View source for Biology:American Museum of Natural History

{{Short description|Museum in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Infobox museum
| name            = American Museum of Natural History
| logo            = American Museum of Natural History Logo.jpg
| image           = USA-NYC-American Museum of Natural History.JPG
| image_upright   = 1.3
| caption         = Looking at the east entrance from Central Park West
| map_type        = 
| map_caption     = 
| established     = {{Start date and age|1869|04|06|mf=y}}<ref name="dedication">{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1869-1900|title=History 1869–1900|work=AMNH|access-date=August 28, 2012|archive-date=January 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124063347/http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1869-1900|url-status=live}}</ref>
| latitude        = 
| longitude       = 
| location        = 200 Central Park West, {{wipe|New York City}} 10024<br />United States
| type            = [[Biology:Natural history|Natural history]]
| visitors        = 5 million (2018)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aecom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Theme-Index-2018-4.pdf |title=TEA-AECOM 2018 Theme Index and Museum Index: The Global Attractions Attendance Report |pages=62–77 |publisher=Themed Entertainment Association |access-date=February 10, 2020 |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212224414/https://www.aecom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Theme-Index-2018-4.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| president       = Ellen V. Futter
| director        = Lisa Gugenheim
| curator         = 
| website         = [http://www.amnh.org/ AMNH.org]
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| added = June 24, 1976
| built       = {{Start date and age|1874}}
| refnum = 76001235<ref name="focus">{{cite web |title=NPS Focus |url=http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=November 18, 2011 |archive-date=July 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725123211/http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| designated_other2_name = NYC Landmark
| designated_other2_date = August 24, 1967
| designated_other2_abbr = NYCL
| designated_other2_link = New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
| designated_other2_color = #FFE978
}}
}}
The '''American Museum of Natural History''' (abbreviated as '''AMNH''') is a [[Biology:Natural history museum|natural history museum]] on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in {{wipe|New York City}}. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain over 34 million specimens<ref name="AMNH_Dioramas">{{cite web|title=Dioramas at the Museum: Millions of Specimens in Context|url=https://www.amnh.org/shelf-life/discoveries-in-dioramas|access-date=February 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029112620/https://www.amnh.org/shelf-life/discoveries-in-dioramas|archive-date=October 29, 2019}}</ref> of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human [[Social:Cultural artifact|cultural artifact]]s, as well as specialized collections for frozen tissue and genomic and astrophysical data, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time. The museum occupies more than {{convert|2|e6ft2|m2}}. AMNH has a full-time scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year,<ref>{{cite web|title=American Museum of Natural History – Overview and Programs|url=http://amnh.org/about/programs.php|access-date=February 18, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090216045046/http://amnh.org/about/programs.php| archive-date= February 16, 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref> and averages about five million visits annually.<ref>{{cite web|title=No. 7 American Museum of Natural History, New York City|work=Travel + Leisure|url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-visited-museums/8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512194911/http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-visited-museums/8|access-date=May 12, 2014|archive-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref>

The AMNH is a private [[Organization:501(c)(3) organization|501(c)(3) organization]].<ref name="American Museum of Natural History">{{cite web |title=American Museum of Natural History |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/136162659 |website=Charity Navigator |access-date=March 25, 2022 |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204224313/https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/136162659 |url-status=live }}</ref> Its mission statement is: "To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."<ref>{{cite web | title=Mission Statement | website=AMNH | url=https://www.amnh.org/about-the-museum/mission-statement | access-date=December 11, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214064319/https://www.amnh.org/about-the-museum/mission-statement | archive-date=December 14, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17973760300).jpg|thumb|left|Drawing of the AMNH south facade]]

===Founding===
The naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore devised the idea for the American Museum of Natural History in 1861.<ref name="Davey p. 22">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=22|ps=.}}</ref> At the time, he was studying in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at Louis Agassiz's Museum of Comparative Zoology.<ref name="Davey p. 22" /><ref name="Stern (1999) p. 182">{{harvnb|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|ps=.|p=182}}</ref> Observing that many European [[Biology:Natural history museum|natural history museum]]s were in populous cities, Bickmore wrote in a biography: "Now New York is our city of greatest wealth and therefore probably the best location for the future museum of natural history for our whole land."<ref name="Davey p. 22" /> For several years, Bickmore lobbied for the establishment of a natural history museum in New York.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rieppel |first=Lukas |title=Assembling the Dinosaur: Fossil Hunters, Tycoons, and the Making of a Spectacle |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2019 |isbn=9780674737587 |location=Cambridge |pages=48–55 |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon the end of the American Civil War, Bickmore asked numerous prominent New Yorkers, such as William E. Dodge Jr., to sponsor his museum.<ref name="Davey p. 23">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=23|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Osborn p. 9">{{harvnb|ps=.|Osborn|1911|p=9}}</ref> Although Dodge himself could not fund the museum at the time, he introduced the naturalist to Theodore Roosevelt Sr., the father of future U.S. president [[Biography:Theodore Roosevelt|Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="Davey p. 23" /><ref name="Osborn pp. 9-10">{{harvnb|ps=.|Osborn|1911|pp=9–10}}</ref>

Calls for a natural history museum increased after Barnum's American Museum burned down in 1868.<ref name="Davey p. 23" /> Eighteen prominent New Yorkers wrote a letter to the Central Park Commission that December, requesting the creation of a natural history museum in Central Park.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 182" /><ref name="Davey pp. 23-24">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|pp=23–24|ps=.}}</ref><ref name="Osborn p. 10">{{harvnb|Osborn|1911|ps=.|p=10}}</ref> Central Park commissioner Andrew Haswell Green indicated his support for the project in January 1869.<ref name="Osborn p. 10"/><ref name="Davey pp. 23-24"/> A board of trustees was created for the museum. The next month, Bickmore and Joseph Hodges Choate drafted a [[Finance:Charter|charter]] for the museum, which the board of trustees approved without any changes. It was in this charter that the "American Museum of Natural History" name was first used.<ref name="Davey p. 24">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=24|ps=.}}</ref> Bickmore said he wanted the museum's name to reflect his "expectation that our museum will ultimately become the leading institution of its kind in our country", similar to the British Museum.<ref name="Davey p. 24" /> Before the museum was established, Bickmore needed to secure approval from Boss Tweed, leader of the powerful and corrupt Tammany Hall political organization. The legislation to establish the American Museum of Natural History had to be signed by John Thompson Hoffman, the governor of New York, who was associated with Tweed.<ref name="Davey pp. 24-25">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|pp=24–25|ps=.}}</ref>

Hoffman signed the legislation creating the museum on April 6, 1869,<ref name="timeline">{{cite web|title=Timeline: The History of the American Museum of Natural History|url=http://amnh.org/museum/history/|access-date=February 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211111505/http://amnh.org/museum/history/|archive-date=February 11, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Davey p. 26">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=26|ps=.}}</ref> with John David Wolfe as its first president.<ref name="Osborn p. 12">{{harvnb|ps=.|Osborn|1911|p=12}}</ref>{{Efn|The founders included Theodore Roosevelt Sr., John David Wolfe, William T. Blodgett, Robert L. Stuart, Andrew H. Green, Robert Colgate, Morris K. Jesup, Benjamin H. Field, D. Jackson Steward, Richard M. Blatchford, J. P. Morgan, Adrian Iselin, Moses H. Grinnell, Benjamin B. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge, William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana, Joseph H. Choate, Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish, and Howard Potter.<ref name="Osborn p. 10"/>}} Subsequently, the chairman of the AMNH's executive committee asked Green if the museum could use the top two stories of Central Park's Arsenal, and Green approved the request in January 1870.<ref name="Davey p. 26" /> Insect specimens were placed on the lower level of the Arsenal,<ref name="p88750696">{{Cite magazine |date=May 6, 1871 |title=Natural History Museum in New York |volume=3 |issue=18 |page=342 |id={{pq|88750696}} |magazine=Hearth and Home}}</ref> while stones, fossils, mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles were placed on the upper level.<ref name="p572448008">{{cite news |date=23 May 1871 |title=Home News: the Weather Prominent Arrivals Departures New-York City Brooklyn Westchester County Long Island Staten Island New-Jersey Lectures, Meetings, Etc Haps and Mishaps |page=8 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|572448008}}}}</ref> The museum opened within the Arsenal on May 22, 1871.<ref name="p572448008" /><ref name="nyt-1871-05-23">{{Cite news |date=1871-05-23 |title=Opening of the Museum of Natural History at Central Park. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1871/05/23/archives/opening-of-the-museum-of-natural-history-at-central-park.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The AMNH became popular in the following years. The Arsenal location had 856,773 visitors in the first nine months of 1876 alone, more than the British Museum had recorded for all of 1874.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 183" />

===Construction===
[[File:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17971745188).jpg|thumb|This building was built in 1874 and opened in 1877. Currently, this building houses (first floor to fourth floor) the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, Hall of African Peoples, the Sanford Hall of North American Birds, and Hall of Vertebrate Origins.]]

Meanwhile, the AMNH's directors had identified Manhattan Square (bounded by Eighth Avenue/Central Park West, 81st Street, Ninth Avenue/Columbus Avenue, and 77th Street) as a site for a permanent structure.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 182" /><ref name="p124530453">{{Cite magazine |date=12 Aug 1876 |title=The Illustrations.: the New "Old Circular Church," Charleston, S.c. Mr. C. E. Parker, Architect. The American Museum of Natural History, New York. Messrs. Vaux and Mould, Architects |volume=1 |issue=13 |page=261 |id={{pq|124530453}}}}</ref> Several prominent New Yorkers had raised $500,000 to fund the construction of the new building. The city's park commissioners then reserved Manhattan Square as the site of the permanent museum, and another $200,000 was raised for the building fund.<ref name="nyt-1877-12-20">{{Cite news |date=1877-12-20 |title=Natural History Museum; Costly Building in Central Park. A Structure Which Will Cover Nearly Eighteen and a Half Acres |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1877/12/20/archives/natural-history-museum-costly-building-in-central-park-a-structure.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Numerous dignitaries and officials, including U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant, attended the museum's groundbreaking ceremony on June 3, 1874.<ref name="Osborn p. 23">{{harvnb|Osborn|1911|p=23|ps=.}}</ref><ref name=nyt-1874-06-03>{{Cite news|date=1874-06-03|title=Natural History Museum.; Laying of the Corner-stone by President Grant. Brilliant Scene at Manhattan Square Yesterday |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1874/06/03/archives/natural-history-museum-laying-of-the-cornerstone-by-president-grant.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p572535543">{{cite news |date=3 Jun 1874 |title=Science for the People: the Corner-stone of the Museum of Natural History Laid the Ceremony Performed by President Grant--addresses by President Stuart, Henry G. Stebbins, Gov. Dix, and Prof. Henry Address of Robert L. Stuart Address of Salem H. Wales Address of Gov. Dix Address of Prof. Joseph Henry |page=2 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|572535543}}}}</ref> The museum opened on December 22, 1877, with a ceremony attended by U.S. president Rutherford B. Hayes.<ref name="nyt-1877-12-23">{{Cite news|date=1877-12-23|title=New-York's New Museum.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1877/12/23/archives/newyorks-new-museum-formal-opening-by-the-president-a-brilliant.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Stern (1999) p. 183">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|p=183}}</ref>

The original Victorian Gothic building was designed by Calvert Vaux and J. Wrey Mould, both already closely identified with the architecture of Central Park.{{sfn|Preston|1986|pp=19–20}}<ref name="Stern (1999) pp. 182-183" /> Vaux and Mould's original plan was intended to complement the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the opposite side of Central Park.<ref name="Stern (1999) pp. 182-183">{{harvnb|ps=.|Stern|Mellins|Fishman|1999|pp=182–183}}</ref> The original building, as constructed, was at the center of the 77th Street frontage and consisted of a gallery measuring {{convert|112|ft}} long and {{convert|200|ft}} tall. This gallery contained a raised basement, three stories of exhibits, Venetian Gothic arches, and an attic with [[Engineering:Dormer|dormer]]s and a slate roof.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 183" /> The original structure still exists but is hidden from view by the many buildings in the complex that today occupy most of Manhattan Square.{{sfn|Preston|1986|pp=19–20}} The museum remains accessible through its 77th Street foyer, which has since been renamed the Grand Gallery.<ref name="AMNH Grand Gallery">{{cite web |date=2018-08-02 |title=Grand Gallery |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/grand-gallery |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref>

The full plan called for twelve pavilions similar in design to the original building. Eight pavilions would have been arranged as the sides of a square, while the remaining four would be perpendicular to each other in the interior of the square. There were to be eight towers along the perimeter of the square, as well as a {{convert|120|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} dome in the center, at the intersection of the four interior pavilions.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 183" /><ref name="p572700850">{{cite news |date=15 Dec 1877 |title=New-York's New Museum: Preparations of the American Museum of Natural History for Opening Next Saturday--the Building Entirely Filled With Valuable Curiosities--Programme of the Opening |page=2 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|572700850}}}}</ref> In each pavilion, there was to be a ground floor; the second floor was to contain a gallery; the third floor was to exhibit specimens; and the fourth floor was to be used for research.<ref name="p124530453" /> Upon the intended completion of the master plan, the museum would measure {{convert|850|ft}} from north to south and {{convert|650|ft}} from west to east, including projections from the square.<ref name="Stern (1999) p. 183" /><ref name="p572700850" /> The finished structure, with a ground area of over {{convert|18|acre}},<ref name="nyt-1877-12-20" /> would have been the largest building in North America, as well as the largest museum building in the world.<ref name="Stern (1999) pp. 182-183"/> The master plan was never fully realized;<ref name="nyt-1995-01-272">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=1995-01-27 |title=Natural History Museum Plans Big Overhaul |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/27/nyregion/natural-history-museum-plans-big-overhaul.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> by 2015, the museum consisted of 25 separate buildings that were poorly connected.<ref name="NYTimes-DesignExpansion-2015" />

===Expansion and later changes===

==== 19th century ====
[[File:AMNH building West 77th.jpg|thumb|left|This building was completed by the end of the 19th century.  The buildings beside this one would be complete in the early 20th century. Currently, this building houses (first floor to fourth floor) the Grand Gallery, Birds of the World, Primates, and the Wallach Orientation Center.]]
The original building was soon eclipsed by the south range of the museum, designed by J. Cleaveland Cady, an exercise in rusticated brownstone neo-Romanesque, influenced by H. H. Richardson.<ref name="gray">{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|title=The Face Will Still Be Forbidding, But Much Tighter and Cleaner|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=July 29, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/realestate/29scap.html|access-date=March 3, 2009|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720013417/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/realestate/29scap.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It extends {{convert|700|ft|m}} along West 77th Street,<ref>{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Glenn|title=Shoring Up a Castle Wall|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 2, 2006|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/nyregion/02wall.html|access-date=March 3, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524182007/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/nyregion/02wall.html|url-status=live}}</ref> with corner towers {{convert|150|ft|m}} tall. Its pink brownstone and granite, similar to that found at Grindstone Island in the St. Lawrence River, came from quarries at Picton Island, New York.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Newland|first=D. H.|title=The Quarry Materials of New York—Granite, Gneiss, Trap and Marble|journal=New York State Museum Bulletin|issue=181|page=75|date=January 1916}}</ref>

==== 20th century ====
In the early 1920s, museum president Henry Fairfield Osborn planned a new entrance for the AMNH, which was to contain a memorial to [[Biography:Theodore Roosevelt|Theodore Roosevelt]].{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=96}} Also around that time, the New York state government formed a commission to study the feasibility of a Roosevelt memorial.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=96}}<ref name="nyt-1995-01-27">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=January 27, 1995 |title=Natural History Museum Plans Big Overhaul |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/27/nyregion/natural-history-museum-plans-big-overhaul.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528114740/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/27/nyregion/natural-history-museum-plans-big-overhaul.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After a dispute over whether to put the memorial in Albany or in New York City,<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 7, 1924 |title=Roosevelt Board at Odds Over Site; Memorial Commission, Divided Between Albany and New York, Leaves Question to Legislature. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/02/07/archives/roosevelt-board-at-odds-over-site-memorial-commission-divided.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223436/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/02/07/archives/roosevelt-board-at-odds-over-site-memorial-commission-divided.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the government of New York City offered a site next to the AMNH for consideration.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 25, 1924 |title=City Offers a Site for Roosevelt Hall; Votes to Give Land in Square Occupied by Museum of Natural History. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/25/archives/city-offers-a-site-for-roosevelt-hall-votes-to-give-land-in-square.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223419/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/03/25/archives/city-offers-a-site-for-roosevelt-hall-votes-to-give-land-in-square.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The commission rejected a "conventional Greek mausoleum" design, instead opting to design a triumphal arch and hall in a Roman style.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=96}} In 1925, the AMNH's trustees hosted an architectural design competition, selecting John Russell Pope to design the memorial hall.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1925 |title=J.R. Pope to Design Roosevelt Tribute; Trustees Select New York Architect in Contest for State Memorial |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/04/archives/jr-pope-to-design-roosevelt-tribute-trustees-select-new-york.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223415/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/06/04/archives/jr-pope-to-design-roosevelt-tribute-trustees-select-new-york.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p1113191892">{{cite news |date=June 4, 1925 |title=Pope to Build Museum Memorial to Roosevelt: Architect Chosen From Eight Who Submitted Plans |page=15 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113191892}}}}</ref> Construction began in 1929,<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19">{{Cite news |date=January 19, 1936 |title=President Honors Cousin Here Today; Dedication of Memorial Hall to Theodore Roosevelt to Draw Many Members of Family |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/19/archives/president-honors-cousin-here-today-dedication-of-memorial-hall-to.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316092648/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/19/archives/president-honors-cousin-here-today-dedication-of-memorial-hall-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and the trustees approved final plans the next year.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 3, 1930 |title=Plans Are Approved for Roosevelt Shrine; Memorial Group Says $3,500,000 Building at West 79th St. Will Be Ready in 1932. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/03/archives/plans-are-approved-for-roosevelt-shrine-memorial-group-says-3500000.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223431/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/05/03/archives/plans-are-approved-for-roosevelt-shrine-memorial-group-says-3500000.html |url-status=live }}</ref> J. Harry McNally was the [[Engineering:General contractor|general contractor]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 7, 1930 |title=Bids on Memorial to Roosevelt Let; Contract of $1,969,380 for General Work Awarded on $3,500,000 Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/12/07/archives/bids-on-memorial-to-roosevelt-let-contract-of-1969380-for-general.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223432/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/12/07/archives/bids-on-memorial-to-roosevelt-let-contract-of-1969380-for-general.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Roosevelt's cousin, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt, dedicated the memorial on January 19, 1936.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 20, 1936 |title=President Extols 'T.R.' as Defender of Social Justice; At Dedication of Memorial, He Finds Lesson in His Cousin's Progressive Policies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/20/archives/president-extols-tr-as-defender-of-social-justice-at-dedication-of.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223433/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/01/20/archives/president-extols-tr-as-defender-of-social-justice-at-dedication-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="p1222212379">{{cite news |date=January 20, 1936 |title='Square Deal' Tribute Paid By Roosevelt: President Dedicates New Wing at History Museum Hern as a Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt Says Predecessor Fought for Justice Lehman and LaGuardia Also Speak; Ceremonies Are Witnessed by 1,500 |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1222212379}}}}</ref>

