Everyone in the family will love this interactive, hands-on museum from the moment they arrive. The building itself is a site to behold: Constructed of limestone and dichroic glass (developed by NASA), it is a fiery mix of reds, oranges and purples. There is a path behind the museum where you can walk and enjoy the building’s exterior.

Inside, you’ll find yourself in the Great Hall. Here, you will find a full-scale cast of a tyrannosaurus rex, the ALIVE prehistoric creature augmented reality experience, rotating exhibits in the alcove, items from the museum’s permanent collection, rotating exhibits in the Sprint Gallery and the Science Theater.

Visitors definitely should invest in tickets to the Discovery Room, an interactive space designed for children ages 3 to 12, where they can explore the natural sciences. Here, kids can dig for fossils, examine the moon, try on ancient masks, get an up-close look at a variety of items using the microscopes, and see the poison dart frog habitat. Because of the nature of this space, a limited number of tickets are sold for 45-minute sessions, and each session starts at 15 minutes after the hour. We recommend that you plan your visit so you can do this first; otherwise, you may get caught up in the other exhibitions and miss your session. The second ticketed exhibit is not timed, so you are at liberty to visit it once your Discovery Room session is complete.

Hours
Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.

Admission
Access to the Great Hall and its exhibits is free; American Museum of Natural History Exhibition: $14 for adults (13+) ; $8 for children (3 to 12)

Discovery Room: $8 for adults (13+) | $7 for children (3 to 12)

All Access Day Pass: $22 for adults (13+) | $15 for children (3 to 12). Available only when exhibition is on display. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. Children 3 and younger are free.