Central Park West @ 79th Street

“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm,” said Theodore Roosevelt in a quotation inscribed at the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History. But although words fail, the hidden spirit of the natural world can be partially expressed through the specimens, dioramas, cultural artifacts, skeletons, and models that make up this remarkable museum.

Most museums in the 19th century were created to shock or titillate the visitor, but the American Museum of Natural History has always aspired to the nobler goal of educating visitors about the natural world since it was first proposed by scientist Albert Bickmore in the 1860s. The museum first opened in 1869 at the New York Arsenal; construction on the current building began in 1874. Over the next twenty–five years, the museum established itself as a preeminent research and educational institution, developing separate departments of ornithology, mammology, anthropology, and vertebrate paleontology.

In the early 20th century, the museum collected significant endowments from a number of philanthropists. Theodore Roosevelt was one of these donors, and the publicity he received while collecting specimens for the museum on his African expeditions stimulated widespread interest in natural history.

With the construction of the original Hayden Planetarium in 1935, the museum became one of the best–known institutions in New York City. Displays like the Blue Whale in the Hall of Ocean Life and the dinosaur skeletons in the Roosevelt Rotunda are world–famous, and the museum holds an important place in the hearts of many New Yorkers.