History Comes Alive at Night at the American Museum of Natural History

Truly memorable from the Night at the Museum series of films, where a newly recruited night security guard (Ben Stiller) at the American Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and the exhibits to come to life.

Robin Williams was remarkable in the role of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt,  the wax statue of the 26th president who comes to life and most certainly brought a vast new audience to the museum.

Filmmakers created a joyride through the hallowed halls, with the all inspiring 120 ft long Tyrannosaurus Rex, from 65 million years ago and the largest animal in the world, the blue whale model made with 21,000 pounds of foam and fiberglass, suspended by a single steel pipe. 

Founded on April 6th 1869, the museum boasts over 34 million artifacts and specimens, spanning various fields like paleontology, anthropology and natural history.

It’s highlighted by the famous T-rex skeleton with the perfect skull, that was discovered in 1902 in Hell Creek, Montana, the Hayden Planetarium,  the Butterfly Conservatory and numerous exhibits on various cultures and civilizations.

The museum occupies more than two and a half million square feet, with a scientific staff of 225 and averages 5 million visitors annually.

This vast and well organized museum is easy to navigate and explore the different areas.

It takes a good two to three hours to walk around and it’s open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Admission is $28.00.