Kids and adults love the Natural History Museum! Kids and adults love gelato, too! For 125 years, the American Museum of Natural History has been one of the world’s preeminent science and research institutions, renowned for its collections and exhibitions that illuminate millions of years of the earth’s evolution, from the birth of the planet through the present day. Moreover, it is always a lovely, entertaining and wonder-full walk among a stunning set of natural dioramas where curiosity is continuosly fostered and inspiration boosted.
Located by Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum is actually a complex made up of 26 interconnected buildings. It houses 45 permanent exhibition halls, and features a planetarium and a tematic library. The collection features something like over 34 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites. Among them are human remains and human cultural artifacts as well as specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data. The museum has a full-time scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year, and averages about five million visits annually. It is impressive to read that the one mission statement of the American Museum of Natural History is: “To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe.”
Though best known for its spectacular T. Rex skeletons and incredible hanging blue whale, the story of this Upper West Side museum isn’t just one of dinosaurs and fossils. Move over David Attenborough: did you know the Museum’s Carl Akeley filmed the first footage of Gorillas in their natural habitat in 1925 and advocate for a Gorilla sanctuary in the Congo back then? Or have you ever heard that on October 12, 1951, the Hayden Planetarium helped kick off the Space Race by hosting the First Annual Symposium on Space Travel? Speakers at the event considered the possibility of a trip to Mars, the engineering of satellite vehicles, the legal aspects of space travel, and “space medicine. So many inspiring contents at the Museum, and what’s best than enjoy your time with a kid-friendly (and adult-friendly) gelato before or after your tour aor activity?
Our lovely cart welcomes you seasonally in springtime, summer and early autumn: spot the pink tent and pick up your favorite flavors: it’s going to be a merry break for a fun museum tour! Nevertheless the Museum is perfectly located in proximity of the stunning Central Park, providing the perfect setting for a gelato-based pick-nick outdoor.
Wednesday to Sunday: 10:30am – 4:30pm
