American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is one of the largest museums in the world, with many halls full of amazing things to see. The museum has millions of specimens, including plants, animals, rocks, and fossils, but only a small part can be shown at any time.

The museum was first thought up by a naturalist named Albert S. Bickmore in 1861, and it opened its doors to the public on May 22, 1871. Over the years, many new parts of the museum have been built, including a special place called the Rose Center for Earth and Space that opened in 2000.

Today, the museum is visited by around five million people each year. It also has scientists who travel the world to learn more about nature and share their discoveries with everyone. The museum is very important for learning about the natural world and our place in it.

History

See also: List of castles in the United States

The idea for the American Museum of Natural History began with naturalist Albert S. Bickmore in 1861. He believed New York City would be the perfect place for a big museum about nature. After the American Civil War ended, Bickmore asked important people in New York to help create the museum. Finally, in 1869, the museum’s creation was approved, and it opened to the public in 1871 inside a building called the Arsenal in Central Park.

Over the years, the museum grew bigger and added more exhibits. It moved to a permanent home on Manhattan Square in 1877. More wings and buildings were added to hold the growing collection of specimens. Today, the museum has many halls filled with fascinating displays about nature and history.

Original structure

The original Victorian Gothic building was designed by Calvert Vaux and J. Wrey Mould to match the style of Central Park across the street. It was built on 77th Street and had a tall gallery with many exhibits. Though hidden behind newer buildings, this part of the museum is still used today.

The museum’s original plan imagined many more buildings arranged around a large square, with tall towers and a big dome in the center. Though only part of this grand design was built, the museum grew to include many connected halls and spaces for displaying its huge collection of natural history specimens.

New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt

The main entrance hall on Central Park West is called the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. It was finished in 1936 and looks very grand, designed in a style called Beaux-Arts. The hall has a pink-granite outside that looks like old Roman arches, with a big terrace and steps in front.

Inside, the hall is very tall and wide, with a high ceiling and beautiful marble walls. There are large murals showing important events from Theodore Roosevelt’s life, such as building the Panama Canal and exploring Africa. The hall today connects to other exhibition rooms and tells us about Roosevelt’s work in protecting nature.

Mammal halls

The Akeley Hall of African Mammals shows 28 detailed displays of African animals and their habitats. The main attraction is a group of eight African elephants in a defensive stance. This hall opened in 1936 and was planned by Carl Akeley, who started collecting the animals and scenes for it in 1909.

The Hall of Asian Mammals has displays from India, Nepal, Burma, and Malaysia. It opened in 1930 and includes models of Asian elephants and other animals from the region.

The Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals features 43 displays of animals from North America, including Alaskan brown bears, wolves, and Alaska moose. It opened in 1942 and was later expanded and renamed in 2012. Nearby, the Hall of Small Mammals shows smaller animals like collared peccaries and Abert's squirrel.

Birds, reptiles, and amphibian halls

The Sanford Hall of North American birds is located on the third floor, between the Hall of Primates and Akeley Hall's second level. It features over 20 dioramas showing birds from across North America in their natural homes. At the end of the hall, there is an old painting of pink flamingos by the artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes. The hall also has special displays for large groups of warblers, owls, and raptors.

The Hall of Birds of the World is on the south side of the second floor. This hall shows the wide variety of bird species from around the globe. Twelve dioramas display different ecosystems and the birds that live there. Examples include South Georgia with king penguins and skuas, the East African plains with secretarybirds and bustards, and the Australian outback with honeyeaters, cockatoos, and kookaburras.

Biodiversity and environmental halls

The Hall of Biodiversity, located under the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall, opened in May 1998. It shows how living things interact and the importance of keeping many different species. Visitors can see a large display of a rainforest in three different conditions: natural, changed by people, and destroyed by people. The hall also has walls with videos, stories, and ideas for protecting nature.

The Hall of North American Forests, opened in 1958, features ten detailed scenes showing forests from across North America. Each scene shows a specific place and time of year. The hall also has displays about taking care of forests and keeping trees healthy. One special display includes a piece of a very old tree called the Mark Twain Tree.

The Warburg Hall of New York State Environments, opened in 1951, shows the natural world around Pine Plains in New York. It explains different soils, changing seasons, and how both people and animals affect the environment.

The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life focuses on life in the oceans. The center of the hall has a very large model of a blue whale. The hall shows many different ocean environments, such as kelp forests, mangroves, and coral reefs. It also has large displays of big ocean animals and a famous scene showing a squid and a whale. The hall opened in 1924 and was updated many times to highlight the importance of protecting ocean life.

Human origins and cultural halls

The American Museum of Natural History has many halls showing the history of humans and different cultures from around the world.

The Stout Hall of Asian Peoples shows items from Asia, including from places like Japan, China, and India. Visitors can see models of ancient towns and learn about life in Asia long ago. The Hall of African Peoples displays the lives of people from Africa, showing their homes, tools, and ways of living from different areas such as river valleys and grasslands. The Hall of Mexico and Central America has treasures from ancient civilizations like the Maya and Aztec, with statues and other important objects. The Hall of South American Peoples shows items from countries such as Peru and Bolivia, including old art and everyday objects used by ancient peoples.

The Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples has collections from islands in the Pacific Ocean, like New Zealand and Australia, with clothes, tools, and statues. The Northwest Coast Hall displays items from Native American tribes along the Pacific Northwest, including totem poles and canoes. The Hall of Plains Indians shows life of tribes like the Blackfeet and Dakota, with tools and clothes they used. The Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians has exhibits about tribes from eastern North America, such as the Iroquois and Ojibwe, showing their homes, canoes, and other important items.

The Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins tells the story of how humans evolved over millions of years. Visitors can see models of our ancient ancestors, including life-size figures of early humans like Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon. The hall also shows important fossils, such as the famous "Lucy" skeleton, and ancient art made by early humans.

Earth and planetary science halls

The Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites displays amazing space rocks, including a huge piece from Greenland that weighs as much as 34 tons. It also shows tiny diamonds older than our planet, found inside meteorites.

The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals show sparkling gems and minerals, like the famous Star of India. These halls were redesigned to make learning more fun and help visitors connect ideas.

The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth tells the story of our planet, from its beginning to today. It features rocks from all over the world, some as old as 4.3 billion years, and explains how Earth changes over time. Visitors can touch big rocks and learn about volcanoes, Earth's layers, and more.

Main article: Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals

Fossil halls

The American Museum of Natural History has many fascinating fossil halls filled with amazing discoveries. Most of the museum’s fossil collections, including many dinosaur and mammal fossils, are kept in special storage areas inside the museum. One of the biggest storage buildings is the Childs Frick Building, which has labs and offices on its top floors.

Visitors can see some of the most famous fossils on the fourth floor. Here, you can walk through halls filled with different kinds of ancient animals. Some of the most famous displays include a real Tyrannosaurus rex made from real bones found in Montana, a giant Mammuthus (a type of ancient elephant), and many different kinds of dinosaurs like Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus. These fossils help us learn about life from millions of years ago.

Rose Center for Earth and Space

Main article: Rose Center for Earth and Space

The Hayden Planetarium is connected to the American Museum of Natural History and is part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space. The planetarium was founded in 1933 and opened in 1935. The modern Rose Center was announced in 1995 and finished in 2000. It was designed by James Stewart Polshek and includes a large glass cube with a bright sphere inside that looks like it is floating. This sphere is called the Space Theater.

The Rose Center has lots of space for learning and showing exhibits, including the Hayden planetarium and the Department of Astrophysics. Neil DeGrasse Tyson leads the planetarium. There is also a special glass area called the Weston Pavilion, which helps people enter the museum and shows more space-related items. One of the most liked exhibits is the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway.

Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation

The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, designed by Studio Gang, opened in May 2023. This large building has six floors above ground and one below. It features a new entrance on Columbus Avenue, connecting to a big atrium that links to the rest of the museum. The atrium’s design is inspired by natural shapes like canyons, made with a special building material called shotcrete.

The Gilder Center includes special rooms for insects, like an insectarium and a butterfly vivarium, where visitors can see live butterflies. There are also areas to see scientific specimens, a library, classrooms, and labs. One exciting exhibit is “Invisible Worlds,” an interactive show about tiny but important parts of nature, like how brain cells work and how plants share water.

Originally, the center was planned to be built in a park, but it was moved closer to the museum after people said they didn’t want it in the park. The new building replaced three older buildings on Columbus Avenue.

