If you plan on visiting New York City, one stop you must plan to make is a visit to the American Museum of Natural History. This city-favorite is best known for its magical exhibits and colorful characters, thanks to the Night at the Museum movie. While we can’t promise that you’ll see talking wax figurines and miniature cowboys saving the day, we can promise that you’ll experience an amazing world of knowledge, beauty, and the celebration of our natural history.

The exhibits alone make this destination a great place for class trips or family vacations, no matter what the time of year. The museum features both permanent and featured exhibits, with features changing throughout the year to suit the seasons, new discoveries, or just the changing interests of museum patrons!

Here is a list of the current exhibits and their available dates, so you can check out some of the newer features:

• The World's Largest Dinosaurs (April 16, 2011 through January 2, 2012)

• Frogs: A Chorus of Colors (Runs through January 8, 2012)

• Picturing Science: Museum Scientist and Imaging Technologies (June 25, 2011 through June 24, 2012)

• Tornado Alley (July 4, 2011 through January 8, 2012)

• Journey to the Stars (no time frame listed for this exhibit)

• Highway of an Empire: The Great Inca Road (opens October 17)

In addition to features, you can also take in some of the permanent exhibits that museum patrons have grown to love and appreciate. These constant fixtures of the American Museum of Natural History help to make it such a wonderful place. No matter when you choose to visit, you can feel confident that you’ll find some amazing treats around each corner, in every hallway.

Permanent Exhibits include:

• Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins

• Amazing gems and rocks, like iridescent opals, a rare two-foot long jade slab, and an 80 million year old ammolite.

• Fossil Halls

• The Arthur Ross Hall of Meteorites

• The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life

• The Gottesmman Hall of Planet Earth

No matter which exhibit you choose to look at first, your trip to the American Museum of Natural History is sure to be memorable. Check out our American Museum of Natural History Tickets to get your entry into this world-famous NYC attraction. We offer general admission packages, as well as packages that include tickets to the space show!And don’t forget – admission to the American Museum of Natural History can be FREE on any nyctrip.com hotel-inclusive vacation.

P.S. – If you loved Night at the Museum, you can follow our American of Natural History Tour Guide to find all of the movie’s beloved exhibits!