The original building was later known as "Wing A". During the 1950s, the top floor was renovated into a library, being redecorated with what Christopher Gray of ''The New York Times'' described as "dropped ceilings and the other usual insults".<ref name=nyt-1994-06-19>{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=1994-06-19|title=Streetscapes/The American Museum of Natural History; A Vaux Masterpiece Eroded and, Now, Ignored|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/19/realestate/streetscapes-american-museum-natural-history-vaux-masterpiece-eroded-now-ignored.html|access-date=2022-08-02|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The ten-story Childs Frick Building, which contained the AMNH's fossil collection, was added to the museum in the 1970s.<ref name="AMNH 3A" /><ref name="nyt-1975-04-092">{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Walter |date=1975-04-09 |title=Natural History Museum Builds A Wing for 600 Tons of Fossils |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/09/archives/natural-history-museum-builds-a-wing-for-600-tons-of-fossils.html |access-date=2022-08-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The architect Kevin Roche and his firm Roche-Dinkeloo have been responsible for the master planning of the museum since the 1990s.<ref name="Collins 1991"/> Various renovations to both the interior and exterior have been carried out. Renovations to the Dinosaur Hall were undertaken beginning in 1991,<ref name="Collins 1991">{{cite web | last=Collins | first=Glenn | title=Clearing a New Path for T. Rex and Company | website=The New York Times | date=December 1, 1991 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/clearing-a-new-path-for-t-rex-and-company.html | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=August 29, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829041946/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/01/arts/clearing-a-new-path-for-t-rex-and-company.html | url-status=live }}</ref> and Roche-Dinkeloo designed the eight-story AMNH Library in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Lawrence |date=December 26, 2013 |title=American Museum of Natural History {{!}} PureHistory |url=https://purehistory.org/american-museum-of-natural-history/ |access-date=May 15, 2022 |language=en-US |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223421/https://purehistory.org/american-museum-of-natural-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The museum's Rose Center for Earth and Space was completed in 2000.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="nyt-2000-02-06">{{Cite news |last=Berger |first=Alisha |date=2000-02-06 |title=Travel Advisory; In Manhattan, a New View of the Firmament |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/06/travel/travel-advisory-in-manhattan-a-new-view-of-the-firmament.html |access-date=2022-08-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== 21st century ====
[[File:AMNH S flowerbed jeh.jpg|thumb|left|The old Romanesque Revival-style 77th Street entrance]]

The museum's lecture hall was renamed the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Theater in 2001 after Samuel J. LeFrak donated $8 million to the AMNH.<ref name="nyt-2001-07-15">{{Cite news |date=2001-07-15 |title=Postings: $8 Million for Natural History Museum; For Theater, A New Name, A New Look |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/realestate/postings-8-million-for-natural-history-museum-for-theater-a-new-name-a-new-look.html |access-date=2022-08-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The museum's south facade, spanning 77th Street from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue, was cleaned, repaired, and re-emerged in 2009. Steven Reichl, a spokesman for the museum, said that work would include restoring 650 black-cherry window frames and stone repairs. The museum's consultant on the latest renovation was Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., an architectural and engineering firm with headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois.<ref name="gray" /> The museum also restored the mural in Roosevelt Memorial Hall in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |last=Barron |first=James |date=June 20, 2010 |title=Teddy Is Restored. In Paint, at Least. |url=//cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/teddy-is-restored-in-paint-at-least/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102044006/https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/teddy-is-restored-in-paint-at-least/ |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |access-date=May 5, 2018 |website=City Room}}</ref>

In 2014, the museum published plans for a $325 million, {{convert|195000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} annex, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, on the Columbus Avenue side.<ref>{{cite web | last=Pogrebin | first=Robin | title=American Museum of Natural History Plans an Addition | website=The New York Times | date=December 11, 2014 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-plans-an-addition.html | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=November 11, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111234142/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-plans-an-addition.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Designed by Studio Gang, Higgins Quasebarth & Partners and landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand, the new building's pink Milford granite facade will have a textural, curvilinear design inspired by natural topographical elements showcased in the museum, including "geological strata, glacier-gouged caves, curving canyons, and blocks of glacial ice," as a striking contrast to the museum's predominance of High Victorian Gothic, Richardson Romanesque and Beaux Arts architectural styles. The interior itself would contain a new entrance from Columbus Avenue north of 79th Street; a multiple-story storage structure containing specimens and objects; rooms to display these objects; an insect hall; an "interpretive" "wayfinding wall", and a theater.<ref name="NYTimes-DesignExpansion-2015">{{cite web | title=Museum of Natural History Reveals Design for Expansion | website=The New York Times | date=November 5, 2015 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/arts/design/museum-of-natural-history-reveals-design-for-expansion.html | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=January 25, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125000523/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/05/arts/design/museum-of-natural-history-reveals-design-for-expansion.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Archpaper-Expansion-2016/> This expansion was originally supposed to be south of the existing museum, occupying parts of Theodore Roosevelt Park. The expansion was relocated to the west side of the existing museum, and its footprint was reduced in size, due to opposition to construction in the park. The annex would instead replace three existing buildings along Columbus Avenue's east side, with more than 30 connections to the existing museum, and it would be six stories high, the same height as the existing buildings. The plans for the expansion were scrutinized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.<ref name=NYTimes-DesignExpansion-2015/> On October 11, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously approved the expansion. Construction of the Gilder Center, which was expected to break ground the next year following design development and Environmental Impact Statement stages, would entail demolition of three museum buildings built between 1874 and 1935.<ref name="Archpaper-Expansion-2016">{{cite web | last=Wachs | first=Audrey | title=Landmarks Commission approves Natural History Museum expansion | website=Archpaper.com | date=October 11, 2016 | url=https://archpaper.com/2016/10/landmarks-commission-approves-natural-history-museum-expansion/ | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=November 25, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125024027/https://www.archpaper.com/2016/10/landmarks-commission-approves-natural-history-museum-expansion/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The museum formally filed plans to construct the expansion in August 2017,<ref>{{cite web | title=Natural History Museum files plans for Gilder Center expansion | website=Real Estate Weekly | date=August 14, 2017 | url=http://rew-online.com/2017/08/14/natural-history-museum-files-super-sized-plans-for-gilder-center-expansion/ | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=June 27, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202759/http://rew-online.com/2017/08/14/natural-history-museum-files-super-sized-plans-for-gilder-center-expansion/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> but due to community opposition, construction did not start until June 2019. The project is expected to be complete by 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://commercialobserver.com/2019/06/natural-history-expansion/|title=American Museum of Natural History Launches $383M Expansion|last=Appel|first=Alex|date=June 13, 2019|website=Commercial Observer|language=en|access-date=July 9, 2019|archive-date=July 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709012806/https://commercialobserver.com/2019/06/natural-history-expansion/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amny.com/news/american-museum-natural-history-roosevelt-park-1.32186098|title=American Museum of Natural History to break ground on new center|website=am New York|date=June 10, 2019|language=en|access-date=July 8, 2019|archive-date=July 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708233813/https://www.amny.com/news/american-museum-natural-history-roosevelt-park-1.32186098|url-status=live}}</ref>

== New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt ==
The main entrance hall on Central Park West is formally known as the '''New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt'''. Completed by John Russell Pope in 1936, it is an over-scaled Beaux-Arts monument to former U.S. president [[Biography:Theodore Roosevelt|Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="nyt-1995-01-27" /> The hall was originally supposed to have formed one end of an "Intermuseum Promenade" through Central Park, connecting with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the east,<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 12, 1922 |title=Great Roosevelt Memorial; New Entrance Hall to American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West Planned by Trustees-- Connecting Promenade Feature |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/03/12/archives/great-roosevelt-memorial-new-entrance-hall-to-american-museum-of.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223439/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/03/12/archives/great-roosevelt-memorial-new-entrance-hall-to-american-museum-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but the promenade was never completed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 16, 1935 |title=Park Plaza Plans Shelved by Moses; Approach to Museum Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt Is Abandoned for Present. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/16/archives/park-plaza-plans-shelved-by-moses-approach-to-museum-memorial-to.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223447/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/16/archives/park-plaza-plans-shelved-by-moses-approach-to-museum-memorial-to.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The memorial hall has a pink-granite facade, which is modeled after Roman arches.<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" />{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=3}} In front of the hall on Central Park West is a terrace measuring {{Convert|350|ft}} long, as well as a series of steps. The main entrance consists of an arch measuring {{Convert|60|ft}} high.<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" /> The underside of the arch is a coffered granite vestibule, which leads to a bronze, glass, and marble screen.<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" />{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|p=11}} On either side of the arch are niches that contain sculptures of a bison and a bear.{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|p=11}} It is flanked by two pairs of columns, which are topped by figures of American explorers John James Audubon, Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=97}}<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" />{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=3}}  These figures were sculpted by  James Earle Fraser<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" /> and are about {{Convert|30|ft}} high.{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|p=11}}  In the attic above the main archway, there is an inscription describing Roosevelt's accomplishments.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=97}}<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" /> The words "Truth", "Knowledge", and "Vision" are carved into the entablature under this inscription.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=97}}

Fraser also designed an equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt, flanked by a Native American and an African American, which originally stood outside the memorial hall. In the 21st century, the statue generated controversy due to its subordinate depiction of these figures behind Roosevelt.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|pages=97-98}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 22, 2020 |title=Family member of Theodore Roosevelt weighs in on statue removal: 'I think it gives the wrong message' |url=https://abc7ny.com/theodore-roosevelt-statue-nyc-why-is-roosevelts-being-removed-teddy-american-museum-of-natural-history/6260686/ |access-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=December 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205233335/https://abc7ny.com/theodore-roosevelt-statue-nyc-why-is-roosevelts-being-removed-teddy-american-museum-of-natural-history/6260686/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This prompted AMNH officials to announce in 2020 that they would remove the statue.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pogrebin |first=Robin |date=June 21, 2020 |title=Roosevelt Statue to Be Removed From Museum of Natural History |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/arts/design/roosevelt-statue-to-be-removed-from-museum-of-natural-history.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621231116/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/arts/design/roosevelt-statue-to-be-removed-from-museum-of-natural-history.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Durón Durón 2020">{{cite web |last=Durón |first=Maximilíano |date=June 21, 2020 |title=New York's Natural History Museum Will Remove Controversial Theodore Roosevelt Statue |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/natural-history-museum-theodore-roosevelt-statue-removal-1202691772/ |access-date=May 31, 2022 |website=ARTnews.com |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418021038/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/natural-history-museum-theodore-roosevelt-statue-removal-1202691772/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The statue was removed in January 2022 and will be on a long-term loan to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota.<ref>{{cite news |last=Suliman |first=Adela |date=January 20, 2022 |title=Theodore Roosevelt statue removed from outside New York's Museum of Natural History |work=[[Software:MSN|MSN]] |publisher={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/theodore-roosevelt-statue-removed-from-outside-new-york-e2-80-99s-museum-of-natural-history/ar-AASY3Gt |accessdate=January 20, 2022 |archive-date=January 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120141901/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/theodore-roosevelt-statue-removed-from-outside-new-york-e2-80-99s-museum-of-natural-history/ar-AASY3Gt |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NPR.org 2022">{{cite web |date=January 20, 2022 |title=New York City's natural history museum has removed a Theodore Roosevelt statue |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/1074394869/roosevelt-statue-removed-natural-history-museum |access-date=May 31, 2022 |website=NPR.org |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421023844/https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/1074394869/roosevelt-statue-removed-natural-history-museum |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:American Natural History Museum 467821248 0f115644b4.jpg|thumb|upright|The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall is the main ticketing lobby.]]The interior of the Memorial Hall measures {{convert|67|by|120|ft}} across, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling measuring {{convert|100|ft}} tall.{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=98}}<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" />{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=|pages=3-4}}{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|pages=11-12}} The ceiling contains octagonal coffers, while the floors are made of mosaic marble tiles.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=|pages=3-4}}{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|page=12}}  The lowest {{convert|9|ft}} of the walls are wainscoted in marble, above which the walls of the memorial hall are made of limestone. The top of each wall contains a marble band and a Corinthian entablature.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=4}} Each of the Memorial Hall's four sides contains two red-marble columns, each measuring {{convert|48|ft}} tall and rising from a Botticino marble pedestal. There are rounded windows at [[Engineering:Clerestory|clerestory]] level on the north and south walls.{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=4}}{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|page=12}} William Andrew MacKay designed three {{convert|62|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} murals depicting important events in Roosevelt's life: the construction of the Panama Canal on the north wall, African exploration on the west wall, and the Treaty of Portsmouth on the south wall.<ref name="p1114836167">{{cite news |date=February 28, 1934 |title=Mural Portrays Work Of Theodore Roosevelt: Mackay Busy on 3 Panels, Each 62 by 39 Feet At Work on Mural of Theodore Roosevelt |page=21 |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114836167}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1934 |title=Eras in 'T.R.'s' Life Depicted in Mural: Hugo Canvases for Memorial Being Painted From Stage in an 80-foot Well. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/25/archives/eras-in-trs-life-depicted-in-mural-hugo-canvases-for-memorial-being.html |access-date=May 31, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223433/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/02/25/archives/eras-in-trs-life-depicted-in-mural-hugo-canvases-for-memorial-being.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The east and west walls, contain four quotes from Roosevelt under the headings "Nature", "Manhood", "Youth", and "The State".{{sfn|Macaulay-Lewis|2021|page=98}}{{sfn|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975|page=4}}{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|page=13}}

The Memorial Hall originally connected to various classrooms, exhibition rooms, and a 600-person auditorium.<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" />{{sfn|American Museum of Natural History|1936|page=14}} Directly underneath the Memorial Hall is an entrance to the 81st Street–Museum of Natural History station.<ref name="nyt-1936-01-19" /> Today, the hall connects to the Akeley Hall of African Mammals and the Hall of Asian Mammals. The Memorial Hall contains four exhibits that describe Theodore Roosevelt's conservation activities in his youth, early adulthood, U.S. presidency, and post-presidency.<ref>{{cite web |date=June 26, 2019 |title=Theodore Roosevelt Memorial: Our Conservation President |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/theodore-roosevelt-memorial/hall |access-date=May 31, 2022 |website=American Museum of Natural History |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110203855/https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/theodore-roosevelt-memorial/hall |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Mammal halls==

===Old World mammals===

====Akeley Hall of African Mammals====
[[File:AMNH Akeley Hall.jpg|alt=|thumb|Akeley Hall of African Mammals]][[File:Akeley6.jpg|thumb|James L. Clark (right) and assistants mount specimens for the "Lions" diorama]]Named after taxidermist Carl Akeley, the Akeley Hall of African Mammals is a two-story hall on the second floor, directly west of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. It connects to the Hall of African Peoples to the west.<ref name="AMNH Map">{{cite web |title=Interactive Map |url=https://www.amnh.org/interactive-map |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref> The Hall of African Mammals' 28 dioramas depict in meticulous detail the great range of ecosystems found in Africa and the mammals endemic to them. The centerpiece of the hall is a pack of eight African elephants in a characteristic 'alarmed' formation.<ref name="archive1">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/general53amer/general53amer_djvu.txt |title=Full text of "General guide to the exhibition halls of the American Museum of Natural History" |access-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref> Though the mammals are typically the main feature in the dioramas, birds and flora of the regions are occasionally featured as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsrEOKzxL5A#t=0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/JsrEOKzxL5A| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Revisiting Akeley's Gorillas |publisher=YouTube |date=February 16, 2011 |access-date=May 12, 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The hall in its current form was completed in 1936.<ref name="nyt-1936-05-17">{{Cite news |last=Owen |first=Russell |date=1936-05-17 |title=Africa Comes to Life in New York; In Akeley Hall the Wild Life of a Romantic Continent Is Brought to Vivid Reality |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/17/archives/africa-comes-to-life-in-new-york-africa-comes-to-new-york-in-akeley.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p1330087090">{{cite news |date=20 May 1936 |title=Natural History Museum Dedicates Akeley Exhibit: New African Hall, Result of 25 Years' Planning, Open Today As Museum of Natural History Opens Akeley Hall |page=3A |work=New York Herald Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1330087090}}}}</ref>

