American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s prominent science and research institutions, as well as one of the most famous tourist attractions in New York City. Its collections and exhibitions show the history of the earth’s evolution from the very beginning (the birth of the planet) until now. It is located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at 79th Street.

American Museum of Natural History was established in New York City in 1869. The founding of the Museum was the realization of the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore and its co-founder was Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., the fatrer of 26th American President.

American Museum of Natural History is housed in a huge stone building that reflects an eclectic mix of design styles. The entrance from the Central Park West is decorated with white towering columns representing the style of Romanesque Revival and a bronze statue of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback that is a Beaux-Arts monument. The Roman entrance was designed by J. Cleveland Cady under the influence of H. H. Richardson. The Roosevelt sculpture was created by John Russell Pope. Other sides of the building look Medieval. The third, completely different style is represented by the magnificent outdoor Arthur Ross Terrace, Rose Center for Earth and Space, which is a modern glass box with the new Hayden sphere floating in the center. It was designed by James Steward Polshek and opened in February 2000.

The museum is really huge, spread over an area of several city blocks with four floors of gallery space. There are 42 permanent exhibitions and usually several temporary ones. All spheres of human science (biology, ecology, zoology, geology, astronomy, and anthropology) are shown here from the beginning to the present day. Millions of artifacts are described with detailed information about the cultural, scientific, or historical importance of the pieces. To the most precious artifacts belong the “Star of India” the largest blue sapphire in the world, the full-size model of a Blue Whale, Haida – carved and painted war canoe from Pacific Northwest, vertebrae evolution including dinosaurs, famous anthropological collections of Asian, African, Pacific or Native American people or full-sized casts of important fossils including four-year-old “Lucy” skeleton and the 1.7-milion-year-old “Turkana Boy”.