About
Children & Family Programs at the American Museum of Natural History take place within a larger institution that offers experiences such as the Hands-on Discovery Room, Hayden Planetarium, the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium, Encounters in the Milky Way, Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs, Invisible Worlds: Immersive Experience, Passport to the Universe, and the Apex Stegosaurus Fossil exhibition. Families can also encounter exhibitions and events including Fossils of the Flaming Cliffs, For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence, Black in Natural History Museums, Extinct and Endangered: Insects in Peril, Eyes on the Universe, Opulent Oceans, Shaping the Future Through Tradition, The Changing Museum, What's in a Name?, A Night at the Museum: The Overnight Experience, EarthFest, Life Unearthed, OrigamiUSA: April Special Folding Fun Session, The Weirdest Thing: A Science Gameshow and Dance Party, The Spring Lunch: Science, Society, and Our Environment, Member Evening Hours, and the Mead Film Festival. Children can also use OLogy: The Science Website for Kids to play games, do activities, watch videos, meet scientists, and find out about fossils, the universe, genetics, and related topics.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
• Schedule: The Museum is open daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm, and closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
The American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869. Its mission is to discover, interpret, and disseminate, through scientific research and education, knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe. The institution acknowledges and honors the present-day Lenape for their ongoing, restorative relationship with their homeland and their contributions to the cultural life of New York City and the region.
The Museum’s history includes leaders and staff such as John Thompson Hoffman, Governor of New York in 1869; John David Wolfe, President of the Museum in 1869; Robert L. Stuart, President beginning in 1872; Morris K. Jesup, President beginning in 1881; Franz Boas, assistant curator in the Department of Ethnology hired in 1895; Henry Fairfield Osborn, President beginning in 1908; Carl Akeley, a pioneer in the creation of life-like mammal dioramas; and Roy Chapman Andrews, leader of the Central Asiatic Expeditions beginning in 1922.
The American Museum of Natural History includes the Richard Gilder Graduate School, which has a Ph.D.-degree granting program in comparative biology and confers the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.), and Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.). The Richard Gilder Graduate School also awards honorary degrees of Science (D.Sc.), Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.), and Master of Humane Letters (L.H.M.) as authorized by the Board of Regents of the State of New York.
Last updated April 17, 2026.
• Ages: 3–17 years old
• Schedule: The Museum is open daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm, and closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
The American Museum of Natural History was founded in 1869. Its mission is to discover, interpret, and disseminate, through scientific research and education, knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe. The institution acknowledges and honors the present-day Lenape for their ongoing, restorative relationship with their homeland and their contributions to the cultural life of New York City and the region.
The Museum’s history includes leaders and staff such as John Thompson Hoffman, Governor of New York in 1869; John David Wolfe, President of the Museum in 1869; Robert L. Stuart, President beginning in 1872; Morris K. Jesup, President beginning in 1881; Franz Boas, assistant curator in the Department of Ethnology hired in 1895; Henry Fairfield Osborn, President beginning in 1908; Carl Akeley, a pioneer in the creation of life-like mammal dioramas; and Roy Chapman Andrews, leader of the Central Asiatic Expeditions beginning in 1922.
The American Museum of Natural History includes the Richard Gilder Graduate School, which has a Ph.D.-degree granting program in comparative biology and confers the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Master of Philosophy (M. Phil.), and Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.). The Richard Gilder Graduate School also awards honorary degrees of Science (D.Sc.), Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.), and Master of Humane Letters (L.H.M.) as authorized by the Board of Regents of the State of New York.
Last updated April 17, 2026.
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