The Hall of African Mammals was first proposed to the museum by Carl Akeley around 1909; he proposed 40 dioramas featuring the rapidly vanishing landscapes and animals of Africa. Daniel Pomeroy, a trustee of the museum and partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., offered  investors the opportunity to accompany the museum's expeditions in Africa in exchange for funding.<ref name="peabody.yale.edu">{{cite web |date=September 28, 2011 |title=Painting Actuality: Chapter 5: 1934: Joining the American Museum of Natural History |url=http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-5-joining-the-american-museum-of-natural-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409063123/http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-5-joining-the-american-museum-of-natural-history |archive-date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |publisher=Peabody.yale.edu}}</ref> Akeley began collecting specimens for the hall as early as 1909, famously encountering [[Biography:Theodore Roosevelt|Theodore Roosevelt]] in the midst of the [[Biography:Theodore Roosevelt#Smithsonian-Roosevelt African expedition (1909-1910)|Smithsonian-Roosevelt African expedition]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pollak |first=Michael |date=2012-10-27 |title=Roosevelt's Elephant |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/nyregion/theodore-roosevelts-elephant.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> On these early expeditions, Akeley was accompanied by his former apprentice in taxidermy, James L. Clark, and artist, William R. Leigh.<ref name="peabody.yale.edu" /> When Akeley returned to Africa to collect gorillas for the hall's first diorama, Clark remained behind and began scouring the country for artists to create the backgrounds. The eventual appearance of the first habitat groups impacted the design of other diorama halls, including Birds of the World, the Hall of North American Mammals, the Vernay Hall of Southeast Asian Mammals, and the Hall of Oceanic Life.<ref name="peabody.yale.edu"/>

After Akeley's unexpected death during the Eastman-Pommeroy expedition in 1926, responsibility of the hall's completion fell to James L. Clark, who hired architectural artist James Perry Wilson in 1933 to assist Leigh in the painting of backgrounds. Wilson made many improvements on Leigh's techniques, including a range of methods to minimize the distortion caused by the dioramas' curved walls.<ref name="peabody.yale.edu"/> In 1936, William Durant Campbell, a wealthy board member with a desire to see Africa, offered to fund several dioramas if allowed to obtain the specimens himself. Clark agreed to this arrangement, resulting in the acquisition of numerous large specimens.<ref name="peabody.yale.edu" /><ref>{{cite news |author=Wolfgang Saxon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/25/obituaries/wd-campbell-88-promoted-scouting-in-the-third-world.html |title=W.D. Campbell, 88; Promoted Scouting In the Third World – New York Times |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=October 25, 1995 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413094208/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/25/obituaries/wd-campbell-88-promoted-scouting-in-the-third-world.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kane joined Leigh, Wilson, and several other artists in completing the hall's remaining dioramas.<ref name="amnh.org" /> Though construction of the hall was completed in 1936,<ref name="nyt-1936-05-17" /><ref name="p1330087090" /> the dioramas gradually opened between the mid-1920s and early 1940s.<ref name="amnh.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/akeley-hall-of-african-mammals |title=Akeley Hall of African Mammals |publisher=Amnh.org |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505001653/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/akeley-hall-of-african-mammals |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Species and locations represented in Akeley Hall<ref name="amnh.org"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-6-the-african-hall |title=Painting Actuality: Chapter 6: The African Hall |date=September 28, 2011 |publisher=Peabody.yale.edu |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409051726/http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-6-the-african-hall |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| Angola (Upper Cuango and Luando Rivers)
| Giant sable antelope
|-
|Botswana (Kalahari Desert)
| [[Biology:Gemsbok|Gemsbok]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Black wildebeest|Black wildebeest]]
| [[Biology:Blesbok|Blesbok]]
| [[Biology:Springbok|Springbok]]
|-
| Cameroon (Bipindi)
| [[Biology:Mandrill|Mandrill]]
| [[Biology:Gaboon viper|Gaboon viper]]
|-
| Ethiopia ([[Place:Addis Ababa|Addis Ababa]])
| [[Biology:Mountain nyala|Mountain nyala]]
|-
| Ivory Coast (Cavalla River)
| [[Biology:Chimpanzee|Chimpanzee]]
|-
| Kenya (Aberdare Mountains)
| [[Biology:Bongo (antelope)|Bongo]]
| [[Biology:Giant forest hog|Giant forest hog]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Leopard|Leopard]]
| [[Biology:Bushpig|Bushpig]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Mantled guereza|Mantled guereza]] (listed as white-mantled colobus)
|-
| ([[Earth:Mount Kenya|Mount Kenya]])
| [[Biology:African buffalo|African buffalo]]
| [[Biology:Cattle egret|Cattle egret]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Black rhinoceros|Black rhinoceros]]
|-
| (Ewaso Ng'iro)
| [[Biology:Giraffe|Giraffe]]
| Grevy's zebra
| [[Biology:Grant's gazelle|Northern Grant's gazelle]] (listed as Rainey's gazelle)
| Beisa oryx
|-
|([[Place:Nairobi|Nairobi]])
| [[Biology:Ostrich|Ostrich]]
| [[Biology:Common warthog|Common warthog]]
| Elephant shrew
|-
| (Lukenya Hills)
| [[Biology:Klipspringer|Klipspringer]]
| Olive baboon
| [[Biology:Mountain reedbuck|Mountain reedbuck]]
| Yellow-spotted rock hyrax
|-
|[[Place:Libya|Libya]] (Libyan Desert)
| [[Biology:Scimitar oryx|Scimitar oryx]]
| Addra gazelle
| [[Biology:Addax|Addax]]
|-
|Mozambique (Zambezi River)
| [[Biology:Cheetah|Cheetah]]
|-
|DR Congo (Ituri Rainforest)
| Okapi
|-
|(Kivu Mountain)
| [[Biology:Mountain gorilla|Mountain gorilla]]
|-
|(Uele River)
| White rhinoceros
| [[Biology:Crested porcupine|Crested porcupine]]
|-
| Sudan (Lake No)
| [[Biology:Hippopotamus|Hippopotamus]]
| [[Biology:Sitatunga|Sitatunga]]
| White eared kob
| Waterbuck
| Roan antelope
| Nile lechwe
| [[Biology:Shoebill|Shoebill]]
|-
| ([[Place:Bahr el Ghazal (region of South Sudan)|Bahr el Ghazal]])
| [[Biology:Giant eland|Giant eland]]
| [[Biology:Standard-winged nightjar|Standard-winged nightjar]]
|-
| Tanzania (Mount Kilimanjaro)
| [[Biology:Greater kudu|Greater kudu]]
|-
| (Serengeti Plains)
| Blue Wildebeest
| Plains zebra
| [[Biology:Lichtenstein's hartebeest|Lichtenstein's hartebeest]] (listed as [[Biology:Bubal hartebeest|bubal hartebeest]])
| [[Biology:Topi|Topi]]
| [[Biology:Common eland|Eland]]
| [[Biology:Thomson's gazelle|Thomson's gazelle]]
| [[Biology:Grant's gazelle|Grant's gazelle]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:African wild dog|Hunting dog]]
|-
| –
| Spotted Hyena
| Black-backed Jackal
| [[Biology:Lappet-faced vulture|Lappet-faced vulture]]
| [[Biology:Rüppell's vulture|Rüppell's vulture]]
| [[Biology:White-backed vulture|White-backed vulture]]
| [[Biology:Hooded vulture|Hooded vulture]]
| [[Biology:Marabou stork|Marabou stork]]
| [[Biology:White-necked raven|White-necked raven]]
|-
|(Lake Victoria)
| [[Biology:Lion|Lion]]
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Impala|Impala]]
| [[Biology:Hedgehog|Hedgehog]]
|-
| (Gulave)
| [[Biology:Lesser kudu|Lesser kudu]]
| [[Biology:Gerenuk|Gerenuk]]
| [[Biology:Dik-dik|Dik-dik]]
| [[Biology:Vulturine guineafowl|Vulturine guineafowl]]
|}

====Hall of Asian Mammals====
[[File:Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall.JPG|thumb|Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall of Asian Mammals]]
[[File:Indian Rhinoceros diorama.JPG|thumb|The Indian rhinoceros diorama at Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall]]
The Hall of Asian Mammals, sometimes referred to as the Vernay-Faunthorpe Hall of Asian Mammals, is directly south of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It contains 8 complete dioramas, 4 partial dioramas, and 6 habitat groups of mammals and locations from {{wipe|India}}, Nepal, Burma, and Malaysia. The hall opened in 1930 and, similar to the Akeley Hall of African Mammals, is centered around 2 Asian elephants. At one point, a [[Biology:Giant panda|giant panda]] and [[Biology:Siberian tiger|Siberian tiger]] were also part of the Hall's collection, originally intended to be part of an adjoining Hall of North Asian Mammals (planned in the current location of Stout Hall of Asian Peoples). These specimens can currently be seen in the Hall of Biodiversity.<ref name="archive1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-asian-mammals |title=Hall of Asian Mammals |publisher=Amnh.org |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=July 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725022507/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/mammal-halls/hall-of-asian-mammals |url-status=live }}</ref>

Specimens for the Hall of Asian Mammals were collected over six expeditions led by British-born antiques dealer Arthur S. Vernay and Col. John Faunthorpe (as noted by stylized plaques at both entrances). The expeditions were funded entirely by Vernay, who characterized the expense as a British tribute to American involvement in World War I.<ref>[http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2010/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20Freeman/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20FreeMan%201923%20Grayscale/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20Freeman%201923%20b%20Grayscale%20-%200082.pdf "Explorers hunt for pink duck"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831014419/https://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2010/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20Freeman/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20FreeMan%201923%20Grayscale/Kingston%20NY%20Daily%20Freeman%201923%20b%20Grayscale%20-%200082.pdf |date=August 31, 2021 }}. Kingston Daily Freeman. October 11, 1923.</ref> The first Vernay-Faunthorpe expedition took place in 1922, when many of the animals Vernay was seeking, such as the [[Biology:Sumatran rhinoceros|Sumatran rhinoceros]] and [[Biology:Asiatic lion|Asiatic lion]], were facing the possibility of extinction. Vernay made many appeals to regional authorities to obtain hunting permits;<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19240117&id=xOFiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-3gNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3239,5737529 Explorer Embarks on Long Journey to Search for Rare Wild Animals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516203420/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19240117&id=xOFiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-3gNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3239,5737529 |date=May 16, 2016 }} Lawrence Journal- January 17, 1924</ref> in later museum-related expeditions headed by Vernay, these appeals helped the museum gain access to areas previously restricted to foreign visitors.<ref>{{cite web |author=Nina Gregorev |url=http://anthro.amnh.org/vernay_collection |title=Vernay-Hopwood Chindwin Expedition &#124; Anthropology |publisher=Anthro.amnh.org |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416174448/http://anthro.amnh.org/vernay_collection |url-status=live }}</ref> Artist Clarence C. Rosenkranz accompanied the Vernay-Faunthorpe expeditions as field artist and painted the majority of the diorama backgrounds in the hall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Diorama+diversity.-a0184799158 |title=Diorama diversity. – Free Online Library |publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416182129/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Diorama+diversity.-a0184799158 |url-status=live }}</ref> These expeditions were also well documented in both photo and video, with enough footage of the first expedition to create a feature-length film, ''Hunting Tigers in India'' (1929).<ref>{{cite news |last=Hall |first=Mordaunt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9803E7DF143BE23ABC4852DFB4678382639EDE |title=Movie Review – Hunting Tigers in India – THE SCREEN |work={{wipe|The New York Times}} |date=December 10, 1929 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418091955/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9803E7DF143BE23ABC4852DFB4678382639EDE |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Species and Locations Represented in the Hall of Asian Mammals
|-
| {{wipe|India}} (Assam)
| [[Biology:Hoolock gibbon|Hoolock gibbon]]
|-
| –
| Thamin
|-
| (Awadh)
| [[Biology:Sambar deer|Sambar]]
|Barasingha
|-
| –
| [[Biology:Chital|Chital]]
|-
| (Bhopal)
| Sambar
|[[Biology:Dhole|Dhole]] (listed as wild dog)
|-
| (Bikanir)
| [[Biology:Blackbuck|Blackbuck]]
| [[Biology:Chinkara|Chinkara]]
|-
|(Biligiriranga Hills, listed as Kallegal Range)
|[[Biology:Leopard|Leopard]]
|-
|(Mysore)
|[[Biology:Gaur|Gaur]]
|[[Biology:Indian roller|Indian roller]]
|-
| (Manas River)
| Wild water buffalo
|-
|Nepal (Base of the Himalayas)
| [[Biology:Tiger|Tiger]]
|-
| (Morang)
| [[Biology:Indian rhinoceros|Indian rhinoceros]]
|-
| Burma (Rangoon)
| [[Biology:Banteng|Banteng]]
|-
| Habitat groups
|-
| Sloth bear
|-
| [[Biology:Four-horned antelope|Four-horned antelope]]
| [[Biology:Smooth-coated otter|Smooth-coated otter]]
|-
| Muntjac
| [[Biology:Chevrotain|Spotted chevrotain]]
|-
| [[Biology:Sumatran rhinoceros|Sumatran rhinoceros]]
|-
| Hog deer
| [[Biology:Indian boar|Indian wild boar]]
|-
|[[Biology:Asiatic lion|Asiatic lion]]
|}

===New World mammals===
[[File:2~Bear~Diorama~AMNH~11-29-08.jpg|thumb|left|The two Alaska Peninsula brown bears at the AMNH]]

====Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals====
[[File:Alaska Moose at the American Museum of Natural History.jpg|thumbnail|Alaska moose diorama in the Hall of North American Mammals]]

The Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals is on the first floor, directly west of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> features 43 dioramas of various mammals of the American continent, north of tropical Mexico. Each diorama places focus on a particular species, ranging from the largest megafauna to the smaller rodents and carnivorans. Notable dioramas include the [[Biology:Alaska Peninsula brown bear|Alaskan brown bears]] looking at a salmon after they scared off an otter, a pair of wolves, a pair of [[Place:Sonora|Sonora]]n [[Biology:North American jaguar|jaguars]], and dueling bull [[Biology:Alaska moose|Alaska moose]].

The Hall of North American Mammals opened in 1942 with only ten dioramas.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1942-04-03 |title=Preview Wednesday Opens Museum Show; Natural History Institution to Display American Mammals |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/04/03/archives/preview-wednesday-opens-museum-show-natural-history-institution-to.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Another 16 dioramas were added in 1963.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1963-12-18 |title=New Mammal Display at Museum |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/12/18/archives/new-mammal-display-at-museum.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> A massive restoration project began in late 2011 following a large donation from Jill and Lewis Bernard.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fountain |first=Henry |date=2011-10-21 |title=Behind the Glass, Primping Up Some Old Friends |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/arts/artsspecial/diorama-restoration-at-the-american-museum-of-natural-history.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Nast 2011">{{cite magazine |date=2011-08-08 |title=Little Worlds |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/08/15/little-worlds |access-date=2022-06-13 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref> In October 2012 the hall was reopened as the Bernard Hall of North American Mammals.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=2012-09-27 |title=Taxidermists, Artists Bring Aging Museum Animals Back to Lifelike |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/09/amnh-museum-mammals-restoration/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |magazine=Wired}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Species and Locations Represented in the Hall of North American Mammals
|-
| [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]]
| [[Earth:Ice age|Ice age]] mammals of Alaska
|-
| California
| Ice age mammals of California
|-
| Canoe Bay, [[Earth:Alaska Peninsula|Alaska Peninsula]]
| [[Biology:Alaska Peninsula brown bear|Alaska Peninsula brown bear]]
|-
| Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
| Moose
|-
| North Platte River, Wyoming
| [[Biology:American bison|American bison]]
| Pronghorn
|-
| Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
| [[Biology:Grizzly bear|Grizzly bear]]
|-
| Mount Wilcox (Alberta), Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada
| [[Biology:Bighorn sheep|Bighorn sheep]]
|-
| [[Earth:Devils Tower|Devils Tower]], Wyoming
| Mule deer
|-
| Ellesmere Island, [[Earth:Nunavut|Nunavut]], Canada
| [[Biology:Muskox|Muskox]]
|-
| Tongass National Forest, Alaska
| Mountain goat
|-
| Near Tucson, Arizona
| [[Biology:Antelope jackrabbit|Antelope jackrabbit]]
| [[Biology:Black-tailed jackrabbit|Black-tailed jackrabbit]]
|-
| Near Lake Placid, Florida
| [[Biology:American black bear|American black bear]]
| [[Biology:Agkistrodon piscivorus|Cottonmouth]]
|-
| Ithaca, New York
| [[Biology:Eastern cottontail|Eastern cottontail]]
|-
| Lake Gunflint, Superior National Forest, Northern Minnesota
| [[Biology:Wolf|Wolf]]
|-
| [[Earth:Shiprock|Shiprock]], New Mexico
| [[Biology:Western spotted skunk|Western spotted skunk]]
| [[Biology:Ring-tailed cat|Ringtail]]
|-
| Yosemite National Park, California
| [[Biology:Coyote|Coyote]]
|-
| Bear Mountain State Park, New York
| White-tailed deer
|-
| Minnies Lake, Georgia
| [[Biology:Raccoon|Raccoon]]
|-
| Hoister Creek, Michigan
| [[Biology:North American beaver|North American beaver]]
|-
| Mount Rainier National Park, {{wipe|Washington (state)}}
| Mountain beaver
|-
| Gaspésie National Park, Quebec, Canada
| [[Biology:Canada lynx|Canada lynx]]
| [[Biology:Snowshoe hare|Snowshoe hare]]
|-
| Rogue River, Oregon
| [[Biology:Western gray squirrel|Western gray squirrel]]
|-
| Grand Canyon, Arizona
| [[Biology:Cougar|Cougar]]
|-
| White River National Forest, Colorado
| Wapiti
|-
| Guaymas, [[Place:Sonora|Sonora]], Mexico
| [[Biology:Jaguar|Jaguar]]
|-
| Denali National Park, Alaska
| [[Biology:Dall sheep|Dall sheep]]
|-
| [[Earth:Level Mountain|Level Mountain]], British Columbia, Canada
| Osborn caribou
|-
| Alaska
| Grant caribou
|-
|}

=====Hall of Small Mammals=====
The Hall of Small Mammals is an offshoot of the Bernard Family Hall of North American Mammals, directly to the west of the latter.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> There are several small dioramas featuring small mammals found throughout North America, including collared peccaries, [[Biology:Abert's squirrel|Abert's squirrel]], and a [[Biology:Wolverine|wolverine]].

