American Museum of Natural History

The dinosaur bones and blue whale from Night at the Museum

Hours: Daily 10am–5:30pm (last entry 5pm), closed Thanksgiving and Christmas
Tickets: General admission adults $37, students and seniors $30, ages 3–12 $22, under 3 free. Tickets with special exhibitions from $43 or $48 for adults. Book online or through travel apps
Address: 200 Central Park West at West 79th Street

Up the steps on Central Park West, through the Roman-style entrance, and a giant Barosaurus skeleton rears up in the middle of the hall to protect its young. The fourth-floor dinosaur halls can swallow an hour on the T. rex alone, and a life-size blue whale hangs from the ceiling of the first-floor ocean hall. This is the museum from the first Night at the Museum film, so kids quote it in front of the Easter Island head on the third floor. The cave-like curves of the Gilder Center atrium, opened in 2023, are worth a look too.