Exhibitions Lab

Main article: AMNH Exhibitions Lab

The AMNH Exhibitions Lab was started in 1869 and has created thousands of exciting displays. The team blends new discoveries from science with art and technology to make learning fun. Besides the famous animal dioramas at the museum and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, the lab has also made shows for museums around the world and tools like the Digital Universe Atlas.

Today, the lab has more than sixty creative people, such as artists, writers, and designers. They work together to make two to three big exhibits each year. These shows often travel to other museums. Some of their important exhibits were the first to talk about Darwinian evolution, how people change the climate [/w/4], and what happened when a giant rock hit Earth long ago, called the mesozoic mass extinction, caused by an asteroid.

Research Library

The Research Library is open to both museum staff and visitors. It is located on the fourth floor and covers many interesting subjects like animals, Earth and space science, human history, insects, fish, fossils, birds, rocks and minerals, and more. The library has many old books, some dating back to the 1400s, that are hard to find anywhere else.

Over the years, the library grew with gifts from many people, including collections of books about shells, fishes, birds, insects, and travels. In 1992, a new library building was created, covering over 55,000 square feet. Today, it holds more than 550,000 books, magazines, pictures, films, and special items. Some special collections include records about the museum’s history, art, movies, and files about past exhibitions and trips.

Main articles: mammalogy, earth, planetary science, astronomy, astrophysics, anthropology, entomology, herpetology, ichthyology, paleontology, ethology, mineralogy, invertebrates, systematics, ecology, oceanography, history of science, museology, bibliography, genomics, biological sciences

Activities

The American Museum of Natural History has a large team of scientists and organizes many trips around the world to study nature. These trips have brought back important fossils and other discoveries that you can see on display. The museum also helps students and teachers learn more about science through special programs and school visits.

The museum even has its own school where students can study together with experts and learn from the museum’s many collections. This school helps train new science teachers and offers advanced studies for students who love to explore the natural world.

Notable people

Presidents

The American Museum of Natural History has had many leaders since it began. The first three leaders helped start the museum. Later leaders guided the museum as it grew. Some important leaders include Henry Fairfield Osborn, who helped the museum expand, and Ellen V. Futter, the first woman to lead the museum. Today, Sean M. Decatur serves as the museum’s leader, and he is the first African American to hold this position.

Other associated names

Many famous scientists and explorers have worked with the museum. These include Roy Chapman Andrews, known for his adventures finding dinosaurs, and Margaret Mead, a pioneer in studying different cultures. The museum has been a place where many important discoveries and research have happened.

Surroundings

The museum is located at 79th Street and Central Park West, with a direct entrance from the New York City Subway's 81st Street–Museum of Natural History station, served by the B and ​C trains.

Outside the museum's Columbus Avenue entrance stands a special stainless steel time capsule created after a design competition. Sealed in the year 2000 to mark the start of the 3rd millennium, it is shaped like a folded flower and is set to be opened in the year 3000. The museum sits in Theodore Roosevelt Park, a 17-acre (69,000 m²) park with benches, gardens, lawns, and a dog run. On the west side of the park, between 80th and 81st Streets near Columbus Avenue, you can find the Nobel Monument that honors Nobel Prize winners from the United States.

Commentary

In 2019, a writer named Hamid Dabashi shared his thoughts about a statue in the museum. The statue showed a famous explorer sitting on a horse above two other people, one from a Native American community and one from an African American community. Dabashi felt this showed old ideas about race that are not fair. Because of discussions about fairness and treating everyone equally, the statue was taken down in 2022.

Another writer, Julia Rodriguez, compared how this museum and a museum in Paris show people from different parts of the world. She thought the museum in New York could do more to share stories about how some histories have been unfair to certain groups.

In 2024, a teacher named Priya Satia wrote about how the museum’s display of Asian cultures might make these cultures seem unchanged over time. She felt this could lead to misunderstandings about Asian and Middle Eastern communities. Her comments were discussed by another teacher, Samuel Abrams, who thought her ideas were not helpful.

In popular culture

The American Museum of Natural History has been featured in many books, movies, and TV shows. For example, it plays a big role in the films Wonderstruck, Night at the Museum, and The Squid and the Whale. The museum also appears in several novels, such as those written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. In the TV show Friends, one of the main characters works at the museum.