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Species and Locations Represented in the Hall of Small Mammals
|-
| Kaibab National Forest, Arizona
| [[Biology:Abert's squirrel|Abert's squirrel]]
|-
| Jackson Hole, Wyoming
| [[Biology:American badger|American badger]]
|-
| Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
| American marten
|-
| Pine Barrens (New Jersey)
| [[Biology:American mink|American mink]]
|-
| Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
| [[Biology:Black-footed ferret|Black-footed ferret]]
|-
| Big Bend National Park, {{wipe|Texas}}
| Collared peccary
|-
| Baxter State Park, Maine
| [[Biology:Stoat|Stoat]]
| [[Biology:Red-backed vole|Red-backed vole]]
|-
| [[Earth:Great Smoky Mountains National Park|Great Smoky Mountains National Park]], {{wipe|Tennessee}}
| [[Biology:Gray fox|Gray fox]]
| [[Biology:Virginia opossum|Virginia opossum]]
|-
| Cohocton, New York
| Groundhog
|-
| Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas
| [[Biology:Nine-banded armadillo|Nine-banded armadillo]]
|-
| Trapper Peak (Montana)
| [[Biology:Northern flying squirrel|Northern flying squirrel]]
|-
| Algonquin Provincial Park
| [[Biology:North American river otter|North American river otter]]
|-
| Delaware Water Gap, New Jersey
| Striped skunk
|-
| Ennadai Lake, [[Earth:Nunavut|Nunavut]], Canada
| [[Biology:Wolverine|Wolverine]]
|-
|}

==Birds, reptiles, and amphibian halls==

===Sanford Hall of North American Birds===
[[File:Cuthbert Rookery Diorama.JPG|thumb|The Cuthbert Rookery Diorama contains many of the birds once endangered by plume hunting.]]
The Sanford Hall of North American birds is a one-story hall on the third floor, between the Hall of Primates and Akeley Hall's second level.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> There are over 20 dioramas depicting birds from across North America in their native habitats.<ref name="AMNH North American Birds">{{cite web | title=Hall of North American Birds | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=August 2, 2018 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/north-american-birds | access-date=June 10, 2022}}</ref> At the far end of the hall are two large murals by ornithologist and artist Louis Agassiz Fuertes.<ref name=nyt-2000-11-24>{{Cite news|last=Kimmelman|first=Michael|date=2000-11-24|title=Art Review; Natural History, the Early Version|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/arts/art-review-natural-history-the-early-version.html|access-date=2022-06-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The hall also has display cases devoted to large collections of warblers, owls, and raptors.

Conceived by museum ornithologist Frank Chapman, the Hall is named for Chapman's friend and amateur ornithologist Leonard C. Sanford, who partially funded the hall and also donated the entirety of his own bird specimen collection to the museum. Construction began on the hall's dioramas as early as 1902, and the dioramas opened in 1909. They were the first to be exhibited in the museum and are the oldest still on display.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-7-francis-lee-jaques-and-the-bird-halls |title=Painting Actuality: Chapter 7: Francis Lee Jaques and the American Museum of Natural History Bird Halls |date=November 28, 2011 |publisher=Peabody.yale.edu |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410063148/http://peabody.yale.edu/james-perry-wilson/chapter-7-francis-lee-jaques-and-the-bird-halls |url-status=dead }}</ref> The hall was refurbished in 1962.<ref name="nyt-1962-10-30">{{Cite news |date=1962-10-30 |title=American Museum to Have a New Bird Hall in Time for World's Fair |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/10/30/archives/american-museum-to-have-a-new-bird-hall-in-time-for-worlds-fair.html |access-date=2022-06-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Although Chapman was not the first to create museum dioramas, he was the first to bring artists into the field with him in the hopes of capturing a specific location at a specific time. In contrast to the dramatic scenes that Akeley created for the African Hall, Chapman wanted his dioramas to evoke a scientific realism, ultimately serving as a historical record of habitats and species facing a high probability of extinction.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Each of Chapman's dioramas depicted a species, their nests, and {{convert|4|ft}} of the surrounding habitat in each direction.<ref name=nyt-2003-02-03>{{Cite news|last=Collins|first=Glenn|date=2003-02-03|title=Rescuing the Diorama From the Fate of the Dodo; In New Appreciation of Old Technique, Museum Remakes the Sea on Dry Land|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/03/nyregion/rescuing-diorama-fate-dodo-new-appreciation-old-technique-museum-remakes-sea-dry.html|access-date=2022-06-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

<!--The Leonard C. Sanford Hall of Biology of Birds opened in 1948.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1948-05-26|title=Bird Exhibit Shows 1,000 Specimens; Sanford Hall of Bird Biology Opens - Is Called 'Most Comprehensive' Attempted|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/05/26/archives/bird-exhibit-shows-1000-specimens-sanford-hall-of-bird-biology.html|access-date=2022-06-10|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1948-07-18|title=Sanford Hall - The Ultimate in Bird Exhibits|pages=161|work=Daily News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103484507/sanford-hall-the-ultimate-in-bird/|access-date=2022-06-10}}</ref> This hall was partially demolished in 1999 when the planetarium was expanded.<ref name="The Appendix 2013">{{cite web | title=Inside the American Museum of Natural History’s Hidden Masterpiece—The Appendix | website=The Appendix | date=August 22, 2013 | url=http://theappendix.net/issues/2013/7/inside-the-museum-of-natural-historys-hidden-masterpiece | access-date=June 10, 2022}}</ref>-->

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Species and locations represented in Sanford Hall
|-
|"Eastern Upland Gamebirds"
| Ruffed grouse
| [[Biology:Northern bobwhite|Northern bobwhite]]
| [[Biology:American woodcock|American woodcock]]
| [[Biology:Common pheasant|Ring-necked pheasant]]
|-
|"Booming grounds", Central Wisconsin
|[[Biology:Greater prairie chicken|Greater prairie chicken]]
|-
| "Western Gamebirds", Sierra Foothills
| [[Biology:Mountain quail|Mountain quail]]
| [[Biology:California quail|California quail]]
| [[Biology:Band-tailed pigeon|Band-tailed pigeon]]
| Sage grouse
| Blue grouse
| [[Biology:Chukar partridge|Chukar partridge]]
| Mountain bluebird
|-
|"Marsh Ducks in Spring"
| [[Biology:Green-winged teal|Green-winged teal]]
| [[Biology:Gadwall|Gadwall]]
| [[Biology:Fulvous whistling duck|Fulvous whistling duck]]
| [[Biology:Hooded merganser|Hooded merganser]]
| Baldpate
| [[Biology:Mallard|Mallard]]
| Northern shoveler
| [[Biology:American black duck|American black duck]]
| Cinnamon teal
| [[Biology:Yellowthroat|Yellowthroat]]
|-
| "Sea Ducks in Winter"
| [[Biology:Ring-necked duck|Ring-necked duck]]
| [[Biology:Steller's eider|Steller's eider]]
| Bufflehead
| [[Biology:Long-tailed duck|Long-tailed duck]] (oldsquaw)
| [[Biology:Canvasback|Canvasback]]
| [[Biology:Harlequin duck|Harlequin duck]]
| [[Biology:Redhead (bird)|Redhead]]
| Common goldeneye
| [[Biology:Red-breasted merganser|Red-breasted merganser]]
| [[Biology:Common merganser|Common merganser]]
| [[Biology:King eider|King eider]]
|-
| Cap Tourmente, Quebec
| [[Biology:Snow goose|Snow goose]]
|-
| Umbagog Lake, New Hampshire
| [[Biology:Common loon|Common loon]]
|-
| "Desert Birds"
| [[Biology:Gambel's quail|Gambel's quail]]
| [[Biology:Lesser nighthawk|Lesser nighthawk]]
| [[Biology:Verdin|Verdin]]
| [[Biology:Curve-billed thrasher|Curve-billed thrasher]]
| [[Biology:Gnatcatcher|Gnatcatcher]]
| [[Biology:Pyrrhuloxia|Pyrrhuloxia]]
| [[Biology:Cactus wren|Cactus wren]]
| Greater Roadrunner
| Northern Cardinal
| [[Biology:Black-throated sparrow|Black-throated sparrow]]
| [[Biology:Scaled quail|Scaled quail]]
| [[Biology:Mourning dove|Mourning dove]]
|-
| Crane Lake, Saskatchewan
| [[Biology:Canada goose|Canada goose]]
|-
| Everglades, Florida
| [[Biology:Wood stork|Wood stork]]
| [[Biology:Limpkin|Limpkin]]
|-
| Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies
| [[Biology:Gray-crowned rosy finch|Gray-crowned rosy finch]]
| [[Biology:White-tailed ptarmigan|White-tailed ptarmigan]]
| American pipit
| [[Biology:Horned lark|Horned lark]]
|-
| Upper Klamath Lake, California
| [[Biology:California gull|California gull]]
| [[Biology:American white pelican|American white pelican]]
| Caspian tern
| [[Biology:Ring-billed gull|Ring-billed gull]]
| [[Biology:Double-crested cormorant|Double-crested cormorant]]
|-
| Heron Lake, Minnesota
| [[Biology:Whooping crane|Whooping crane]]
|-
| Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming
| Golden eagle
|-
| Cay Verde, The Bahamas
| Brown booby
| [[Biology:Magnificent frigatebird|Magnificent frigatebird]]
|-
| Monterey, California
| [[Biology:Brandt's cormorant|Brandt's cormorant]]
|-
| Brigantine, New Jersey
| [[Biology:American yellow warbler|American yellow warbler]]
| Whimbrel
| Great blue heron
| [[Biology:Clapper rail|Clapper rail]]
| [[Biology:Black skimmer|Black skimmer]]
| [[Biology:Common tern|Common tern]]
| [[Biology:Red-winged blackbird|Red-winged blackbird]]
| [[Biology:Laughing gull|Laughing gull]]
| [[Biology:Willet|Willet]]
| [[Biology:Ruddy turnstone|Ruddy turnstone]]
|-
| South Carolina
| Great egret
|-
| Potomac river
| Great horned owl
|-
| Unidentified marsh, Florida
| Sandhill crane
|-
| Port St. Lucie, Florida
| Snakebird
|-
| Montauk, New York
| [[Biology:Labrador duck|Labrador duck]]
|-
| West Virginia
| [[Biology:Wild turkey|Wild turkey]]
|-
| Chilkat River, [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]]
| [[Biology:Bald eagle|Bald eagle]]
|-
| Undisclosed Location
|-
| Peregrine falcon
| [[Biology:Feral pigeon|Feral pigeon]]
|-
| [[Biology:Barn swallow|Barn swallow]]
| [[Biology:Tree swallow|Tree swallow]]
| [[Biology:Bobolink|Bobolink]]
| [[Biology:Red-winged blackbird|Red-winged blackbird]]
| Wood duck
| Bank swallow
| [[Biology:Swamp sparrow|Swamp sparrow]]
| [[Biology:Marsh wren|Marsh wren]]
| [[Biology:Sora (bird)|Sora]]
|-
| [[Biology:California condor|California condor]]
|}

===Hall of Birds of the World===
The Hall of Birds of the World is on the south side of the second floor.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> The global diversity of bird species is exhibited in this hall. 12 dioramas showcase various ecosystems around the world and provide a sample of the varieties of birds that live there. Example dioramas include South Georgia featuring [[Biology:King penguin|king penguin]]s and skuas, the East African plains featuring [[Biology:Secretarybird|secretarybird]]s and [[Biology:Bustard|bustard]]s, and the Australian outback featuring [[Biology:Honeyeater|honeyeater]]s, [[Biology:Cockatoo|cockatoo]]s, and [[Biology:Kookaburra|kookaburra]]s.<ref name="AMNH Birds of the World">{{cite web | title=Birds of the World: Permanent Exhibit Halls | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=August 2, 2018 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/birds-of-the-world | access-date=June 10, 2022}}</ref>

===Whitney Memorial Hall of Oceanic Birds===
This particular hall has undergone a complicated history over the years since its founding in 1953. Frank Chapman and Leonard C. Sanford, originally museum volunteers, had gone forward with creation of a hall to feature birds of the Pacific islands. In the years up to its founding, the museum had engaged in various expeditions to Fiji, [[Earth:New Zealand|New Zealand]], and the Marianas (among other locations) to collect birds for the exhibit. The hall was designed as a completely immersive collection of dioramas, including a circular display featuring [[Biology:Bird-of-paradise|birds-of-paradise]]. In 1998, The Butterfly Conservatory was installed inside the hall originally as a temporary exhibit, but as the popular demand of the exhibit increased, the Hall of Oceanic Birds has more or less remained closed by the museum.

===Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians===
The Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians is near the southeast corner of the third floor.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It serves as an introduction to [[Biology:Herpetology|herpetology]], with many exhibits detailing reptile evolution, anatomy, diversity, reproduction, and behavior. Notable exhibits include a Komodo dragon group, an [[Biology:American alligator|American alligator]], [[Biology:Lonesome George|Lonesome George]], the last [[Biology:Pinta Island tortoise|Pinta Island tortoise]], and [[Biology:Poison dart frog|poison dart frog]]s.<ref name="AMNH Reptiles and Amphibians">{{cite web | title=Reptiles & Amphibians: Permanent Exhibit Halls | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=August 2, 2018 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/reptiles-amphibians | access-date=June 17, 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Komodo Dragon Diorama.jpg|thumb|right|The Komodo dragon diorama featuring a group feeding on a wild boar carcass in the Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians.]]

In 1926, W. Douglas Burden, F.J. Defosse, and Emmett Reid Dunn collected specimens of the Komodo Dragon for the museum.  Burden's chapter "The Komodo Dragon", in ''Look to the Wilderness'', describes the expedition, the habitat, and the behavior of the dragon.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burden |first1=W. Douglas |title=Look to the Wilderness |date=1956 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=Boston |pages=169–193}}</ref> The hall opened in 1927<ref>{{Cite news|date=1927-06-15|title=Reptilian Secrets Bared at Museum; Exhibit in Hall Just Opened to the Public Has New System to Teach Natural History|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/06/15/archives/reptilian-secrets-bared-at-museum-exhibit-in-hall-just-opened-to.html|access-date=2022-06-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and was rebuilt from 1969 to 1977 at a cost of $1.3 million.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brody|first=Jane E.|date=1977-11-16|title=Museum Provides a New Look for Lizards and Snakes|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/16/archives/museum-provides-a-new-look-for-lizards-and-snakes-museum-gives-home.html|access-date=2022-06-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Biodiversity and environmental halls==

=== Hall of Biodiversity ===
The Hall of Biodiversity is underneath the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It opened in May 1998. The hall primarily contains exhibits and objects highlighting the concept of [[Biology:Biodiversity|biodiversity]], the interactions between living organisms, and the negative impacts of [[Biology:Extinction|extinction]] on biodiversity.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=1998-05-29 |title=Showing Why a Rain Forest Matters |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/29/arts/showing-why-a-rain-forest-matters.html |access-date=2022-06-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="n103802206">{{Cite news |last=Shurstack |first=Mary |date=1998-05-28 |title=Hall of Biodiversity |pages=47 |work=The Journal News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103802206/hall-of-biodiversitymary-shurstack/ |access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref> The hall includes a {{convert|2500|ft2|adj=on}} diorama depicting the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve rainforest with over 160 animal and plant species.<ref name="n103802206" /><ref name="AMNH Hall of Biodiversity">{{cite web |date=2018-08-01 |title=The Hall of Biodiversity: Abundance of Life on Earth |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/biodiversity |access-date=2022-06-15 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref> The diorama shows the rainforest in three states: pristine, altered by human activity, and destroyed by human activity.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="n103802206" /> Another attraction in the hall is "The Spectrum of Habitats", a [[Engineering:Video wall|video wall]] displaying footage of nine ecosystems. There is a "Transformation Wall", containing information and stories detailing changes to biodiversity, and a "Solutions Wall", containing suggestions on how to increase biodiversity.<ref name="n103802206" />

===Hall of North American Forests===
[[File:Mixed Deciduous Forest, Hall of North American Forests, AMNH.JPG|thumb|The Mixed Deciduous Forest diorama]]
The Hall of North American Forests is a one-story hall on the museum's first floor in between the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall and the Warburg Hall of New York State Environments.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It contains ten dioramas depicting a range of forest types from across North America as well as several displays on forest conservation and tree health. The hall was constructed under the guidance of botanist Henry K. Svenson<ref name=":1" /> and opened in 1958.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knox |first=Sanka |date=1958-05-14 |title=Museum Opening Hall of Forests; 10-Year Project Transplants North American Wilds to History Institution |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/05/14/archives/museum-opening-hall-of-forests-10year-project-transplants-north.html |access-date=2022-06-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Each diorama specifically lists both the location and exact time of year depicted.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/general53amer/general53amer_djvu.txt|title=Full text of "General guide to the exhibition halls of the American Museum of Natural History"|work=archive.org|year=1911}}</ref> Trees and plants featured in the dioramas are constructed of a combination of art supplies and actual bark and other specimens collected in the field. The entrance to the hall features a cross section from the Mark Twain Tree, 1,400-year-old [[Biology:Sequoiadendron giganteum|sequoia]] taken from the King's River grove on the west flank of the Sierra Mountains in 1891.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/biodiversity-and-environmental-halls/hall-of-north-american-forests|title=Hall of North American Forests|work=AMNH|access-date=June 11, 2014|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905004237/https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/biodiversity-and-environmental-halls/hall-of-north-american-forests|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Juniper Forest, Hall of North American Forests, AMNH.JPG|thumb|left|The Juniper Forest diorama]]
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! Locations Represented in the Hall of North American Forests
|-
| Oak-Hickory Forest in late August
| Ozark Plateau
|-
| [[Earth:Spruce-fir forests|Northern Spruce-Fir]] in mid-August
| Lake Nipigon
|-
| Jeffrey Pine Forest in early June
| Inyo National Forest
|-
| Olympic Rain Forest in mid-June
| Quinault Rainforest
|-
| Timberline of the Northern Rocky Mountains in mid-July
| Logan Pass
|-
| Pinyon-Juniper Woodland in early October
| Colorado National Monument
|-
| [[Biology:Saguaro|Giant Cactus]] Forest in mid-April
| Saguaro National Park
|-
| Southeastern Coastal Plain Forest in mid-March
| Coosawhatchie River, South Carolina
|-
| Mixed [[Biology:Deciduous|Deciduous]] Forest in late April
| [[Earth:Great Smoky Mountains National Park|Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]
|-
| Early October in Southern New Hampshire
| Lake Sunapee
|}

===Warburg Hall of New York State Environments===
[[File:Warburg Hall of New York State Environments.JPG|thumb|"Spring" display in Warburg Hall]]
Warburg Hall of New York State Environments is a one-story hall on the museum's ground floor in between the Hall of North American Forests and the Grand Hall.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> Based on the town of Pine Plains and near-by Stissing Mountain in Dutchess County,<ref name="rootsweb.ancestry.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nylnphs/V2/mh.htm|title=The Felix M. Warburg Memorial Hall of the American Museum of Natural History, New York City: (Pine Plains: Its Unique Natural Heritage)|work=ancestry.com|access-date=June 11, 2014|archive-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904201300/http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nylnphs/V2/mh.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the hall gives a multi-faceted presentation of the eco-systems typical of New York. Aspects covered include soil types, seasonal changes, and the impact of both humans and nonhuman animals on the environment. It is named for the German-American philanthropist, Felix M. Warburg. Originally known as the "Hall of Man and Nature", Warburg Hall opened in 1951.<ref name="rootsweb.ancestry.com"/> It has changed little since and is now frequently regarded for its retro-modern styling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smithjam.com/mad-men-design-a-museum-exhibit/|title=Mad men design a museum exhibit|work=Joseph Smith|access-date=June 11, 2014|archive-date=February 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225091209/http://www.smithjam.com/mad-men-design-a-museum-exhibit/|url-status=live}}</ref> The hall shares many of the exhibit types featured throughout the museum as well as one display type, unique to Warburg, which features a recessed miniature diorama behind a foreground of species and specimens from the environment depicted.

