The Early Adventures Program
Part of Children & Families
In accordance with the New York City vaccine requirement, you must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the Museum. See Health and Safety for details.
Part of Children & Families
In the Early Adventures Program, preschoolers aged 2-5 are encouraged to use their natural curiosity to investigate the world around them. Experienced science educators work with Museum scientists and specialists to create age-appropriate learning experiences that reflect the Museum's research and collections, including zoology, Earth and planetary sciences, anthropology, and paleontology.
The Early Adventures Program's classrooms provide stimulating environments, with artifacts and specimens from the Museum's Education collection, live animal habitats, a children's science library, scientific tools, and educational materials for first-hand investigation. These classrooms serve as "base camps" for in-depth studies and guided "expeditions" to destinations in the Museum such as the Hall of Biodiversity, the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, and other galleries and exhibits.
Designed for children ages 2-5, the Early Adventures Program meets weekly throughout the school year.
Parents, grandparents or caregivers attend class with their children, a core principle of the program based on research that shows young children attain deeper levels of understanding and richer connections to their learning when significant adults are present.
Registration is by phone only: please call Central Reservations at 212-769-5200.
Classes sell out quickly. In the event that a class is sold out, you may add your name to a wait list by calling Central Reservations at 212-769-5200.
An enrollment form will be sent to the email address you provide upon registering.
Your tuition payment of $2,900 and return of the enrollment form completes your registration and ensures a place for your child in the Early Adventures Program for Fall 2021.
If after registering, you find that your child will be unable to participate in the Program, please notify us in writing via email to [email protected] by Friday, August 20, 2021.
Tuition payments are non-refundable after Friday, August 20, 2021. After that date, tuition will be applied towards The Early Adventures Program's financial aid fund.
Please choose one of the following time slots when you register.
| Mondays | Tuesdays | Thursdays | Fridays |
| 9:00–10:30 am Space remains for 2 to 3 year-olds |
9:00–10:30 am Space remains for 2 to 3 year-olds |
9:00–10:30 am Space remains for 2 to 3 year-olds |
9:00–10:30 am Space remains for 2 to 3 year-olds |
| 1:00–2:30 pm Sold out, waitlist available |
1:00–2:30 pm Sold out, waitlist available |
1:00–2:30 pm Sold out, waitlist available |
1:00–2:30 pm Sold out, waitlist available |
For information about other class offerings affiliated with The Early Adventures Program, please see the Science and Nature Program page.
If you have questions about the Early Adventures Program, please email us at [email protected]
The health and safety of our participants and staff is the top priority. You’ll notice some important changes to the Museum, our classrooms, and health and safety measures. For more information, please visit the Health and Safety page.
Children and Family Learning at the American Museum of Natural History provides exciting science learning opportunities for young children and families through OLogy, the Discovery Room, The Science and Nature Program, and Public Programs.
Support for Children and Family Learning programming has been provided by Shaiza Rizavi and Jonathan Friedland, the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, and Ellen K. and Lawrence R. Gross.