The American Museum of Natural History, based in New York City, offers many exhibits and activities throughout the year perfect for tour groups to explore. While there are many places to explore at the museum, something that excites Scott Rohan, senior manager of public relations, is the museum’s newest star attraction—the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation.
The center expansion opened in May 2023, but its exhibits will continue to attract individuals and groups for years to come. “It’s rare that we expand like this,” Rohan says. “I mean, it’s a huge new building—23,000 square feet, four public levels of exhibits.”
Groups of all ages, from school-age children to senior adults, are welcome to experience the new and improved Gilder Center. Among its attractions are state-of-the-art classrooms and new exhibition galleries, including a butterfly vivarium, insectarium, floor-to-ceiling collections displays, and more; and, due to its layout and design, they all connect to the rest of the American Museum of Natural History on four floors.
Some highlights: “Invisible Worlds,” an immersive science-and-art experience where visitors can discover how all life is connected; the Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium, featuring live insects; Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium, which is open all year and is where visitors can mingle with free-flying butterflies; and the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center. Need a break to eat? No worries, there’s also dining at the Restaurant at Gilder. Also, the center’s very architecture is designed to spark curiosity for your group.
Rohan says even though the center’s expansion and features are new, and while attractions might be added from time to time, its features will remain in place so people can enjoy them for years to come.
Recent temporary exhibits in other areas of the museum include “Grounded By Our Roots,” which opened in April in the Northwest Coasts Hall’s rotating contemporary art gallery and features the work of new Indigenous artists; and “Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip Hop Jewelry” that opened in May in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery. Rohan says both will be available for months.
Credit: Alvaro Keding
The fun—and curiosity—doesn’t stop. The facility is one that prompts both questions and answers about some of nature’s most puzzling mysteries. If you’ve ever been curious about elephants, for instance, you can learn how they can hear with their feet, use the 40,000 muscles in their trunks, or help reshape their environment. Group members will learn about these and other interesting aspects of the modern-day mammoth at “The Secret World of Elephants.” Other giant beasts featured at the museum are on the fourth floor, where about 100 dinosaur specimens are on display, primarily categorized into two groups: Ornithischian and Saurischian; and a life-size replica of a blue whale, the largest mammal on earth (or in the sea!), suspended from the ceiling of the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life. As with real-life whales, the “Blue Whale Model” is huge—94 feet long and 21,000 pounds!
The museum’s features are not tied to this planet only; groups can explore the universe at the Hayden Planetarium Space Show. “Worlds Beyond Earth” takes viewers beyond the blue planet to marvel at the latest discoveries from its cosmic neighbors. The nature of the worlds that orbit the Sun is taught through immersive visualizations of space missions and breathtaking scenes depicting the evolution of Earth’s solar system.
From tiny insects to giant mammals, and from Earth to the far reaches of space, groups can explore a variety of the world’s natural phenomena at the American Museum of Natural History. And the best thing about it, Rohan says, is that there is never a good time not to visit. The museum has attractions and activities all year, he says, for every group.
By Andrew Weeks
Main Image: Richard Glider Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, Griffin Atrium, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, New York; Credit: Iwan Baan
