The American Museum 
of Natural History

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

This is, in our opinion, the premier natural history museums. Th museum has major scientific collections of herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, ornithology, entomology, malacology, anthropology, botany and paleontology. The museum was founded in 1869, and has one of the most active natural history research programs in the world. Among the scientific superstars who have worked here have been Franz Boas, Roy Chapman Andrews, Barnum Brown, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Margaret Mead, Charles Bogert, and others. The library is one of the most comprehensive on earth.

The museum has a website, offers courses, lectures and ecotours, and houses many fine galleries. Open daily, with a nominal admissions fee. There is a bookshop, gift shops, and a restaurant. The museum is also home to the Hayden Planetarium and the Rose Center for Space.

Among the famous exhibits are the Willamette meteorite, Star of India sapphire, the largest blue whale model in the world, two extraordinary dinosaur halls, and the Akeley Memorial, featuring some of the most lifelike taxidermic exhibits ever produced.