Guided Tours
Free Guided Tours
Highlight tours are offered daily at 30 minutes past the hour from 10:30 am through 3:30 pm. Experienced guides will take visitors to many of the iconic halls and displays located throughout the Museum.
- View the day’s schedule and sign up for a tour at the information desk in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall on Floor 1.
- Tours are approximately 75 minutes long and are offered in additional languages based on tour guide availability.
- All tours are accessible by wheelchair.
Foreign Language Tours
Highlight tours are offered in several languages throughout the week. Tour times are subject to change with guide availability. Please visit an information desk to confirm the daily tour schedule.
- Thursday, July 3 at 1 pm
- Tuesday, July 8 at 1 pm
- Wednesday, July 9 at 12 pm
- Thursday, July 17 at 1 pm
- Tuesday, July 22 at 1 pm
- Wednesday, July 23 at 12 pm
- Thursday, July 24 at 1 pm
- Tuesday, July 29 at 1 pm
- Thursday, July 31 at 1 pm
- Thursdays at 2 pm
- Tuesdays at 2 pm
- Sunday, July 6 at 1 pm
- Wednesday, July 9 at 2 pm
- Sunday, June 15 at 2 pm
- Saturday, July 12 at 2 pm
- Wednesday, July 16 at 2 pm
- Wednesday, July 23 at 2 pm
- Sunday, July 27 at 2 pm
- Tuesday, July 29 at 2 pm
- Wednesday, July 30 at 2 pm
- Wednesday, July 9 at 1 pm
- Wednesday, July 30 at 1 pm
Spotlight Tours
Spotlight tours focus on a specific hall or topic for approximately 1 hour, allowing for a deeper dive into a particular content area. Please visit an information desk to confirm the daily tour schedule.
- Thursdays at 1 pm - Hall of the Universe
- Fridays at 2 pm - Asian Peoples
- Wednesday, July 2 at 1 pm – Human Origins
- Sunday, July 6 at 12 pm – Planet Earth
- Monday, July 7 at 12 pm – Ocean Life
- Sunday, July 13 at 12 pm – Fossils
- Monday, July 14 at 12 pm – Northwest Coast
- Sunday, July 20 at 12 pm – Biodiversity
- Monday, July 21 at 12 pm – Human Origins
- Sunday, July 27 at 12 pm – Art of the Diorama
- Monday, July 28 at 12 pm – Minerals
- Wednesday, July 30 at 1 pm – Human Origins
Accessible Tours
The Museum offers a variety of specially designed tours for visitors with disabilities and their families. Learn more about accessibility at the Museum.
Experience informative, entertaining, and inspiring presentations of permanent and special exhibitions for both deaf and hearing audiences with simultaneously signed and spoken tours.
- Registration required, no walk-ins are accepted. Email [email protected] or call 212-313-7565 at least 72 hours in advance to register.
- Free for Members or with Museum admission. Programs subject to change.
- Programs with sign language are intended primarily for the Deaf community. ASL students may attend, but we do not sign attendance sheets.
Upcoming tours:
To be announced.
Note: To schedule a tour outside of the regularly scheduled programs, please email [email protected] with 2 weeks notice.
Science Sense Tours Are Back!
To request a tour for visitors who are blind or partially sighted, please contact [email protected] with 2 weeks notice. Specially trained Museum tour guides highlight specific themes and exhibits, engaging participants through extensive verbal descriptions and touchable objects.
Discovery Squad is an engaging, hands-on program designed for neurodivergent children ages 5-12 and their families; this includes autistic children, as well as children with other intellectual or developmental disabilities. Before the Museum opens to the public, families can attend a 45-minute tour of select halls that fit the theme of that month’s program, followed by 45 minutes of free play and exploration in the Discovery Room. Participants can expect a sensory-friendly, neurodiversity-affirming experience where curiosity is welcomed in all its forms.
Time: 9-10:30am, Third Saturday of every month
Price: Free; Advance registration required
Upcoming Tours
- SOLD OUT! July 19 - Discover Elephants: This session will include a tour of our special exhibition, The Secret World of Elephants.
- SOLD OUT! August 16 - Discover Insects: This session will include a visit to the Solomon Family Insectarium as well as the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium. Participants will have the option to interact with live insects.
To register for Discovery Squad, please call Central Reservations at 212-769-5200 or email [email protected].
Discovery Squad was developed in collaboration with the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Third Party Tours
The American Museum of Natural History does not allow third parties to lead private tours within the Museum. Any unauthorized tours will be asked to stop immediately.
Are you a group operator, SYTA or ABA Member? Reservations for group visits can be made by calling the Museum's Central Reservations team at (+1) 212-769-5200.