the general public after the release of the film Night at the Museum, in which the museum's various specimens come to life once night has fallen and the museum is empty of visitors.

To be interested in the history of the world and of living things is to be interested in one's own history. Let's begin our visit to the American Museum of Natural History at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, home to the Hayden Planetarium. The Hayden Planetarium takes visitors on a journey to the centre of the universe, presenting the story of the Big Bang and the different scales of the cosmos.

Then, as you stroll through the museum's aisles, you'll discover all the marvels that our planet has created or sheltered over millions of years. The Earth Sciences and Planets halls, for example, feature remarkable artefacts such as minerals, rare precious stones - like the world's largest blue sapphire, the Star of India! - and meteorites, which provide clues to the origins of our solar system and the dynamic processes of our planet.

The Hall of Fossils, with two rooms reserved for dinosaur skeletons, is a firm favourite with visitors. Here you can admire the remains of a mammoth, a triceratops and even a tyrannosaurus. The Environment and Biodiversity Halls offer an inspiring and vivid vision of the spectacular beauty and abundance of life on Earth. Thanks to the precise representation of geographical locations and the meticulous, anatomically correct assembly of specimens, the dioramas in the Mammal Hall of New York 's Museum of Natural History are among the most famous in the world.

The Bird Halls depict the wide variety of avian life on the planet, and the Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians reviews the anatomy, behaviour and various adaptations of these vertebrates. Finally, the Human Origins Hall explores the history of human evolution, while the Cultural Halls examine the cultures of North and South America, Asia, the Pacific and Africa.

Made famous by the film Night at the Museum, the American Museum of Natural History has become a must-see on any trip to New York. You'll need to spend at least an hour and a half visiting it to get through it quickly, but science and history buffs will easily be able to spend the day there.

🚌 How do I get to the New York Museum of Natural History?

The American Museum of History is located in Manhattan, west of Central Park. It is easily accessible by public transport:subways B and C: 81st Street***station underground 1**: *Broadway and West 79th Street stations.

⏰ New York Museum of Natural History Hours

The American Museum of Natural History is open daily from 10am to 5:30pm, with last admissions at 4pm. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) and Christmas Day.

👛 Prices of the New York Museum of Natural History

• Full price: $23
• Over 60s: $18
• Students: $18
• Under 13s: $13
• Under 3 years old: free
• New York CityPASS / GoCity Explorer Pass / New York Sightseeing Day Pass: free

To book your ticket online for the main collection or for current exhibitions, go to the official website of the American Museum of Natural History. Online booking is compulsory.