The Museum of Natural History is best known for having the largest collection of dinosaurs, fossils and skeletons in the world. The Dinosaur Hall is everyone's favorite, and visitors can learn more about dinosaurs through interactive computers that are part of the exhibits. Elsewhere, there are informative exhibits of early Asian, Mexican and precolonial North American life. Visitors can also hunt for hidden creatures in a two-story replica of an African baobab tree filled with tropical birds, insects, reptiles and small mammals. Suggested admission to the museum is US$15 adults, US$11 seniors and students, and US$8.50 children age 12 or younger. Open daily 10 am-5:45 pm.
The Rose Center for Earth & Space, which includes an improved version of the Hayden Planetarium, is stunning: a giant metallic orb 87 ft/27 m in diameter, enclosed within a huge, nine-story-high glass structure. In the Space Theater, see Cosmic Collisions, which takes you on an exhilarating trip through space and time. (It's narrated by Robert Redford.) Shows are Monday-Friday every half-hour 10:30 am-4:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10:30 am-5 pm. The Rose Center is open the first Friday of every month till 8:45 pm. Admission to the Rose Center is included with a museum ticket, but additional fees are charged for the Space Theater and IMAX films. Central Park West at 79th Street (subway line B or C to 81st Street-Museum of Natural History), Manhattan, New York City. Phone 212-769-5100. http://www.amnh.org.
