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Discovery Room

The Discovery Room offers families, and especially children ages 5-12, an interactive gateway to the wonders of the Museum and a hands-on, behind-the scenes look at its science. Every major field of Museum science and research, from anthropology to zoology, is represented. Children, accompanied by adults, can explore an array of artifacts and specimens, puzzles, and scientific challenges. Activities for older visitors are located on the upper level.

Highlights

  • Hunt for animals in a majestic two-story replica of an African baobab tree filled with specimens of birds, insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
  • Create your own collection of minerals, skulls, or arthropods from a cabinet full of fascinating specimens.
  • Gather around an authentic Kwakiutl totem pole carved at the Museum in 1992. Learn about cultures in locations from Brooklyn to Bombay by examining traditional and contemporary artifacts from around the world.
  • Assemble a life-sized cast skeleton of Prestosuchus, a 14-foot long reptile from the late Triassic Period, handle real fossils, and unearth an Oviraptor nest in a re-creation of a paleontology field site.
  • Track real-time earthquakes anywhere in the world on our digital seismographic display and explore the natural world with sophisticated microscopes on the upper level.

Location and Cost

The Discovery Room is located on the 1st floor between the Grand Gallery and the Warburg Hall of New York State Environment. Free passes are available for the general public for 40-minute timed sessions that are available at the Discovery Room entrance.

Discovery Room Schedule

School Year

  • Monday-Thursday - 1:30-5:10 pm
  • CLOSED FRIDAYS
  • Saturday, Sunday, and public school holidays - 10:30 am-1:25 pm and 2:15-5:10 pm

Summer Hours 

  • Monday-Sunday - 10:30 am-1:25 pm and 2:15-5:10 pm

Please note the following exceptions:

The Discovery Room will be open from 10:30 am-1:25 pm and 2:15 pm-5:10 pm for Memorial Day on Monday, May 27th, and on June 4th, 6th, and 11th when school is out of session.

 

Drop-In Events

Walks, Tours, and Drop Ins Gateway Storytime in the Discovery Room Science & culture for preschoolers and their parents or caregivers—each week highlights natural science or a cultural theme.