As the video documentary, “Treasures of New York: American Museum of Natural
History” states, The American Museum of Natural History is the story of life itself. The
museums breathtaking forty-five permanent halls teach more than a typical classroom setting
could. The museums research continuously grows and each hall leaves its visitors with new
information. Their mission statement provides a distinct layout of what The American Museum
of Natural History expects to provide. The research in this essay will verify whether or not the
American Museum of Natural History abides by its mission statement.
According to the Museum of Natural History’s website, they are “one of the world’s
preeminent scientific and cultural institutions” (About Us). The museum is renowned for its
exhibitions and scientific collections, according to this webpage. Visitors are sure to get their
money’s worth when visiting the American Museum of Natural History. General Admission
tickets grant visitors the opportunity to enter each of the museums 45 permanent halls as well as
the Rose Center for Earth and Space, stated in their official website (Plan Your Visit). This
webpage also lists that the general fee for admission into the American Museum of Natural
History is just $22. Located in the beautiful, Central Park of New York City, this museum is a
land mark visitors should not pass up the opportunity to visit.
The American Museum of Natural History has a long and detailed history. According to
the history timeline on the museum’s website, the museums first exhibits were opened to the
public in 1871. Based off of the timeline, the Museum quickly outgrew its location and
construction began at the central park location that is known to visitors today. The timeline also
points out that in 1897 the museum launched an expedition to record the culture of the North
Pacific people. At the time, in the entire field of anthropology, no one had attempted such a task,
according to the history webpage. Fast forward to 1991, and the museum displays the world’s
highest freestanding dinosaur display. It is quite obvious to see, when looking at the museums
timeline, that advancements and construction occurred rapidly at the museum. The American
Museum of Natural History continues to grow and expand, in order to be its very best.
The American Museum of Natural History vows to “discover and interpret.” The
museum continues to discover through their expeditions. According to the timeline on the
museums history webpage, paleontological expeditions to the Gobi desert take place annually.
In fact, the museums research webpage also informs that its researchers carry out 100 field
expeditions around the world each year. The museums 200 scientists work in anthropology,
astrophysics, biology, Earth and planetary sciences and paleontology (Our Research). Based off
of this research webpage, the museum is also currently pursuing research in the morphology and
evolution of bats in both living and fossil species. The Museum of Natural History has continued
to work on expanding its collections and is still working on discovering new things to share with
its visitors.
The American Museum of Natural History mission statement vows to continue
expeditions and other research techniques, and to analyze history in order to be able to explain
and teach their findings to the general public. Their mission statement is intended for prospect
museum visitors, including families and teachers or educators. In the “Learn and Teach”
webpage of the museums official website, there are specific programs and resources listed for
families and teachers. The class trip resources are even broken down into specific age ranges. Its
central location in Manhattan, New York proves to be the perfect spot for local students to visit
on class trips. According to the class field trips webpage, the museum caters for class trips with
laboratory experiences that deal with comparative genomics, the brain, and evolution for
student’s grade eight to twelve. Upcoming offerings for class trip laboratories include fossil skull
evidence, DNA extraction from strawberries, primate evolution and food forensics, as listed on
the school or camp group visit webpage. Throughout class trips there are also teaching
volunteers available who can answer any questions the students may have (Class Field Trips).
The American Museum of Natural History specifically vows to spread knowledge on human
cultures, the natural world and the universe.
According to the mission statement found in the “About Us” webpage, the museum also
vows to disseminate, or teach knowledge about human cultures.
? The museum teaches about human cultures in its Human Origins and Culture halls.
? Each hall is dedicated to a specific culture, such as the Mexico/Central America Hall or the
African Peoples Hall.
? There are also Asian, Woodland Indian, Coast Indians, Pacific Peoples, and Plain Indians and
American Peoples halls, according to the museums human origins and cultural halls
webpage.
? Each hall holds monuments, figurines, pottery, even clothes or jewelry from these different
cultures.
Specifically, the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples explores the “diverse cultures of
south pacific islands from small islands and nations to the continent of Australia,” according
to the hall of pacific people’s webpage.
? Artifacts that can found on this hall include masks from Northern New Ireland and a mold of
the Easter Island head. Accoding to its webpage, the Easter Island Head is more than thirty
feet high and weighs more than forty tons (Easter Island Head).
? Viewing these different items give visitors a better understanding of the different cultures
around the world.
The museums mission statement also vows to teach about the natural world. Its
biodiversity and environmental halls depicts the natural world in through a stunning 2,500-
square- foot walk-through diorama, according to the Hall of Biodiversity webpage. Its highlights
include Dodo and the endangered species exhibit, which informs visitors about the dangers of
animal extinction such as the “Dodo.” Finally, the Museum of Natural History vows to teach
about the Universe; the Earth and Planetary Halls do just so. Specifically, the “Arthur Ross Hall
of Meteorites” focuses on the origins of the solar system and the process to build planets. This
specific hall also teaches its visitors about meteorite impacts. The museums “Rose Center for
Earth and Space” also includes a theater that recreates the big bang. The Hayden Big Bang
Theater is divided where the lower half is a concave screen. The presentation takes viewers
“back to the birth of the universe, through its expansion and cooling and from the emergence of
simple gas clouds to galaxies with stars and planets,” according to the Hayden webpage. The
American Museum of Natural History abides by its mission statement and does a good job doing
so.Based on their mission statement, the American Museum of Natural History takes pride
in their research and makes it a point to educate others. They have continuously worked to
expand and spread their findings to the public, and continue to do so. The American Museum of
Natural History does a good job abiding to their mission statement. Its forty-five permanent halls
teach visitors as they walk through and their ongoing research is world renowned. A walk
through the museum would takes its visitors on a journey from the Big Bang and creation of our
planets, to the beginning of Earths ecosystems and the first civilizations. Walk through its
entirety, and visitors can see that it is the story of life itself.