===Milstein Hall of Ocean Life===

[[File:Blue Whale Nat'l Hist Museum.JPG|thumb|left|Model of a blue whale in the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life]]
The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life is in the southeastern quadrant of the first floor, west of the Hall of Biodiversity.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It focuses on [[Biology:Marine biology|marine biology]], [[Earth:Marine botany|botany]] and marine conservation. The center of the hall contains a {{convert|94|ft|m|adj=on}}-long [[Biology:Blue whale|blue whale]] model.<ref name="AMNH Hall of Ocean Life">{{cite web |date=2018-08-01 |title=Hall of Ocean Life |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean-life |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref> The upper level of the hall exhibits the vast array of ecosystems present in the ocean. Dioramas compare and contrast the life in these different settings including polar seas, [[Biology:Kelp forest|kelp forest]]s, [[Earth:Mangrove|mangrove]]s, [[Earth:Coral reef|coral reef]]s and the bathypelagic. It attempts to show how vast and varied the oceans are while encouraging common themes throughout.<ref name="AMNH Milstein"/> The lower half of the hall consists of 15 large dioramas of larger marine organisms.<ref name="United States 2002 p. 402"/> It is on this level that the famous "Squid and the Whale" diorama sits, depicting a hypothetical fight between the two creatures.<ref name="AMNH Milstein">{{cite web|title=The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/biodiversity-and-environmental-halls/milstein-hall-of-ocean-life/sperm-whale-and-giant-squid/|publisher=American Museum of Natural History|access-date=December 23, 2012|archive-date=March 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330085128/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/biodiversity-and-environmental-halls/milstein-hall-of-ocean-life/sperm-whale-and-giant-squid|url-status=live}}</ref> Other notable exhibits in this hall include the two-level Andros Coral Reef Diorama.<ref name="United States 2002 p. 402">{{cite book | author=United States | title=Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2002: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session, on H.R. 2500/S. 1215 ... for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2002, and for Other Purposes | publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | series=S. hrg | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-16-066932-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nS0Gj-EqJogC&pg=PA402 | access-date=2022-06-13 | page=402}}</ref><ref name="AMNH Milstein Dioramas">{{cite web | title=Milstein Hall of Ocean Life | website=amnh.org | date=2008-12-08 | url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/01_dioramas/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208150245/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/01_dioramas/ | archive-date=2008-12-08 | url-status=dead | access-date=2022-06-13}}</ref> Upper dioramas are smaller versions of the ecosystems when the bottom versions are much bigger and more life like.

In 1910, museum president Henry F. Osborn proposed the construction of a large building in the museum's southeast courtyard to house a new Hall of Ocean Life in which "models and skeletons of whales" would be exhibited.<ref name=":2" /> The hall opened in 1924<ref name="United States 2002 p. 402"/> and was renovated in 1962.<ref name="nyt-1962-10-30" /> In 1969, a renovation gave the hall a more explicit focus on [[Biology:Megafauna|oceanic megafauna]], including the addition of a lifelike blue whale model to replace a popular steel and papier-mâché whale model that had hung in the Biology of Mammals hall. Richard Van Gelder oversaw the creation of the hall in its current incarnation.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|title=History of the Hall of Ocean Life|url=http://www-v1.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/04_history/|publisher=American Museum of Natural History|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106172418/http://www-v1.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/ocean/04_history/|archive-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> The hall was renovated once again in 2003, this time with [[Biology:Environmentalism|environmentalism]] and [[Biology:Wildlife conservation|conservation]] being the main focal points, and was renamed after developer Paul Milstein and AMNH board member Irma Milstein. The 2003 renovation included refurbishment of the famous blue whale, suspended high above the {{convert|19,000|ft2|adj=on}} exhibit floor; updates to the 1930s and 1960s dioramas; and electronic displays.<ref name=nyt-2003-02-03/> The whale's flukes and fins were readjusted, a navel was added, and it was repainted from a dull gray to various rich shades of blue.

==Human origins and cultural halls==

===Cultural halls===

====Stout Hall of Asian Peoples====
The Stout Hall of Asian Peoples is a one-story hall on the museum's second floor in between the Hall of Asian Mammals and Birds of the World.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It is named for Gardner D. Stout, a former president of the museum, and was primarily organized by Dr. Walter A. Fairservis, a longtime museum archaeologist. Opened in 1980, Stout Hall is the museum's largest anthropological hall and contains artifacts acquired by the museum between 1869 and the mid-1970s.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Christopher Swan |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/1980/1113/111357.html |title=Hall of Asian People; Orienting the Americans |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=November 13, 1980 |publisher=CSMonitor.com |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416174243/http://www.csmonitor.com/1980/1113/111357.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Many famous expeditions sponsored by the museum are associated with the artifacts in the hall, including the Roy Chapman Andrews expeditions in Central Asia and the Vernay-Hopwood Chindwin expedition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bgc.bard.edu/images/content/1/4/14863.pdf |title=Confluences: An American Expedition to Northern Burma, 1935 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416210339/http://www.bgc.bard.edu/images/content/1/4/14863.pdf |archive-date=April 16, 2014 |work=AMNH |date=April 4, 2013 |access-date=January 22, 2018 }}</ref>

Stout Hall has two sections: Ancient Eurasia, a small section devoted to the evolution of human civilization in [[Earth:Eurasia|Eurasia]], and Traditional Asia, a much larger section containing cultural artifacts from across the Asian continent. The latter section is organized to geographically correspond with two major trade routes of the Silk Road. Like many of the museum's exhibition halls, the artifacts in Stout Hall are presented in a variety of ways including exhibits, miniature dioramas, and five full-scale dioramas. Notable exhibits in the Ancient Eurasian section include reproductions from the archaeological sites of Teshik-Tash and Çatalhöyük, as well as a full size replica of a Hammurabi Stele. The Traditional Asia section contains areas devoted to major Asian countries, such as Japan, China, Tibet, and {{wipe|India}}, while also including a vast array of smaller Asian tribes including the Ainu, Semai, and Yakut.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/human-origins-and-cultural-halls/gardner-d.-stout-hall-of-asian-peoples |title=Gardner D. Stout Hall of Asian Peoples |publisher=Amnh.org |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418053655/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/human-origins-and-cultural-halls/gardner-d.-stout-hall-of-asian-peoples |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Miniature of Isfahar.JPG|A [[Forced perspective|forced perspective]], miniature diorama of [[Place:Isfahan|Isfahan]]
File:Yakut Shaman Diorama.JPG|A Yakut shaman performs a healing rite in this diorama
File:Costumes of Islamic Women.JPG|A range of costumes worn by women in Islamic Asia
</gallery>

====Hall of African Peoples====
{{Multiple image
|align=right
|direction=horizontal
|total_width=500
|image1=Day117anaturalhistoryzi.JPG
|caption1=Diorama depicting Pokot methods of animal husbandry
|image2=DanceCostumes AMNH.JPG
|caption2=Spiritual costumes from a variety of African tribes
}}

The Hall of African Peoples is behind Akeley Hall of African Mammals and underneath Sanford Hall of North American Birds.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It is organized by the four major ecosystems found in Africa: River Valley, Grasslands, Forest-[[Biology:Woodland|Woodland]], and [[Earth:Desert|Desert]]. Each section presents artifacts and exhibits of the peoples native to the ecosystems throughout Africa. The hall contains three dioramas and notable exhibits include a large collection of spiritual costumes on display in the Forest-Woodland section. Uniting the sections of the hall is a multi-faceted comparison of African societies based on hunting and gathering, [[Earth:Horticulture|cultivation]], and animal domestication. Each type of society is presented in a historical, political, spiritual, and ecological context. A small section of African diaspora spread by the slave trade is also included.<ref name="AMNH Hall of African Peoples">{{cite web | title=Hall of African Peoples | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=2018-08-02 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/african-peoples | access-date=2022-06-15 |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413125423/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/human-origins-and-cultural-halls/hall-of-african-peoples |url-status=live }}</ref> Tribes and civilizations featured include:
* River Valley: Ancient Egyptians, Nubians, Kuba, Lozi
* Grasslands: Pokot, Shilluk, Barawa
* Forest-Woodland: Yoruba, Kofyar, Mbuti
* Desert: Ait Atta, Tuareg

====Hall of Mexico and Central America====
[[File:Zapotec Burial Urns.JPG|thumb|left|Zapotec burial urns from Monte Albán]]
The Hall of Mexico and Central America is a one-story hall on the museum's second floor behind Birds of the World and before the Hall of South American Peoples.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It presents archaeological artifacts from a broad range of pre-Columbian civilizations that once existed across Middle America, including the Maya, Olmec, Zapotec, and Aztec. Because most of these civilizations did not leave behind recorded writing or have any contact with Western civilization, the overarching aim of the hall is to piece together what it is possible to know about them from the artifacts alone.

The museum has displayed pre-Columbian artifacts since its opening, only a short time after the discovery of the civilizations by archaeologists, with its first hall dedicated to the subject opening in 1899.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientmex00amer|title=Ancient Mexico and Central America|work=Internet Archive|year=1970}}</ref> As the museum's collection grew, the hall underwent major renovations in 1944 and again in 1970 when it re-opened in its current form.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/reomexic00amer|title=The reopening of the Mexican and Central American hall, February 25, 1944, The American museum of natural history|work=Internet Archive|year=1944}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1961-1990|title=History 1961–1990|work=AMNH|access-date=August 12, 2014|archive-date=December 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226163916/http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1961-1990|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable artifacts on display include the Kunz Axe and a full-scale replica of Tomb 104 from the Monte Albán archaeological site, originally displayed at the 1939 World's Fair.

====Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples====
[[File:Museum of Natural History 127.jpg|thumb|upright|A fiberglass cast of a ''moai'' in the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples]]

The Hall of Pacific Peoples is on the southwestern corner of the third floor, accessed through the Hall of Plains Indians.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> The cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead had founded the Hall of Pacific Peoples in 1971.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1984-11-26|title=Margaret Mead Hall For American Museum|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/26/arts/margaret-mead-hall-for-american-museum.html|access-date=2022-06-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> After Mead's death in 1978, the hall reopened in December 1984 as the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Unger|first=Michael|date=1984-12-18|title=Remembering Mead|pages=135|work=Newsday|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103259755/remembering-meadmichael-unger/|access-date=2022-06-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1984-12-14|title=Margaret Mead Hall At American Museum|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/14/arts/margaret-mead-hall-at-american-museum.html|access-date=2022-06-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples contains artifacts from Australia and Pacific island countries.<ref name="AMNH Mead Hall">{{cite web | title=Hall of Pacific Peoples | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=August 2, 2018 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/pacific-peoples | access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref><ref name=nyt-1984-12-21/> Upon the hall's reopening in 1984, it had 1,500 items; Mead had collected 250 of these items. The exhibits include a fiberglass cast of an Easter Island ''[[Unsolved:Moai|moai]]'' statue; capes made of [[Biology:Honeycreeper|honeycreeper]] feathers; and a theatrical set from a puppet play in Bali.<ref name=nyt-1984-12-21>{{Cite news|date=1984-12-21|title=At New Mead Hall, a Bygone World|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/21/arts/at-new-mead-hall-a-bygone-world.html|access-date=2022-06-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

====Native American halls====

=====Hall of Northwest Coast Indians=====
[[File:Kwakwaka’wakw House Post.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Kwakwaka'wakw House Posts]]
The Hall of Northwest Coast Indians is a one-story hall on the museum's ground floor behind the Grand Gallery and in between Warburg and Spitzer Halls.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> it is the museum's oldest hall, having been established in 1899 by anthropologist Franz Boas as the Jesup North Pacific Hall.<ref name="Weaver 2022">{{cite web | last=Weaver | first=Shaye | title=A first look at AMNH's stunning new Northwest Coast Hall | website=Time Out New York | date=May 6, 2022 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/a-first-look-at-amnhs-stunning-new-northwest-coast-hall-050622 | access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Hajela 2022">{{cite web | last=Hajela | first=Deepti | title=Native Americans are reshaping the narrative at one of America's most famous museums | website=Associated Press | date=May 16, 2022 | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/05/16/native-americans-museum-natural-history-northwest-coast/9790869002/ | access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref> The hall now contains artifacts and exhibits of the tribes of the North Pacific Coast cultural region (Southern Alaska, Northern Washington, and a portion of British Columbia). Featured prominently in the hall are four "House Posts" from the Kwakwaka'wakw nation and murals by William S. Taylor depicting native life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=T0050 |title=Encyclopedia Brunoniana – Taylor, Will S. |work=brown.edu |access-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224211052/https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=T0050 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, there are 9,000 items in total, including 78 totem poles,<ref name="Weaver 2022" /> as well as a Haida canoe suspended from the ceiling (relocated from the Grand Gallery in 2020).<ref name="Lederman 2020">{{cite web |last=Lederman |first=Marsha |date=2020-01-28 |title='Iconic' Indigenous canoe moving to Northwest Coast Hall at New York's Museum of Natural History |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-iconic-indigenous-canoe-moving-to-northwest-coast-hall-at-new-yorks/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref name="Vanasco 2020">{{cite web |last=Vanasco |first=Jennifer |date=2020-02-03 |title=The AMNH's Great Canoe Moves For The First Time in 60 Years |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/amnhs-great-canoe-moves-first-time-60-years |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Gothamist}}</ref> The artifacts are accompanied by text in numerous Native American languages.<ref name="Hajela 2022"/>

[[File:Nuxalk Masks.jpg|upright|thumb|Nuxalk Masks]]

Artifacts in the hall originated from three main sources. The earliest of these was a gift of Haida artifacts collected by John Wesley Powell and donated by Herbert Bishop in 1882. This was followed by the museum's purchase of two collections of Tlingit artifacts collected by Lt. George T. Emmons in 1888 and 1894.<ref name="Indians of the Northwest Coast">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/northwe10godd |title=Indians of the Northwest Coast |work=Internet Archive |year=1945}}</ref> The remainder of the hall's artifacts were collected during the famed Jesup North Pacific Expedition between 1897 and 1902.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/ma-30-17-0260-17-american-museum-of-natural-history.pdf|title=Sample Application MA‐30‐17‐0260‐17 Project Category: Collections Stewardship Funding Level: $25,001‐$500,000 American Museum of Natural History|publisher=Museums for America|access-date=2022-06-06|page=2}}</ref><ref name="anthro.amnh.org 2022"/> Led by Boas and financed by museum president Morris Ketchum Jesup, the expedition was the first for the museum's Division of Anthropology and is now considered the, "foremost expedition in American anthropology".<ref name="anthro.amnh.org 2022">{{Cite web |url=https://anthro.amnh.org/jesup_collection |title=Jesup North Pacific Expedition &#124; Anthropology |website=anthro.amnh.org |access-date=March 12, 2022 |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125125116/https://anthro.amnh.org/jesup_collection |url-status=live}}</ref> Many famous ethnologists took part, including George Hunt, who secured the Kwakwaka'wakw House Posts that currently stand in the hall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.amnh.org/finding_aids_Jesup/biographical_notes/index.html |title=AMNH Special Collections — Jesup North Pacific Exhibition |work=amnh.org |access-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714092149/http://library.amnh.org/finding_aids_Jesup/biographical_notes/index.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Other tribes featured in the hall include Coastal Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, Tsimshian, and Nuxalk.<ref name="AMNH Northwest Coast">{{cite web | title=Northwest Coast Hall | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=April 27, 2020 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/northwest-coast | access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref>

At the time of its opening, the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians was one of four halls dedicated to the native peoples of United States and Canada. It was originally organized in two sections, the first being a general area pertaining to all peoples of the region and the second a specialized area divided by tribe. This was a point of contention for Boas who wanted all artifacts in the hall to be associated with the proper tribe (much like it is currently organized), eventually leading to the dissolution of Boas' relationship with the museum.<ref name="Indians of the Northwest Coast"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=2006-11-14 |title=Canoe Goes Upriver, Without Its Paddlers |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/nyregion/14canoe.html |access-date=2022-06-06 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118230806/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/nyregion/14canoe.html?fta=y&_r=0 |archive-date=November 18, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2022, the hall reopened after a five-year, $19 million renovation, with more than 1,000 artifacts on view. The new display includes work from contemporary artists such as Greg Colfax KlaWayHee and Robert Davidson.<ref name="Cincinnati">{{Cite news |last=Lubow |first=Arthur |date=2022-05-05 |title=Museum of Natural History's Renewed Hall Holds Treasures and Pain |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/arts/design/museum-natural-history-indigenous-art.html |access-date=2022-06-06 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518195027/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/arts/design/museum-natural-history-indigenous-art.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Angeleti 2022">{{cite web | last=Angeleti | first=Gabriella | title=$19m renovation of American Museum of Natural History's Indigenous collection hall unveiled | website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events | date=May 18, 2022 | url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/05/18/american-museum-natural-history-northwest-coast-hall-renovated | access-date=June 6, 2022}}</ref>

