American Museum of Natural History–New York City

american museum of natural history

The American Museum of Natural History

is a great place to take children. But, make no mistake, it is not a museum primarily for them. It is a complex scientific and educational institution and one of the largest and most important museums in the world. Founded in 1869 , this classic museum for kids of all ages contains halls of fascinating wonderlands holding more than 30 millions artifacts;its interactive exhibits both in the original museum and its newest section, the Rose Center for Earth & Space are also out of this world. The most famous attaractions are its three large dinosaur halls, with various skeletons for ogling and the enormous (fake) blue whale that hangs from the ceiling of the Hall of Ocean Life. Kids of all ages will find something to be intrigued by, whether it’s the stuffed Alaskan brown bear the Star of India sapphire in the Hall  of Minerals &  Gems , the Imax film on jungle life, on the skullcap of a pachyephelasaurus a plant eating dinosaur that roamed the earth 65 million years ago. No matter what section of the museum you’re in , you’ll find enthusiastic volunteer guides who are exicted to answer questions.

      The first floor of the museum includes halls and exhibit spaces devoted to birds, invertebrates, North American mammals, fish, forests, and the environment of New York State. The Hall of the Northwest Coast Indians has two imposing lines of totem poles running down the center of the room. The Hall of Mollusks and Our World includes items form a collection of 50,000 shells that the museum acquired in 1874, when shell collecting and decorating was a popular  pastime.  A 34-ton piece of a meteorite discovered in 1897 in Greenland and excavated by explorer Robert Peary is a highlight  of the Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites.

 

       It’s the Rose Center For the Earth & Space, though, that has really been the star attraction ago. Just gazing at its facade – a massive glass box that contains a silver globe, home to space – show theaters and the planetarium – is mermerizing, especially at night when all of its otherworldly features are aglow. Step inside to trace the origins of the planets (especially Earth), ant to grab a cushy seat in the high – tech planetarium, where you can  watch either the Search For Life : Are We Alone? , narrated by Harrison Ford, of Passport to the Universe, with soothing voiceover by Tom Hanks. Another, smaller theater explores the Big Bang Theory with Maya Angelou’s voice as your guide.

       In its beginning, the museum consisted mostly of mounted birds and fishes; in the modern era, the museum has strived to exhibit its specimens in the most educational and compelling manner. Thus, the Hall of Human Biology and Evolution contains dioramas of our homind ancestors in action that capture the drama inherent  in the story of man.

 

      Visiting exhibitions at the museum are also popular, especially the recurring Butterfly Conservancy which lets you stroll through a house of glass with more than 600 butterflies from all over the worls. It provides an amazing opportunity to truly hang out with – and sometimes serve as a perch for – the creatures. Other special exhibits have recently included ‘Dinosaurs Alive!’, ‘Cosmic Collisions’ and ‘Water: H2O=Life’, all of which packed the museum, more so than usual, for months. You’ll also find a great, multilevel gift shop here, which is packed to the brim with unique kids’ gifts, books from current exhibits and speacilty items from jewelry to chocolates.

      A nice evening treat for adults is the Starry Nights Live Jazz program, which takes place in the Rose Center on the first Friday of every month, with sets at 6 pm and 7.30 pm. Tapas,drinks and top jazz acts as all included with museum admission at these monthly gigs.

Now  visiting to American Museum Of  Natural History can be free for you , for  more information visit website

www.new-york-tourism.com

Metropolitan Museum of Art– New york

The Metropolitan Museum of art is the largest museum in the western hemisphere. Its collection, some two million items, is not only board-the entire  world, from antiquity to the present-but deep with holdings so large in a number of areas that some way to approach this vast repository is to understand the museum’s arrangement and select a limited number of areas to see  during your visit. Those who do not, usually come away feeling overwhelmed.

Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC

  The  museum itself is a very large structure. Study it from a fifth avenue side before you go in. Large hanging banners announce inportant temporary exhibits. You might decide to choose one of these, but if you plan to stay longer, orient yourself  to the building and identify basic loctions for some of the most popular collections. Think of the museum  as a rectangle with a central stairway in the middle that divides left and right. Then divide each side into front and back . Look at the twin columns flanking the entrance. On the front right side of  those columns is the Egyptian Collection, and on the back side, the American Wing. To the front  left side of the columns  you will find Greek  and Roman art and then  a self service cafeteria and restuarant. On the back left side is the Lila Atcheson Wallace Wing  with 20th-century art. In between  are the arts of Africa, Ocenia, and the Americas.

        Once you enter and pay your admission, if you walk up the grand staircase immediately in front of  you, you will  be on the second floor in what many consider to be the heart of this museum, its superior  collection of European painting, sculpture, and decorative arts.

Planning What to See

When you enter, pick up a floor  plan and take time to look it over and write your choices on it and then plan where to start . If you do not want to go on your own , there are guides and recorded  tours to take you through almost every tours to take you through almost  every part of the museum. A relaxing way to enjoy the ambience , architecture, and sheer beauty of the interior is to visit  after 5 p.m.  on Friday  and  Saturday . Then you can tae tea or have drinks on the balcony, while in the Great Hall a tring  quartet performs classical music, often playing  on ancient  instruments from the  Metropolitan’s  own collections.  Many people are drawn by blockbuster shows. Some of these-the 1978 ” Treasures of Tutankhamun,” for example, or the Mona Lisa’s frantic visit  to the Metropolitan in 1963-are major events in the cultural life of the city. But just as important  to the world of art are works unveiled for the first time, such as those in the 2005 ” Master Photographs from the Gilman Collection: A Landmark Acquisition.”

       There are even reasons other than art to visit the Met. In addition to lectures, concerts, and films, there is a reference facility  and print   study rooms. The Uris Center on the ground floor has its own library and classrooms and publishes educational books  and films. The museum also offers  an array of shopping options. The first floor  museum store  is stocked  to overflowing with separate boutique shops and features not just books and reproductions covering the whole history of world art, but  fien jewelry, scarves, children’s toys and games, recordings, three dimensional reproductions, and more.  It is a unique source  of gifts for all occassions, with a mail order  catalog as well . Food  options include the rooftop cafe’ and the first floor cafeteria and restuarant. But there is no truer New Yor pastime than  buying food from a vendor outside and sitting on the steps, often never even venturing a foot inside.

To  know more about  New York City do visit  the website

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