Lots of Natural History

B had been anxious to take E to see the dinosaur exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. He seems to remember going as a kid and since that's pretty much one of the only memories he has of his childhood, he was excited to share it with E. I'm not a huge fan of museums. I know, *gasp*. I'm not that cultured. Lest anyone not realize that on their own based on my love of all that is reality tv. It's not that I didn't think I'd have fun, it's just not the first thing I think of as something I want to do for the day. E does love dinosaurs though so I knew he'd think it was cool.

We went on Sunday and anticipated getting there rather quickly. We did. I think we left around 11a and got there, parked and inside before noon. So, there are things to know if you're taking a trip there....

It's confusing as hell to even know where to get tickets. You can get tickets online or at those same kind of kisoks you see in the airport to check-in. There are "recommended donation"prices. Now, I don't know how you go about paying less but if you're willing to just pay whatever they're asking you don't have to wait on line and talk to an actual person. You use the kiosk. If you want to pay some other amount you wait on line. We waited on line because we also had questions. There are different kinds of tickets. General admission, general "plus one" (one special exhibit) and then general plus 2 or more special exhibits. The special exhibits also have times you're supposed to keep to and you are supposed to know what order and when you want to see what as you're buying your ticket. I guess they do this because they have to keep some order in the place but for us, it was a lot to process at that moment.

Big decisions on what to do. We have a toddler. We don't know what he's going to be like from hour to hour and how long he'd last looking at stuff. So we took our best guess, bought tickets for general admission plus 2 or more special things (four exhibits, to be exact). It was $33/adult. Not sure what it is for kids. The guy asked us how old E is and we said "He's two.". He just said ok. We didn't read any signage until later. Just saying 2 isn't clear- you have to say like, two and a half. Because over 2 you're supposed to pay. We would have- we were just so confused and felt pressure to be quick since it was a long line. We said two, he didn't charge us, and we just went on our way. Anyway, the itinerary we picked had us going until like 4p and it was only noon. Just thinking about that made me tired.

*Strollers are allowed everywhere but the special exhibits you pay for. Just FYI. And at E's age, there was no way we could've gone through this whole museum without it. Too big and spread out.

It wasn't that crowded. Or as crowded as we'd expected. We walked around the dinosaur exhibit first and then into the special "Largest Dinosaur" exhibit. Both were cool but I'm not exactly sure why it cost more for the Largest Dino thing. E didn't really understand that he was looking at their bones but thought it was cool none the less. But, it took us a really short time to walk through there. I guess if we had an older child that really knew what he was looking for or at, it might've taken longer. Plus, people were taking pictures, which I thought was kind of weird because what are you going to do with those? But, whatever. So, the next thing wasn't for another 40 minutes or so. It's just confusing- there are a lot of different elevators that take you to different places.

I actually got lost and separated from B and E. I felt like a kid in a mall. I had no phone, no money, no car keys or jacket. I told B I was going to the bathroom which was downstairs by the food court. He said he'd take E in the stroller down the elevator and meet me there. I went down the stairs. I quickly used the facilities and came out. No B and E. I wait. I look in the food area. Still no family. I started to get frantic which is so not me, but I felt like this is what news stories are made of and I was nervous. Luckily about ten minutes later I checked this other elevator area and there they were. I literally almost started crying. I don't know what came over me, but in my head I had been like, "oh my god- I have nothing, they are nowhere, what could've happened to them..." so on and so forth.

We were starving and figured we'd take this time to eat. The food ALL looked awesome. I packed a lunch for E, thank god, because it was EXPENSIVE to buy their food. They had your average hamburgers, chicken nuggets, fries. But, they also had sushi, turkey burgers, veggie burgers, pizza, a salad bar with hot and cold food, giant cupcakes, cookies, fruit, chips, and more. There were just a lot of choices. B had sushi and some stuff from the hot food bar. He liked everything. I had a turkey burger and fries. Also good. But, this all cost $35 and that was without food for E, a drink for me (I brought my own) and no dessert. It's cafeteria style which works, we found a seat easily and they have high chairs.

We went looking for our next thing which was a frog exhibit. It was cool, but again, I'm not sure what constitutes the extra cost. They had these electronic kiosks where you could learn about different frogs which I liked.

Next up was the Imax. No strollers in there- you leave them outside the doors. I was a little apprehensive about it but I guess if they had a stolen stroller epidemic they would tell you to leave it at your own risk. I left it and it was fine. The movie- It's narrated by Whoopi Goldberg and about all the planets, sun, moon and stars. We were able to get in just as it was about to start. That was good because we didn't have to wait on a line and it didn't matter where you sat- it was the same view. We thought E would really be into it but meanwhile, it started it and he was clinging to me for dear life. He was really scared. But, he didn't cry and didn't ask to leave. And actually, he regurgitated to us later, info he heard Whoopi say about the planets. It was kind of awesome. He did sit on my lap, it wasn't full and it was a nice break from walking around. I bet if we went back, E wouldn't be scared at all, but since this was the first time in an Imax, I totally understood.

The last special exhibit we did was seeing the butterflies. It's literally 80 degrees in the greenhouse thing they're in. And HUMID. Butterflies just fly around freely and can land on you. You're just not supposed to touch them. None landed on us, but it reminded me a little too much of Silence of the Lambs in there. E really likes butterflies though so I wanted him to be able to see that exhibit.

We got into every exhibit early and were done by 3:30 I think. They didn't keep to the times and we zipped through the exhibits as one does with most things having a two year old. I guess if it was really crowded they would keep more strictly to the times on your ticket. By the time we left, B and I were exhausted but E seemed still raring to go, as usual.

It was a really nice experience, aside from getting lost in there, and the exhibits were really great for any age to see. Older kids might get more out of it than E did but he definitely retained some of what he saw. If you haven't been there, it's definitely a nice day. Had it been warmer out and we weren't so tired, Central Park is right across the street so there is another place to go before or after if you're looking to make a whole day of it.

http://www.amnh.org/