=====Hall of Plains Indians=====

The Hall of Plains Indians is on the south side of the third floor, near the western end of the museum.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> This hall opened in February 1967.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Teltsch|first=Kathleen|date=1967-02-21|title=Plains Indians Ride Again in Museum Here; Natural History Hall Shows Them at War and Play|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/02/21/archives/plains-indians-ride-again-in-museum-here-natural-history-hall-shows.html|access-date=2022-06-15|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1967-02-22|title=Museum Opens Hall on Plains Indians|pages=9|work=The Record|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103801450/museum-opens-hall-on-plains-indians/|access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref> The primary focus of this hall is the North American Great Plains peoples as they were at the middle of the 19th century, including depictions of Blackfeet (''see also: [[Organization:Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfoot Confederacy]]''), Hidatsa, and Dakota cultures. Of particular interest is a [[Engineering:Folsom point|Folsom point]] discovered in 1926 New Mexico, providing evidence of early American colonization of the Americas.
<ref name="AMNH Hall of Plains Indians">{{cite web | title=Hall of Plains Indians: Native American Peoples | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=2018-08-02 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/plains-indians | access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref>

=====Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians=====

The Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians is next to the Hall of Plains Indians, on the south side of the third floor.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> This hall opened in May 1966.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1966-05-24|title=New Indian Hall Opens At American Museum|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/24/archives/new-indian-hall-opens-at-american-museum.html|access-date=2022-06-15|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It details the lives and technology of traditional Native American peoples in the woodland environments of eastern North America. These include Cree, Mohegan, Ojibwe, and Iroquois cultures. The exhibit features examples of indigenous basketry, pottery, farming techniques, food preparation, metal jewelry, musical instruments, and textiles. Other highlights include a model of a Menominee birchbark canoe and various traditional lodgings such as an Ojibwa domed wigwam, an Iroquois longhouse, a Creek council house, and other eastern woodland dwelling styles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/eastern-woodlands-indians|title=Hall of Eastern Woodlands Native Americans &#124; AMNH|access-date=November 27, 2021|archive-date=November 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127042813/https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/eastern-woodlands-indians|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Human origins halls===

==== Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins ====
The Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, formerly The Hall of Human Biology and Evolution, is on the south side of the first floor, near the western end of the museum.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It opened under its current name on February 10, 2007.<ref name="timeline2">{{cite web |title=Timeline: The History of the American Museum of Natural History |url=http://www.amnh.org/museum/history/index4.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310030550/http://www.amnh.org/museum/history/index4.html |archive-date=March 10, 2009 |access-date=March 3, 2009}}</ref><ref name=nyt-2007-02-09/> When it first opened in 1921, the hall was known as the "Hall of the Age of Man", the only major exhibition in the United States to present an in-depth investigation of human evolution.<ref name="Osborn 236–240">{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/107236a0|last=Osborn|first=Henry Fairfield|title=The Hall of the Age of Man in the American Museum|journal=Nature|volume=107|pages=236–240|date=April 21, 1921|issue=2686|bibcode = 1921Natur.107..236O |doi-access=free}}</ref> The displays traced the story of ''Homo sapiens'', illuminated the path of human evolution and examined the origins of human creativity.<ref name="AMNH Hall of Human Origins"/>

Many of the displays from the original hall can still be viewed in the present expanded format. These include life-size dioramas of our human predecessors ''[[Biology:Australopithecus afarensis|Australopithecus afarensis]]'', ''Homo ergaster'', [[Biology:Neanderthal|Neanderthal]], and Cro-Magnon, showing each species demonstrating the behaviors and capabilities that scientists believe they were capable of. Also displayed are full-sized casts of important fossils, including the 3.2-million-year-old [[Biology:Lucy (Australopithecus)|Lucy]] skeleton and the 1.7-million-year-old [[Earth:Turkana Boy|Turkana Boy]], and ''[[Biology:Homo erectus|Homo erectus]]'' specimens including a cast of [[Earth:Peking Man|Peking Man]].<ref name="AMNH Hall of Human Origins">{{cite web | title=Hall of Human Origins: Six Million Years of Evolution | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=2018-08-02 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/human-origins | access-date=2022-06-15}}</ref> The hall also features replicas of [[Earth:Ice age|ice age]] art found in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. The [[Earth:Limestone|limestone]] carvings of horses were made nearly 26,000 years ago and are considered to represent some of the earliest artistic expression of humans.<ref name=nyt-2007-02-09>{{cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|title=Meet the Relatives. They're Full of Surprises|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 9, 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/arts/design/09orig.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=June 15, 2022|archive-date=April 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402094653/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/arts/design/09orig.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Earth and planetary science halls==

===Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites===
[[File:Ahnighito AMNH, 34 tons meteorite.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Cape York Meteorite]]
[[File:Willamette Meteorite AMNH.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Unsolved:Willamette Meteorite|Willamette Meteorite]]]]
The Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites is on the southwest corner of the first floor.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It contains some of the finest specimens in the world including Ahnighito, a section of the 200-ton Cape York meteorite which was first made known to non-Inuit cultures on their investigation of Meteorite Island, [[Place:Greenland|Greenland]]. Its great weight, 34 tons, makes it the largest displayed in the Northern Hemisphere.<ref>{{cite web|title=The AMNH Meteorites Collection|url=http://research.amnh.org/eps/collections/meteorites|access-date=March 4, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090228151228/http://research.amnh.org/eps/collections/meteorites| archive-date= February 28, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> It has support by columns that extend through the floor and into the bedrock below the museum.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|title=New Hall for Meteorites Old Beyond Imagining|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 19, 2003|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/19/arts/design/19METE.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=March 4, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524175252/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/19/arts/design/19METE.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

The hall also contains extra-solar [[Chemistry:Detonation nanodiamond|nanodiamonds]] (diamonds with dimensions on the nanometer level) more than 5 billion years old. These were extracted from a meteorite sample through chemical means, and they are so small that a quadrillion of these fit into a volume smaller than a cubic centimeter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/earth-and-planetary-sciences-halls/arthur-ross-hall-of-meteorites|access-date=July 15, 2013|archive-date=June 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623063622/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/earth-and-planetary-sciences-halls/arthur-ross-hall-of-meteorites|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}

===Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals===
The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals (formerly the Harry Frank Guggenheim Hall of Gems and Minerals) is on the first floor, north of the Ross Hall of Meteorites.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> It houses thousands of rare gems, minerals specimens and pieces of jewelry. The halls closed in 2017 to undergo a $32 million redesign by Ralph Appelbaum Associates and reopened to the general public in June 2021.<ref name="Dukes">{{Cite news|title=Some Famous Gems Get a New Setting|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/23/fashion/jewelry-gems-american-museum-of-natural-history.html|last=Dukes|first=Tanya|date=May 23, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709234613/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/23/fashion/jewelry-gems-american-museum-of-natural-history.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=New Home for Gems and Minerals at the Museum of Natural History|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-gem-mineral-halls.html|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=October 17, 2017|access-date=July 7, 2021|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215621/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/arts/design/american-museum-of-natural-history-gem-mineral-halls.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The redesigned exhibits adopt newer philosophies in exhibit design, including a focus on storytelling, interactivity, and connecting ideas across disciplines. The halls explore a range of topics, including the diversification of [[Earth:Mineral|mineral species]] over the course of Earth's history, [[Earth:Plate tectonics|plate tectonics]], and the stories of specific [[Earth:Gemstone|gems]].<ref name="Zimmerman">{{Cite news|title=A New York Museum Staple Gets a New Glimmer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/arts/museum-of-natural-history-minerals-gems-halls.html|last=Zimmerman|first=Eileen|date=May 19, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|archive-date=July 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710001406/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/arts/museum-of-natural-history-minerals-gems-halls.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The halls display rare samples chosen from among the more than 100,000 pieces in the museum's collection including the Star of India, the Patricia Emerald, and the DeLong Star Ruby.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals|url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/gems-minerals|url-status=live|access-date=July 9, 2021|website=American Museum of Natural History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101023103/https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/gems-minerals |archive-date=November 1, 2020 }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Assorted SEP-2-09 SEP-6-09 082.JPG|Assorted faceted and polished minerals
File:Minerals.JPG|[[Chemistry:Labradorite|Labradorite]] specimen
File:Hallofminerals.JPG|[[Chemistry:Agate|Quartz var. agate]] [[Earth:Geode|geode]]
File:Hallofminerals2.JPG|[[Chemistry:Microcline|Microcline]] specimen
File:Hallofminerals3.JPG|[[Chemistry:Amethyst|Quartz var. amethyst]] geode
</gallery>

=== David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth ===
The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth is on the first floor at the northeast corner of the museum.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> Opened in 1999, it is a permanent hall devoted to the history of Earth, from [[Physics:Accretion (astrophysics)|accretion]] to the [[Biology:Abiogenesis|origin of life]] and contemporary human impacts on the planet. The hall was designed to answer five key questions: "How has earth evolved? Why are there ocean basins, continents and mountains? How do scientists read rocks? What causes climate and climate change? Why is earth habitable?"<ref name="n103695676">{{Cite news |last=Parks |first=Steve |date=1999-06-11 |title=Journey to the Center of the Earth |pages=115, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103695698/ 118] |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103695676/journey-to-the-center-of-the/ |access-date=2022-06-13}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1999-06-11">{{Cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=1999-06-11 |title=Shaping Restless Planet Earth |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/11/arts/shaping-restless-planet-earth.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The hall features rocks and other objects collected over 28 expeditions; the oldest rock is 4.3 billion years old, while the youngest was collected from a volcano on the day that it solidified. There is also a 30-seat granite amphitheater, with a globe, at the center of the hall.<ref name="nyt-1999-06-11" />

Several sections also discuss the studies of Earth systems, including [[Earth:Geology|geology]], [[Earth:Glaciology|glaciology]], [[Physics:Atmospheric sciences|atmospheric sciences]], and [[Earth:Volcanology|volcanology]]. The exhibit has several large, touchable rock specimens. The hall features striking samples of [[Earth:Banded iron formation|banded iron]] and [[Earth:Metaconglomerate|deformed conglomerate rocks]], as well as [[Chemistry:Granite|granite]]s, [[Earth:Sandstone|sandstone]]s, [[Earth:Lava|lava]]s, and three [[Earth:Hydrothermal vent|black smokers]]. The north section of the hall, which deals primarily with [[Earth:Plate tectonics|plate tectonics]], is arranged to mimic the [[Earth:Structure of the Earth|Earth's structure]], with the [[Earth:Inner core|core]] and [[Earth:Mantle (geology)|mantle]] at the center and [[Physics:Orogeny|crustal features]] on the perimeter.<ref name="AMNH Hall of Planet Earth">{{cite web |date=2018-08-02 |title=Hall of Planet Earth |url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/planet-earth |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref>

==Fossil halls==
[[File:Amnh19saurischia.jpg|thumb|Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs]]
[[File:Styracosaurus albertensis skull 02.jpg|thumb|upright|Skeleton of [[Biology:Styracosaurus|Styracosaurus]]]]

=== Storage facilities ===
Most of the museum's collections of mammalian and dinosaur [[Biology:Fossil|fossil]]s remain hidden from public view and are kept in many repositories deep within the museum complex.<ref name="AMNH 3A">{{cite web |date=2012-11-02 |title=Building 3A Project |url=https://www.amnh.org/research/paleontology/collections/fossil-mammals/building-3a-project |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=American Museum of Natural History}}</ref> The most significant storage facility among these is the ten-story Childs Frick Building, which started construction in 1969<ref>{{Cite news |last=Webster |first=Bayard |date=1969-11-09 |title=History Museum Begins Frick Wing; Building: Wili House a Major Collection of Fossils |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/11/09/archives/history-museum-begins-frick-wing-building-wili-house-a-major.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and was completed in 1973.<ref name="AMNH 3A" /><ref name="nyt-1975-04-092" /> When the Frick Building was completed, the museum's collection of fossilized mammals and dinosaurs was the world's largest such collection, weighing {{convert|600|ST|LT t}}. The Frick Building's top three floors contain laboratories and offices.<ref name="nyt-1975-04-09">{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Walter |date=1975-04-09 |title=Natural History Museum Builds A Wing for 600 Tons of Fossils |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/09/archives/natural-history-museum-builds-a-wing-for-600-tons-of-fossils.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Other areas of the museum contain repositories of life from the past. The [[Biology:Whale|Whale]] Bone Storage Room is a cavernous space in which powerful winches come down from the ceiling to move the giant fossil bones about. The museum attic upstairs includes even more storage facilities, such as the [[Biology:Elephant|Elephant]] Room, while the [[Biology:Tusk|tusk]] vault and boar vault are downstairs from the attic.{{sfn|Preston|1986|pp=119–120}}

=== Public displays ===
The great fossil collections that are open to public view occupy the entire fourth floor of the museum.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> The fourth floor exhibits are accessed by the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Orientation Center, which opened in 1996.<ref name=nyt-1996-06-07/> On the 77th Street side of the museum the visitor begins in the Orientation Center and follows a carefully marked path, which takes the visitor along an evolutionary tree of life. As the tree "branches" the visitor is presented with the familial relationships among vertebrates, called [[Biology:Cladogram|cladogram]]s. A video projection on the museum's fourth floor introduces visitors to the concept of the cladogram.<ref name="AMNH Orientation Center">{{cite web | title=Fossil Halls Orientation Center | website=American Museum of Natural History | date=August 2, 2018 | url=https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/orientation-center | access-date=June 17, 2022}}</ref><ref name=nyt-1996-06-07/>

Many of the fossils on display represent unique and historic pieces that were collected during the museum's golden era of worldwide expeditions (1880s–1930s).<ref name="timeline"/> On a smaller scale, expeditions continue into the present and have resulted in additions to the collections from Vietnam, {{wipe|Madagascar}}, South America, and central and eastern Africa.

==== Halls ====
The 4th floor includes the following halls:<ref>{{cite web|title=Fossil Halls|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls|website=AMNH|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=September 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905060809/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Hall of Vertebrate Origins
*Hall of [[Biology:Saurischia|Saurischia]]n Dinosaurs (recognized by their grasping hand, long mobile neck, and the downward/forward position of the pubis bone, they are forerunners of the modern bird)<ref>{{cite news|last=Considine|first=J. D.|title=Dinosaurs that flocked together|publisher=The Globe and Mail|date=April 12, 2005|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/dinosaurs-that-flocked-together/article4116680/|access-date=July 15, 2013|location=Toronto|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018213057/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/dinosaurs-that-flocked-together/article4116680/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Hall of [[Biology:Ornithischia|Ornithischia]]n Dinosaurs (defined for a pubic bone that points toward the back)
*Hall of Primitive Mammals
*Hall of Advanced Mammals

