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Central Park W at 79th St. Sun-Thurs 10am-5.45pm, Fri & Sat 10am-8.45pm; suggested donation (including the Rose Center) $10, students $7.50, children $6; IMAX films, the Hayden Planetarium and certain special exhibits cost extra; tel 212/769-5100, www.amnh.org. #B or #C to 81st St-Central Park West. An enormous complex of buildings full of fossils, gems, skeletons and other natural specimens, along with a wealth of man-made artifacts from indigenous cultures worldwide, the American Museum of Natural History is one of the best and largest museums of its kind, with 32 million items on display. There's a fantastic amount to see, but be selective; depending on your interests, anything from a highly discriminating couple of hours to half a day should be ample. On the second (entry-level) floor are the Hall of Asian People and Hall of African People , each filled with fascinating art and artifacts. Another highlight of this floor is the lower half of the Hall of African Mammals - don't miss (though how can you?) the life-size family of elephants in the center of the room. The fourth floor is almost entirely taken up with the wildly popular Dinosaur Exhibit ; covering five spacious, well-lit, and well-designed halls, it is the largest collection in the world, with more than 120 specimens on display. On the first floor, the Hall of Gems and Minerals includes some strikingly beautiful crystals - not least the Star of India , the largest blue sapphire ever found. More captivating, however, is the new Hall of Biodiversity , whose centerpiece is a living re-creation of a Central African Republic rainforest that you can walk through, to the sounds of birdcalls. Across from the Hall of Biodiversity lies the first installation of the Rose Center for Earth and Space - the spanking new Hall of Planet Earth , containing the Dynamic Earth Globe , where visitors seated below the globe are able to watch the earth via satellite go through its full rotation.
Imax AdditionsAntony Criss says "I think you should ad graphically designed movies.
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