Discovery Room

Wonders await in the Discovery Room, an engaging, hands-on learning space for children that offers an introduction to the Museum's science and a gateway to its exhibition galleries. From anthropology to zoology, every major field of Museum science and research is represented.

• The Discovery Room is designed for children ages 4-12, but children of all ages are welcome when accompanied by an adult.
• The Discovery Room has weekday morning hours for pre-K (ages 0-4) family drop-in. View all hours.
• Activities for older children (ages 8 and up) are located on the upper level.

Take apart a life-sized cast skeleton of Prestosuchus.
Alvaro Keding/© AMNH

Spot a variety of species, including live animals.
Alvaro Keding/© AMNH

What You Can Do in the Discovery Room

• Spot animals in a majestic two-story replica of an African baobab tree filled with specimens of birds, insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
• Explore a cabinet of fascinating specimens to create your own collection of minerals or arthropods.
• See a Kwakwaka’wakw carving made at the Museum in 1992.
• Learn about cultures in locations from Manhattan to Mumbai by examining traditional and contemporary objects 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.
• On the upper level, track real-time earthquakes anywhere in the world on our digital seismographic display, explore the natural world with sophisticated microscopes, and more.

Plan Your Visit

• The Discovery Room is located on Floor 1, between the Ellen V. Futter Gallery and the Felix M. Warburg Hall of New York State Environment.
• Admission is included with any admission to the Museum.
• Free 40-minute timed passes are available at the Discovery Room entrance.
• Capacity is limited, and passes are first-come, first served.
• The Discovery Room is closed on Tuesdays.

Hours

School Year Hours: Labor Day–June 30

Saturdays, Sundays, and school holidays 

• 10:30 am–1:25 pm
• 2:15 pm–5:10 pm

Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays (closed Tuesdays)

• 10:30 am–11:55 am (Pre-K only)
• 1:30–5:10 (all ages)

Summer Hours: July 1–Labor Day

Daily, except Tuesdays (closed Tuesdays) 

• 10:30 am–1:25 pm
• 2:15 pm–5:10 pm

Learn More

To stay up to date on new programs in the Discovery Room, sign up for our Family Programs Newsletter.

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