The dinosaur halls were temporarily closed for renovation starting in 1990.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Browne|first=Malcolm W.|date=1990-11-29|title=Dinosaur Displays Closing for Renovation|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/29/arts/dinosaur-displays-closing-for-renovation.html|access-date=2022-06-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The first halls to reopen were the primitive-mammal and advanced-mammal halls, part of the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing of Mammals and Their Extinct Relatives, which opened in 1994.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|date=1994-05-13|title=A Brand-New Hall for Some Very Old Mammals|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/13/arts/a-brand-new-hall-for-some-very-old-mammals.html|access-date=2022-06-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Coutro|first=Evonne|date=1995-06-03|title=New Digs for Old Bones|pages=39, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103950257/ 40]|work=The Record|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103950204/new-digs-for-old-bonesevonne-coutro/|access-date=2022-06-17}}</ref> The Halls of Saurischian Dinosaurs and Ornithischian Dinosaurs reopened in 1995 as part of a $12 million expansion.<ref name="p398450267">{{cite news |last=Lescaze |first=Lee |date=1 June 1995 |title=Big lizards, rehabbed, at Natural History Museum |page=A12 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398450267}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilford |first=John Noble |date=1995-06-02 |title=Mesozoic Encore; The Dinosaurs Reappear In Top Form |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/arts/mesozoic-encore-the-dinosaurs-reappear-in-top-form.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Hall of Vertebrate Origins opened in 1996.<ref name=nyt-1996-06-07>{{Cite news|last=Wilford|first=John Noble|date=1996-06-07|title=The Backbone Of Natural History|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/07/arts/the-backbone-of-natural-history.html|access-date=2022-06-17|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== Fossils on display ====
[[File:Amnh fg08.jpg|thumb|''Edmontosaurus annectens'' fossil skeletons]]
The many outstanding fossils on display include, among others:
* ''[[Biology:Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus]] rex'': Composed almost entirely of real fossil bones, it is mounted in a horizontal stalking pose balanced on powerful legs. The specimen is actually composed of fossil bones from two ''T. rex'' skeletons discovered in Montana in 1902 and 1908 by famous dinosaur hunter [[Biography:Barnum Brown|Barnum Brown]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Fossil Halls|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/trex.php|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312055038/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/trex.php|archive-date=March 12, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[Biology:Mammuthus|Mammuthus]]'': Larger than its relative the [[Biology:Woolly mammoth|woolly mammoth]], these fossils are from an animal that lived 11,000 years ago in {{wipe|Indiana}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fossil Halls|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/mammuthus.php|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225201815/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/mammuthus.php|archive-date=February 25, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Apatosaurus'' or ''Brontosaurus'': This giant specimen was discovered at the end of the 19th century. Although most of its fossil bones are original, the skull is not, since none was found on site. The skeleton is composed primarily of the specimen AMNH 460, as well as specimens AMNH 222, AMNH 339, AMNH 592, and casts of the ''Brontosaurus excelsus'' holotype YPM 1980.<ref>Osborn, H. F. (1898). Models of extinct vertebrates. Science, New Series, 7(192): 841-845.</ref><ref name=":0">Tschopp, E., Mateus, O., & Benson, R. B. (2015). A specimen-level phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of Diplodocidae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda). ''PeerJ'', ''3'', e857.</ref> It was only many years later that the first ''Apatosaurus'' skull was discovered, and so a plaster cast of that skull was made and placed on the museum's mount. A ''[[Biology:Camarasaurus|Camarasaurus]]'' skull had been used mistakenly until a correct skull was found.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fossil Halls|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/apatosaurus.php|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325011628/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/apatosaurus.php|archive-date=March 25, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is not entirely certain whether this specimen is a ''Brontosaurus'' or an ''Apatosaurus'', and therefore it is considered an "unidentified apatosaurine", as it could also potentially be its own genus and species.<ref name=":0" />
* ''Brontops'': Extinct mammal distantly related to the [[Biology:Horse|horse]] and rhinoceros. It lived 35 million years ago in what is now South Dakota. It is noted for its magnificent and unusual pair of horns.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fossil Halls|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/brontops.php|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204083040/http://amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent/fossilhalls/vertebrate/specimens/brontops.php|archive-date=February 4, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* A skeleton of ''[[Biology:Edmontosaurus annectens|Edmontosaurus annectens]]'', a large herbivorous [[Biology:Ornithopod|ornithopod]] dinosaur. The specimen is an example of a "mummified" dinosaur fossil in which the soft tissue and skin impressions were imbedded in the surrounding rock. The specimen is mounted as it was found, lying on its side with its legs drawn up and head drawn backwards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs|url=http://www.amnh.org/join-support/naming-opportunities/name-a-fossil/hall-of-ornithischian-dinosaurs|website=AMNH|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=June 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630033958/http://www.amnh.org/join-support/naming-opportunities/name-a-fossil/hall-of-ornithischian-dinosaurs|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* On September 26, 2007, an 80-million-year-old, {{convert|2|ft|cm|adj=on}} diameter fossil of an [[Biology:Ammonite|ammonite]], which is composed entirely of the gemstone ammolite, made its debut at the museum. Neil Landman, curator of fossil invertebrates, explained that ammonites (shelled [[Biology:Cephalopod|cephalopod]] mollusks in the subclass Ammonoidea) became extinct 66 million years ago, in the same [[Biology:Extinction event|extinction event]] that killed the dinosaurs. Korite International donated the fossil after its discovery in Alberta, Canada.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dahl|first=Julia|title=Ancient 'Snail' Is A Real Gem|newspaper=New York Post|date=September 27, 2007|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/09272007/news/regionalnews/ancient_snail_is_a_real_gem.htm|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-date=January 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130001750/http://www.nypost.com/seven/09272007/news/regionalnews/ancient_snail_is_a_real_gem.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* One skeleton of an ''[[Biology:Allosaurus|Allosaurus]]'' scavenging from a ''Brontosaurus'' corpse based on fossils found at [[Earth:Bone Cabin Quarry|Bone Cabin Quarry]] preserving large bite marks on Apatosaurine vertebrae.<ref>Osborn, H. F., & Granger, W. (1904). Manus, sacrum, and caudals of Sauropoda. Bulletin of the AMNH; v. 20, article 14.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Allosaurus|url=http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls/hall-of-saurischian-dinosaurs/allosaurus|website=AMNH|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=September 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911100247/http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/fossil-halls/hall-of-saurischian-dinosaurs/allosaurus|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Osborn, H. F. (1901). ''[https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6EAbAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA197&dq=bone+cabin+quarry&ots=A608b7x7g6&sig=Q4tZ4UlIBVmVZPkJgzWxxCBIOIY Fore and hind limbs of Sauropoda from the Bone Cabin Quarry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407000139/https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6EAbAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA197&dq=bone+cabin+quarry&ots=A608b7x7g6&sig=Q4tZ4UlIBVmVZPkJgzWxxCBIOIY |date=April 7, 2022 }}'' (Vol. 3).</ref>
* The only known skull of ''Andrewsarchus mongoliensis''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Andrewsarchus, "Superb Skull of a Gigantic Beast"|url=http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/andrewsarchus-superb-skull-of-a-gigantic-beast|website=AMNH|access-date=September 6, 2016|archive-date=August 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824163511/http://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/on-exhibit-posts/andrewsarchus-superb-skull-of-a-gigantic-beast|url-status=live}}</ref>
*A display of various species of ground sloths including ''[[Biology:Megalocnus|Megalocnus]] rodens'', ''[[Biology:Scelidotherium|Scelidotherium]] cuvieri'', ''[[Biology:Megalonyx|Megalonyx]] wheatleyi'' and ''[[Biology:Glossotherium|Glossotherium]] robustus''

 [[File: Ground sloths.jpg|thumb|A display of various species of ground sloths (from left) ''Megalocnus rodens'', ''Scelidotherium cuvieri'', ''Megalonyx wheatleyi'', ''Glossotherium robustus'']]

A ''[[Biology:Triceratops|Triceratops]]'' and a ''Stegosaurus'' are also both on display, among many other specimens.

Besides the fossils in museum display, many specimens are stored in the collections available for scientists. Those include important specimens such as complete [[Biology:Diplodocid|diplodocid]] skull,<ref>Tschopp, E., Mateus O., & Norell M. (2018).  Complex Overlapping Joints between Facial Bones Allowing Limited Anterior Sliding Movements of the Snout in Diplodocid Sauropods. American Museum NovitatesAmerican Museum Novitates. 1 – 16.</ref> tyrannosaurid teeth, sauropod vertebrae, and many [[Biology:Holotype|holotype]]s.

==Rose Center for Earth and Space==
[[File:Amnh fg09.jpg|thumb|Rose Center for Earth and Space]]
The Hayden Planetarium, connected to the museum, is now part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space on the north side of the museum.<ref name="AMNH Map" /> The original Hayden Planetarium was founded in 1933 with a donation by philanthropist Charles Hayden, and it opened in 1935.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|title=A Remnant of the 1930s, and Its Sky, Will Fall|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 16, 1996|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/18/realestate/a-remnant-of-the-1930-s-and-its-sky-will-fall.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=March 18, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524164920/http://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/18/realestate/a-remnant-of-the-1930-s-and-its-sky-will-fall.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref> The AMNH announced the modern Rose Center for Earth and Space in early 1995,<ref name="nyt-1995-01-272" /> and demolition began the same year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=James |date=1995-11-22 |title=Its Stars Eclipsed, Hayden Is Cleared for Demolition |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/22/nyregion/its-stars-eclipsed-hayden-is-cleared-for-demolition.html |access-date=2022-06-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The Frederick Phineas and Sandra Priest Rose Center for Earth and Space was completed in 2000 at a cost of $210 million.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="nyt-2000-02-06" /> Designed by James Stewart Polshek, the new building consists of a six-story high glass cube enclosing an {{convert|87|ft|m|adj=on}} illuminated sphere that appears to float, although it is actually supported by truss work. Polshek has referred to his work as a "cosmic cathedral".<ref name=":4">{{cite news|last=Glancey|first=Jonathan|title=A cosmic cathedral on 81st Street|newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}}|date=May 8, 2000|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/may/08/artsfeatures1|access-date=March 18, 2009|location=London|archive-date=May 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528114726/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2000/may/08/artsfeatures1|url-status=live}}</ref> The sphere is known as the Space Theater.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Goldberger |date=January 17, 2000 |title=Stairway to the Stars |newspaper=The New Yorker |url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2000/01/17/2000_01_17_072_TNY_LIBRY_000020017 |url-status=live |access-date=March 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080717120017/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2000/01/17/2000_01_17_072_TNY_LIBRY_000020017 |archive-date=July 17, 2008}}</ref>

The facility encloses {{convert|333500|sqft|m2}} of research, education, and exhibition space as well as the Hayden planetarium. Also in the facility is the Department of [[Physics:Astrophysics|Astrophysics]], the newest academic research department in the museum. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is the director of the Hayden Planetarium. In addition, Polshek designed the {{convert|1800|sqft|m2|adj=on}} Weston Pavilion, a {{convert|43|ft|m|adj=on}} high transparent structure of "water white" glass along the museum's west facade. This structure, a small companion piece to the Rose Center, offers a new entry way to the museum as well as opening further exhibition space for astronomically related objects.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tyson, Neil deGrasse|title=Hayden Planetarium and Digital Universe|url=http://www.amnh.org/science/facilities/hayden.php|publisher=American Museum of Natural History|access-date=July 25, 2009|archive-date=March 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315062241/http://www.amnh.org/science/facilities/hayden.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway is one of the most popular exhibits in the Rose Center.<ref name="timeline2" />

==Exhibitions Lab==
Founded in 1869, the AMNH Exhibitions Lab has since produced thousands of installations. The department is notable for its integration of new scientific research into immersive art and multimedia presentations. In addition to the famous dioramas at its home museum and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, the lab has also produced international exhibitions and software such as the [[Software:Digital Universe Atlas|Digital Universe Atlas]].<ref>{{cite web|title=AMNH Education Exhibition|url=http://rggs.amnh.org/pages/school_overview/amnh_education_exhibition|access-date=June 4, 2013|archive-date=August 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826141914/http://rggs.amnh.org/pages/school_overview/amnh_education_exhibition|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The exhibitions team currently consists of over sixty artists, writers, preparators, designers and programmers. The department is responsible for the creation of two to three exhibits per year. These extensive shows typically travel nationally to sister natural history museums. They have produced, among others, the first exhibits to discuss Darwinian evolution,<ref name="Osborn 236–240"/> [[Earth:Climate change|human-induced climate change]]<ref>{{cite news|title=In the Hall of Biodiversity|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/01/opinion/in-the-hall-of-biodiversity.html|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|access-date=June 4, 2013|date=June 1, 1998|archive-date=November 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125150304/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/01/opinion/in-the-hall-of-biodiversity.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  and the mesozoic mass extinction via [[Astronomy:Asteroid|asteroid]].

==Research Library==
The Research Library is open to staff and public visitors, and is on the fourth floor of the museum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library |title=Research Library |publisher=Amnh.org |date=May 1, 2014 |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=May 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509121055/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Library collects materials covering such subjects as [[Biology:Mammalogy|mammalogy]], [[Earth:Earth science|earth]] and [[Astronomy:Planetary science|planetary science]], [[Astronomy:Astronomy|astronomy]] and [[Physics:Astrophysics|astrophysics]], [[Social:Anthropology|anthropology]], entomology, [[Biology:Herpetology|herpetology]], [[Biology:Ichthyology|ichthyology]], paleontology, [[Biology:Ethology|ethology]], ornithology, [[Earth:Mineralogy|mineralogy]], [[Biology:Invertebrate|invertebrate]]s, [[Biology:Systematics|systematics]], [[Earth:Ecology|ecology]], [[Physics:Oceanography|oceanography]], conchology, exploration and travel, history of science, [[Social:Museology|museology]], bibliography, [[Biology:Genomics|genomics]], and peripheral biological sciences. The collection is rich in retrospective materials&nbsp;— some going back to the 15th century&nbsp;— that are difficult to find elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web|title=AMNH Library – About the Library|url=http://library.amnh.org/about.html|access-date=March 3, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090224202001/http://library.amnh.org/about.html| archive-date= February 24, 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

===History===
In its early years, the Library expanded its collection mostly through such gifts as the John C. Jay [[Biology:Conchology|conchological]] library, the Carson Brevoort library on fishes and general zoology, the ornithological library of Daniel Giraud Elliot, the Harry Edwards [[Biology:Entomology|entomological]] library, the Hugh Jewett collection of voyages and travel and the Jules Marcou [[Earth:Geology|geology]] collection. In 1903 the American Ethnological Society deposited its library in the museum and in 1905 the New York Academy of Sciences followed suit by transferring its collection of 10,000 volumes.

Today, the Library's collections contain over 550,000 volumes of monographs, serials, pamphlets, reprints, [[Social:Microform|microform]]s, and original illustrations, as well as film, photographic, archives and manuscripts, fine art, memorabilia and rare book collections.

The new Library was designed by the firm Roche-Dinkeloo in 1992. The space is {{convert|55000|sqft|abbr=on}} and includes five different 'conservation zones', ranging from the 50-person reading room and public offices, to temperature and humidity controlled rooms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/07/nyregion/handling-fragile-story-man-with-care-museum-natural-history-library-moves-its.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|first=Glenn|last=Collins|title=Handling the (Fragile) Story of Man With Care; Museum of Natural History Library Moves Its Million-Item Collection to a New Home|date=November 7, 1992|access-date=February 5, 2017|archive-date=November 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117175518/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/07/nyregion/handling-fragile-story-man-with-care-museum-natural-history-library-moves-its.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Special collections===
* Institutional Archives, Manuscripts, and Personal Papers: Includes archival documents, field notebooks, clippings and other documents relating to the museum, its scientists and staff, scientific expeditions and research, museum exhibitions, education, and general administration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/institutional-archives-manuscripts-and-personal-papers |title=Institutional Archives, Manuscripts, and Personal Papers |publisher=Amnh.org |access-date=May 12, 2014 |archive-date=May 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513031751/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/institutional-archives-manuscripts-and-personal-papers |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Art and Memorabilia Collection.<ref>[http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/art-and-memorabilia Art and Memorabilia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708022712/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/art-and-memorabilia |date=July 8, 2017 }}- AMNH.org</ref>
* Moving Image Collection.<ref>[http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/moving-image-collection Moving Image Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007052135/https://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/moving-image-collection/ |date=October 7, 2017 }}- AMNH.org</ref>
* Vertical Files: Relating to exhibitions, expeditions, and museum operations.<ref>[http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/vertical-files Vertical Files] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170726193205/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/research-library/special-collections/collections/vertical-files |date=July 26, 2017 }}- AMNH.org</ref>

==Activities offered==

===Research activities===
[[File:Matrix barcode AMNH PBI 00388325.png|thumb|A matrix barcode that uniquely identifies a specimen in the museum's entomology collection.]]
The museum has a scientific staff of more than 225, and sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year. Many of the fossils on display represent unique and historic pieces that were collected during the museum's golden era of worldwide expeditions (1880s–1930s). Examples of some of these expeditions, financed in whole or part by the AMNH are: Jesup North Pacific Expedition, the Whitney South Seas Expedition, the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition, the [[Earth:Crocker Land Expedition|Crocker Land Expedition]], and the expeditions to Madagascar and New Guinea by Richard Archbold. On a smaller scale, expeditions continue into the present. The museum also publishes several peer-reviewed journals, including the ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History''.<ref>[http://library.amnh.org/scientific-publications AMNH Scientific Publications] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510170926/http://library.amnh.org/scientific-publications |date=May 10, 2013 }}, American Museum of Natural History, Retrieved January 11, 2009.</ref>

