Accessibility at the Museum
Please visit the Health and Safety page to see updated visitor requirements. If you require any accommodations, please contact [email protected] before your visit to discuss your needs.
Caregivers accompanying visitors with disabilities receive complimentary Museum admission. To make your timed-ticket reservation, go to the ticketing reservation page and select the complimentary ticket reservation path below the three main ticket types.
- All of the Museum's exhibitions are accessible by wheelchair, and all public floors of the Museum can be reached by elevator. Public elevators near the Central Park West and 77th Street entrances and those in the Rose Center are equipped with Braille signage and give auditory signals.
- All theaters are temporarily unavailable.
- Service animals are welcome to visit the Museum.
-
Strollers are welcome throughout the Museum.
- The recommended Museum entrance for strollers is 81st Street/Rose Center for Earth and Space.
- Double strollers are not typically permitted in the special exhibition galleries due to space constraints. Where strollers are not permitted, stroller parking is provided.
- Visitors can use the Museum’s free Explorer app to find routes that include elevators. Choose the accessible route and receive turn-by-turn directions.
All school trips are temporarily unavailable, but please see our virtual field trip offerings.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about accessibility at the Museum or would like to request an accommodation, please contact us at [email protected] or 212-769-5250. In addition, if the format of any material on the Museum’s website interferes with your ability to access that material, please contact us for assistance.
In order for us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please provide information about the best way to contact you.
Please click on the tabs below to obtain details about Museum facilities, resources, tours, and programs.
81st Street/Rose Center for Earth and Space: Enter the Rose Center at 81st Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. Coat check is temporarily unavailable. Accessible by wheelchair.
For Access-A-Ride service and GPS devices use the following address:
56 West 81st Street, New York, NY 10024
*Please note: The 81st Street/Museum of Natural History (B and C trains) subway station and subway entrance to the Museum are not wheelchair accessible. The closest accessible subway station is the 72nd Street station (1, 2, and 3 trains), with a connection on the northbound M7 on Amsterdam Avenue.
Lower level:
- Near the subway entrance
First floor:
- Milstein Hall of Ocean Life (located on hall's lower level, access via elevator on mezzanine level)
- Rose Center for Earth and Space
- Near the Grand Gallery (family and gender-neutral restroom)
Fourth floor:
- Wallach Orientation Center
Non-motorized wheelchairs are available for visitors to use at no cost, on a first-come, first-served basis. Wheelchairs undergo enhanced cleaning procedures as part of the Museum's health and safety measures.
You can find them in three places:
- At the Membership Desk directly inside the 81st Street/Rose Center entrance
- At the main entrance on Central Park West (upstairs)
- In the parking garage
Visitors borrowing a wheelchair must present a photo ID and provide a telephone number.
CAPTIONING AND LISTENING DEVICES
Transcripts for the Space Show and the Big Bang presentation in the Hayden Planetarium, and for LeFrak Theater films are available as downloadable PDFs (below). Please note, the Space Show and the LeFrak Theater films are temporarily unavailable during the fall 2020 reopening period.
It is is suggested to bring your own headphones or neck loops for use with assisted listening devices. However,
Induction loop hearing systems are available upon request in the following locations:
- Special Exhibition Gallery 3
- Special Exhibition Gallery 4 (The LeFrak Family Gallery)
Infrared assistive listening devices (headsets and/or neck loops) are available upon request in the following locations:
- Special Exhibition Gallery 3
- Special Exhibition Gallery 4 (The LeFrak Family Gallery)
SIGN LANGUAGE TOURS
All onsite tours are paused. To request virtual ASL interpretation, please contact [email protected].
SCIENCE SENSE TOURS
Visitors who are blind or partially sighted are invited to attend this program, held monthly in the halls of the American Museum of Natural History. Specially trained Museum tour guides highlight specific themes and exhibits, engaging participants through extensive verbal descriptions and touchable objects.
All onsite Science Sense tours are paused for the fall 2020 reopening period but will be available virtually. A schedule will be posted soon.
TOUCHABLE EXHIBITS
Touchable exhibits are temporarily unavailable.
VISITING THE MUSEUM
A social story is available to help visitors on the autism spectrum or sensory difficulties prepare for their visit:
If you’re not feeling well, please reschedule your visit to another day (visit amnh.org/health-safety for more information about health and safety during COVID-19. ).
DISCOVERY SQUAD TOURS
The Discovery Squad is a unique tour program designed for families affected by autism spectrum disorders. The program was developed in collaboration with the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
All onsite Discovery Squad tours are paused, but will be available virtually. A schedule will be posted soon.
Discovery Squad Tours
R. Mickens/© AMNH
Website Accessibility
The American Museum of Natural History is also committed to making its website accessible to individuals with disabilities, consistent with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. For more information on the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines, please visit the Web Accessibility Initiative.
Support for accessibility initiatives at the American Museum of Natural History has been provided by the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation.