American Museum of Natural History, New York City — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest museums in the world, occupying 25 interconnected buildings spread across four city blocks on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has been a New York institution since 1869.

The museum was founded by Albert Smith Bickmore, a zoologist who convinced a group of prominent New Yorkers, including Theodore Roosevelt Sr. (father of the future president), to support his vision. The original building opened in 1877 in a Victorian Gothic design, and the museum has been expanding ever since.

The collection is staggering: more than 34 million specimens and artifacts, from a 94-foot blue whale model hanging in the Hall of Ocean Life to the 563-carat Star of India sapphire in the Morgan Memorial Hall of Gems. The dinosaur halls on the fourth floor are among the most visited exhibit areas, featuring a 122-foot Titanosaur cast that stretches through two rooms.

In 2023, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation opened, adding 230,000 square feet of exhibition, research, and educational space, including a vivarium housing live butterflies.

The museum also houses the Hayden Planetarium, one of the most advanced planetariums in the world.

General admission is pay-what-you-wish for New York residents. If you're on a Questo quest through the Upper West Side, the museum is a stop where 34 million specimens tell the story of everything from the Big Bang to the butterflies.