===Educational outreach===
AMNH's education programs include outreach to schools in New York City by the Moveable Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://woodsideherald.com/uploads/Woodside_6_25_10.pdf|title= Jimmy Van Bramer brings Moveable Museum to Queensbridge for Family Day|publisher= Woodside Herald|date= June 25, 2010|access-date= December 3, 2010|archive-date= June 27, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120627211536/http://woodsideherald.com/uploads/Woodside_6_25_10.pdf|url-status= dead}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.edwize.org/the-moveable-museum|title=The Moveable Museum|publisher=Edwize.org|date=November 3, 2010|access-date=December 3, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726021208/http://www.edwize.org/the-moveable-museum|archive-date=July 26, 2011}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/about/AMNH_AR_2009.pdf|title=American Museum of Natural History 2009 Annual Report|publisher=The American Museum of Natural History|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130093757/http://www.amnh.org/about/AMNH_AR_2009.pdf|archive-date=November 30, 2010|url-status=dead}}
<br />{{cite web|url=http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/21/K225/newsandinfo/News/amnhvisit.htm|title=American Museum of Natural History Moveable Museum Program "Discovering the Universe" visits P.S. 225|publisher=NYC Department of Education|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-date=April 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421050558/http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/21/K225/newsandinfo/News/amnhvisit.htm|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0NZzEQ3xno|title=Moveable Museums Make Trip to D.C. (video)|publisher=AMNH Youtube Channel|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130014831/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0NZzEQ3xno|archive-date=November 30, 2010|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.nationallabday.org/resources/all?filter%5Bprovided_by%5D=American+Museum+of+Natural+History|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419024731/http://www.nationallabday.org/resources/all?filter%5Bprovided_by%5D=American+Museum+of+Natural+History|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 19, 2013|title=Moveable Museum|publisher=National Lab Day|access-date=December 3, 2010}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.stuytown.com/#/events|title=Moveable Museum|publisher=Stuyvesant Town Events|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128054955/http://stuytown.com/|archive-date=November 28, 2010|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2008/10/at_staten_island_school_a_movi.html|title=At Staten Island School, a Moving Way to Learn|publisher=SILive.com|date=October 3, 2010|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-date=October 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018213057/http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2008/10/at_staten_island_school_a_movi.html|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web 
 |url=http://www.ed.gov/oese-news/dinosaurs-moveable-museums-and-science 
 |title=Dinosaurs, Moveable Museums, and Science! 
 |publisher=United States Department of Education 
 |date=November 8, 2010 |access-date=December 3, 2010 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115074714/http://www.ed.gov/oese-news/dinosaurs-moveable-museums-and-science 
 |archive-date=November 15, 2010 }}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.edalliance.org/index.php?src=news&submenu=ArtGalleriesUpcoming&srctype=detail&category=Early%20Childhood&refno=72|title=American Museum Of Natural History Brings Dinosaurs "Exhibit-On-Wheels" To Local Preschoolers|publisher=Educational Alliance|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512010949/http://www.edalliance.org/index.php?src=news&submenu=ArtGalleriesUpcoming&srctype=detail&category=Early%20Childhood&refno=72|archive-date=May 12, 2011|url-status=dead}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://www.nyupatientlibrary.org/hassenfeld/news/6-30-08/amnh-moveable-museum-family-fun-day|title=AMNH Moveable at Family Fun Day|publisher=Family Health Resource Center & Patient Library|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-date=March 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315174741/http://www.nyupatientlibrary.org/hassenfeld/news/6-30-08/amnh-moveable-museum-family-fun-day|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web|url=http://coloriumlaboratorium.com/m-o-n-h-moveable-museum|title=M.O.N.H. Moveable Museum|publisher=ColoriumLaboratorium|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511092219/http://coloriumlaboratorium.com/m-o-n-h-moveable-museum|archive-date=May 11, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Additionally, the Museum itself offers a wide variety of educational programs, camps, and classes for students from pre-K to post-graduate levels.  Notably, the Museum sponsors the Lang Science Program, a comprehensive 5th–12th grade research and science education program, and the Science Research Mentorship Program (SRMP), among the most prestigious paid internships in NYC, in which pairs of students conduct a full year of intensive original research with an AMNH scientist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/grades-9-12|title=Programs for Teens: Science Learning at the Museum &#124; AMNH|access-date=February 28, 2018|archive-date=November 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101092823/https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/grades-9-12|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Richard Gilder Graduate School ===
The AMNH offers a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Earth Science<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 28, 2021|title=Master of Arts in Teaching Earth Science Residency|url=https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/mat|website=American Museum of Natural History|access-date=October 28, 2021|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223442/https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/mat|url-status=live}}</ref> and a PhD in Comparative Biology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/master-of-arts-in-teaching|title=AMNH Master of Arts in Teaching|publisher=AMNH|access-date=October 1, 2013|archive-date=September 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922201118/http://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/master-of-arts-in-teaching|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnh.org/our-research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/school-overview|title=Richard Gilder Graduate School, School Overview|publisher=AMNH|access-date=October 1, 2013|archive-date=October 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220751/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/school-overview|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 23, 2006, the museum launched the Richard Gilder Graduate School, which offers a PhD in Comparative Biology, becoming the first American museum in the United States to award doctoral degrees in its own name. Accredited in 2009, in 2011 the graduate school had 11 students enrolled, who work closely with curators and they have access to the collections.<ref>{{cite news|first=Tamar|last=Lewin|title=The Critter People|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 22, 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24naturalhistory-t.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=February 5, 2017|archive-date=February 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213021722/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/education/edlife/edl-24naturalhistory-t.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2009/FEB/html/mus-first.html | title = First US Museum to Award Ph.D. Degree: Dean John Flynn Assumes Helm at Richard Gilder Graduate School at AMNH | publisher = Education Update Online | date = February 2009 | access-date = May 24, 2014 | archive-date = March 5, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210305231337/http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2009/FEB/html/mus-first.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Switek">{{cite web|first=Brian|last=Switek|title=Richard Gilder Graduate School|work=Phenomena: A science salon hosted by National Geographic Magazine|date=November 5, 2007|url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/05/richard-gilder-graduate-school/|access-date=May 24, 2014|archive-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816104727/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/05/richard-gilder-graduate-school/|url-status=live}}</ref> The first seven graduates to complete the program were awarded their degrees on September 30, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=2013 Richard Gilder Graduate School Graduates|url=http://www.amnh.org/our-research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/news|work=Richard Gilder Graduate School|publisher=American Museum of Natural History|access-date=May 24, 2014|archive-date=May 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524071002/http://www.amnh.org/our-research/richard-gilder-graduate-school/news|url-status=live}}</ref> The dean of the graduate school is AMNH paleontologist John J. Flynn, and the namesake and major benefactor is Richard Gilder.

The MAT Earth Science Residency program was launched in 2012 to address a critical shortage of qualified science teachers in New York State, particularly in high-needs schools with diverse populations. In 2015, the MAT program officially joined the Richard Gilder Graduate School, with the NYS Board of Regents authorizing the Gilder School to grant the MAT degree. The program has about 16 graduates complete the program each year.

== Southwestern Research Station ==
The AMNH operates a biological field station in Portal, Arizona, among the Chiricahua Mountains. The Southwestern Research Station was established in 1955, purchased with a grant from philanthropist David Rockefeller, and with entomologist Mont Cazier as its first director.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_J2CQAAQBAJ&q=%22Southwestern+Research+Station%22+&pg=PT60|title=Chiricahua Mountains: History and Nature|last=Ascarza|first=William|date=2014|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781625847355|language=en|access-date=October 3, 2020|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223438/https://books.google.com/books?id=p_J2CQAAQBAJ&q=%22Southwestern+Research+Station%22+&pg=PT60|url-status=live}}</ref> The station, in a "[[Biology:Biodiversity hotspot|biodiversity hotspot]]," is used by researchers and students, and offers occasional seminars to the public.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2011/12/25/the-southwestern-research-station-delights-scientists-and-guest-naturalists-alike/esQcMaCZOS2zHIDUlnlR8I/story.html|title=In Arizona, a biodiversity hot spot goes beyond science|last=Tyler|first=Aubin|date=December 25, 2011|website=The Boston Globe|access-date=March 11, 2019|archive-date=March 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303155253/https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2011/12/25/the-southwestern-research-station-delights-scientists-and-guest-naturalists-alike/esQcMaCZOS2zHIDUlnlR8I/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notable people==
===Presidents===
The museum's first three presidents were all cofounders.<ref name="Osborn p. 10"/><ref name="Davey p. 24"/> John David Wolfe served from 1869 until his death in 1872;<ref name="Osborn p. 21">{{harvnb|ps=.|Osborn|1911|p=21}}</ref> he was followed by Robert L. Stuart, who resigned in 1881.<ref name="Osborn p. 26">{{harvnb|ps=.|Osborn|1911|p=26}}</ref><ref name="Davey p. 44">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=44|ps=.}}</ref> The third president, Morris K. Jesup, was president for over 25 years, serving until his death in 1908.<ref name="Davey p. 78">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=78|ps=.}}</ref> Upon his death, Jesup bequeathed $1 million to the museum.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1908-01-29|title=No Plan for Jesup Bequest; $1,000,000 for American Museum Will Be Used Mostly to Buy Specimens.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/01/29/archives/no-plan-for-jesup-bequest-1000000-for-american-museum-will-be-used.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The fourth president, Henry Fairfield Osborn, was appointed on the death of Jesup; he consolidated the museum's expansion and developed it further.<ref name="Davey p. 78"/> After Osborn resigned in 1933, F. Trubee Davison became the AMNH's fifth president.<ref name="Davey p. 87">{{harvnb|Davey|2019|p=87|ps=.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=1933-01-10|title=Davison Is Named to Head Museum; Assistant Secretary of War Succeeds Osborn, Retiring After 25-Year Service|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/01/10/archives/davison-is-named-to-head-museum-rssistant-secretary-of-war-succeeds.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Davison stepped down in 1951, and Alexander M. White was elected as the museum's president.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1951-06-07|title=Museum Change Made; A. M. White Now Is President of Natural History Institute|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/06/07/archives/museum-change-made-a-m-white-now-is-president-of-natural-history.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Gardner D. Stout then served as president from 1968 to 1975, when Robert Guestier Goelet was elected in his place.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1975-05-20|title=American Museum Names Businessman To Head the Board|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/20/archives/american-museum-names-businessman-to-head-the-board.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Goelet served until 1987, when he was placed on the board of trustees. He was succeeded by George D. Langdon Jr., the first president in the museum's history to receive a salary; all previous presidents had served without pay.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Susan Heller|date=1987-09-25|title=Natural History Museum Panel Selects First Salaried President|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/25/nyregion/natural-history-museum-panel-selects-first-salaried-president.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Ellen V. Futter has been president of the museum since 1993.<ref name=nyt-1993-12-02>{{Cite news|last=Collins|first=Glenn|date=1993-12-02|title=Museum of Natural History Welcomes Its New President|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/02/nyregion/museum-of-natural-history-welcomes-its-new-president.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Timeline: The History of the American Museum of Natural History|url=http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1991-present|access-date=November 7, 2009|archive-date=July 30, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730125039/http://www.amnh.org/about-us/history/history-1991-present|url-status=live}}</ref> Futter is the first woman to serve as the AMNH's president.<ref name=nyt-1993-12-02/> The board began searching for a new president in June 2022, after Futter announced that she planned to step down when the Gilder Center opened in March 2023.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|date=2022-06-08|title=President of Museum of Natural History to Step Down After Nearly 30 Years|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/08/arts/design/museum-natural-history-ellen-futter.html|access-date=2022-06-08|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Other associated names===
Famous names associated with the museum include the dinosaur-hunter of the [[Earth:Gobi Desert|Gobi Desert]], Roy Chapman Andrews (one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones);{{sfn|Preston|1986|pp=97–98}} photographer Yvette Borup Andrews; [[Biography:George Gaylord Simpson|George Gaylord Simpson]]; biologist [[Biography:Ernst Mayr|Ernst Mayr]]; pioneer cultural anthropologists Franz Boas and Margaret Mead; explorer and geographer Alexander H. Rice, Jr.; and ornithologist Robert Cushman Murphy.

==Surroundings==
The museum is at 79th Street and Central Park West. There is a direct entrance into the museum from the New York City Subway's 81st Street–Museum of Natural History station, served by the Eighth center local day.

On a pedestal outside the museum's Columbus Avenue entrance is a stainless steel [[Astronomy:Time capsule|time capsule]], which was created after a design competition that was won by Santiago Calatrava. The capsule was sealed at the beginning of 2000, to mark the beginning of the 3rd millennium. It takes the form of a folded saddle-shaped volume, symmetrical on multiple axes, that explores formal properties of folded spherical frames. Calatrava described it as "a flower". The plan is that the capsule will be opened in the year 3000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Design Is Selected for Times Capsule|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 2, 1999|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/02/arts/design-is-selected-for-times-capsule.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=March 19, 2009|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524154834/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/02/arts/design-is-selected-for-times-capsule.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

The museum is in a {{convert|17|acre|m2|adj=on}} city park known as '''Theodore Roosevelt Park''' that extends from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue, and from West 77th to 81st Streets and that contains park benches, gardens and lawns, and also a dog run.<ref>{{cite web | title=Theodore Roosevelt Park Highlights : NYC Parks | website=New York City Department of Parks & Recreation | date=June 26, 1939 | url=http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M053/history | access-date=November 14, 2019 | archive-date=June 20, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620110549/http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/M053/history | url-status=live }}</ref>

==In popular culture==

The museum is featured in many works of art and popular culture.

===Literature===
* In J. D. Salinger's 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye'', the protagonist Holden Caulfield at one point finds himself heading towards the museum, reflecting on past visits and remarking that what he likes is the permanence of the exhibits there.<ref>{{cite book|last=Salinger|first=J. D.|title=The Catcher in the Rye|publisher=Back Bay Books|location=New York City|pages=157–8|year=1951|isbn=0-316-76917-7|title-link=The Catcher in the Rye}}</ref>
* The museum was the setting for the 1970 novel ''The Great Dinosaur Robbery'' by David Forrest, but was not featured in the film adaptation ''One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing'', which was set in the [[Biology:Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London, England.
* The novel ''Murder at the Museum of Natural History'', by Michael Jahn (1994), features the museum.
* As the "New York Museum of Natural History", the museum is a favorite setting in many Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child novels, including ''Relic'' (1995), ''Reliquary'' (1997), ''The Cabinet of Curiosities'' (2002), and ''The Book of the Dead'' (2007). FBI Special Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast plays a major role in all of these thrillers. Preston was manager of publications at the museum before embarking upon his fiction writing career.
* The museum has appeared repeatedly in the fiction of dark fantasy author Caitlín R. Kiernan, including appearances in her fifth novel ''Daughter of Hounds'', her work on the DC/Vertigo comic book ''The Dreaming'' (#47, "Trinket"), and many of her short stories, including "Valentia" and "Onion" (both collected in ''To Charles Fort, With Love'', 2005).

===Film===
* A large portion of the 2017 film ''Wonderstruck'' takes place in the museum, showing the museum in 1927 as well as 1977.
* The museum in the film ''Night at the Museum'' (2006) is based on a 1993 book that was set at the AMNH (''The Night at the Museum''). The interior scenes were shot at a sound stage in Vancouver, British Columbia, but exterior shots of the museum's [[Engineering:Facade|facade]] were done at the actual AMNH. AMNH officials have credited the movie with increasing the number of visitors during the holiday season in 2006 by almost 20&nbsp;percent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dominguez|first=Robert|author2=Cullen, Christopher|title='Night' Makes History Hot|newspaper=Daily News|location=New York|date=January 4, 2007|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/night-history-hot-article-1.261604|access-date=September 29, 2012|archive-date=May 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524101842/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/night-history-hot-article-1.261604|url-status=live}}</ref> Its sequels, ''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'' (2009) and ''Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb'' (2014), were also partially set in this museum.
* The 2005 movie ''The Squid and the Whale'' takes its name from the diorama of the giant squid and the sperm whale in the museum's Hall of Ocean Life. The diorama is shown in the film's final scene.
* An ending for the 1993 film ''We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' shows all four dinosaurs finally reaching the AMNH.
* Scenes from the horror film ''Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977) and the biographic film ''Malcolm X'' (1992) were filmed in the Akeley Hall of African Mammals.
* In the 1955 Czechoslovak film, ''Journey to the Beginning of Time'', (Czech: Cesta do pravěku, literally "Journey into prehistory") the four boys end their journey on a bench inside the AMNH's 77th St. entrance, beneath the exhibit of the long-boat, in which they'd had their adventure.  While the story could be dismissed as a dream, one boy's journal has somehow suffered all the wear-&-tear of their journey through prehistoric eras.  A dubbed and partly re-filmed US version of the film was released in 1966 under the title 'Journey to the Beginning of Time'.
* An early scene of Howard Hawks' 1938 film ''Bringing Up Baby'' is set in the museum.
* The 1914 popular silent cartoon ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' was set in the Museum.

===Television===
Many episodes of television sitcoms and dramas have been set in the museum.

*In 2009, the museum hosted the live finale of the second season of ''The Celebrity Apprentice''.
*In the episode ''Top Chef: All-Stars'', "Night at the Museum", both the Quickfire Challenge and Elimination Challenge required the chef contestants to cook at the American Museum of Natural History.
*In the NBC sitcom Friends, Ross works in the museum from 1994 until he is fired in 1999. In The One Where Ross and Rachel...You Know, Ross and Rachel have sex in one of the exhibits, stunning a group of schoolchildren when they wake up the following morning.

===Video games===
* The AMNH is featured in video games including ''[[Software:Grand Theft Auto IV|Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' and its [[Software:Expansion pack|expansions]] ''The Lost and Damned'' and ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'', where it is known as the Liberty State Natural History Museum; and ''[[Software:Ghostbusters: The Video Game|Ghostbusters]]''.

==Gallery==
<div align=center>
<gallery widths="150px" heights="150px" mode="packed">
File:Bengal~Tiger(Panthera tigris tigris) 2~11-29-08.JPG|Bengal tiger at the American Museum of Natural History
File:Amnh fg02.jpg|Diorama in Akeley Hall of African Mammals
File:Amnh fg04.jpg|Diorama in Akeley Hall of African Mammals
File:Amnh fg05.jpg|Diorama in Akeley Hall of African Mammals
File:Day117anaturalhistoryi.JPG|Butterfly Conservatory
File:Amnh fg07.jpg|Display in Milstein Hall of Ocean Life
File:Vajrapani.jpg|[[Place:Tibet|Tibet]]an Vajrapani statue
File:Kala Chakra.jpg|[[Place:Tibet|Tibet]]an [[Unsolved:Kalachakra|Kalachakra]] statue
File:American Museum of Natural History, New York City.png|The museum's south range, and some of the west façade, in the 1920s
File:American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, New York City, United States of America (9860903214).jpg|[[Biology:American bison|American bison]] and pronghorn diorama (right)
File:AMNH at night.jpg|Night view of the museum, looking northwest from across Central Park West
</gallery>
</div>
{{clear}}

==See also==

* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City
* List of most-visited museums in the United States
* List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
* Education in New York City
* Margaret Mead Film Festival
* Constantin Astori

==References==

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0889.pdf |title=American Museum of Natural History, Memorial Hall, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Building |date=July 22, 1975 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1975}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519031012/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0889.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2021 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Davey |first=Colin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNszEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 |title=The American Museum of Natural History and How It Got That Way: With a New Preface by the Author and a New Foreword by Neil deGrasse Tyson |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-8232-8707-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Macaulay-Lewis |first=Elizabeth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwyjzQEACAAJ |title=Antiquity in Gotham: The Ancient Architecture of New York City |date=2021 |publisher=Fordham University Press |isbn=978-0-8232-9384-1 |pages=96–98 |oclc=1176326519 |access-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520130053/https://books.google.com/books?id=GwyjzQEACAAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite report |url=https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/6872/100116158.pdf |title=The New York State Theodore Roosevelt Memorial |date=January 19, 1936 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |ref={{harvid|American Museum of Natural History|1936}}  |archive-date=June 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603223344/https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/bitstream/handle/2246/6872/100116158.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | author=Osborn |first=Henry Fairfield | title=The American Museum of Natural History: Its Origin, Its History, the Growth of Its Departments to December 31, 1909 | publisher=Irving Press | series="Curators' ed., 600 copies." | year=1911 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T989AAAAMAAJ }}
* {{cite book|title=Dinosaurs in the Attic: An Excursion into the American Museum of Natural History|last=Preston|first=Douglas|year=1986|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York City|isbn=0-312-10456-1}}

== External links ==
<!-- Per WP:ELMINOFFICIAL, choose one official website only -->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206130253/http://manhattan.about.com/od/artsandculture/a/nyhistorymuseum.htm American Museum of Natural History] at About.com
* [https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/partner/american-museum-of-natural-history American Museum of Natural History at Google Cultural Institute]
* [http://www.thecityreview.com/uws/cpw/amerhist.html Early history of the AMNH]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:American Museum Of Natural History}}
[[Category:Dinosaur museums]]
[[Category:Shell museums]]

{{Sourceattribution|American Museum of Natural History}}