American Museum of Natural History

I was lucky enough to come here twice last week as a chaperone for my school’s 8th grade field trip. I’ve been here many times before, but it has been about 6 years since the last time. My bff and I brought my kids here during spring break when they were 5 and 7. We all loved it, but my kids were young and I was only able to see the museum through the lens of a young child. This time, though most 8th graders will not appreciate many of the exhibits yet still at such a young age, they are more mature and are beginning to understand that our history has molded us and our country into what it is today (let’s keep our opinions to ourselves lol).

The first day I was here, the museum was complete chaos. LOTS of school trips and lots of foreign visitors. There were crying students, defiant students, teachers sighing, and irritated tourists who most likely didn’t expect to see so many kids at the museum. It was also pouring outside, so I want to say lots of tourist came inside and left the outdoor sightseeing for another day.

The second day though was very pleasant and the crowds were much less. Field trips were also at a minimum. And the teacher I was paired up with and I were ready to tackle the day.

While this post is not going to be a complete review of the museum, it will highlight what we saw and what many tween/teenage children will enjoy. We let the students plan out which exhibits they wanted to see prior to the field trip. Keep in mind, most floors are basically navigated by going around the museum in a rectangular path, with the exhibit halls spanning in and outwards from the museum hallway. Navigation throughout the museum is very simple.

The first exhibition we saw is the Invisible Worlds: Immersive Experience which is an experience based on cells and other scientific data brought to life. This is an extra admission, not included in your general admission ticket, but luckily my school paid for it. In the experience, you stand in a room and AI and non-AI images surround you on all sides on all sides of the room and the floor. The experience reveals the hidden networks of life that exist on every scale—even those too fast, too tiny, or too gradual for the human eye to detect. At key moments, you'll step into the experience, with your movements directly influencing the projections surrounding you. The entire experience is about 12 minutes, with show beginning every 15 minutes.

While we didn’t have admission for any of the other ticketed admissions, we had a blast going through the museum. The started with the fourth floor (highly suggest starting here and making your way down) and the Dinosaur, Mammal, and Vertebrae exhibits. The students opted to see these and reflecting on it, this was probably their favorite mixture of exhibits. They didn’t want to leave the 4th floor!

We then went to the next two floors where the students browed the African and Asian exhibits. The seemed to really enjoy the cultures, rituals, and animals of these peoples. They opted not to go to the Mexico and Central American exhibits, which I found interesting since my student population is largely Mexican, Honduran, and Guatemalan. They also opted not to spend too much time on the birds.

We did explore the Biodiversity and Ocean Life Halls, but I oddly do not have any pics from either of my days there. At these halls they looooooved the giant blue whale (which was my favorite too as a child) and the rain forest. The students next favorite exhibit (after dinosaurs) was the Mineral and Gems Hall. They wanted more time here, but we unfortunately had to cut it short after 25 minutes because we were scheduled for lunch and then to leave. The boys and girls were both intrigued by the different, beautifully colored gems and minerals found naturally on Earth. They were also interested in the Zinc that is found throughout New Jersey (where we are from).

When it was time to head to the cafeteria for lunch, they were really disappointed. This was the first time at the American Museum of Natural History for all my students, and even the first time in NYC for many (without traffic, we live less than 20 minutes from NYC). We were able to give them one last surprise—lunch outside on the terrace, which is the first pic I posted, right outside the Hayden Planetarium.