This is the best way to get into the American Museum of Natural History in New York City
Photo by Aditya Vyas on Unsplash

Ever since my son Jack saw parts of the movie Night at the Museum, I’ve been wanting to take him to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. We were just in New York City for Mother’s Day, and it was cold and rainy, so we finally had the chance. We went on a Monday morning when I figured it wouldn’t be too crowded even during the inclement weather.

I told my wife we should aim to get there right when it opened at 10am to avoid any long lines but we ended up getting there around 10:30am (kids almost always slow you down). And when we drove by the front of the museum, the line was ridiculously long. Like a few hundred yards long. There was no way we were waiting out in the cold rain with our two-year-old to get in, so I immediately got on my phone to buy tickets through GetYourGuide (read more on GetYourGuide here).

But then, as I was preparing to book tickets, our UberX driver dropped us off at a side entrance where people were going in. We followed them. It turns out that there are four entrances to the museum and we got lucky that our driver dropped us off at the entrance to the planetarium, because according to the ticket agent that one is always the least crowded. We only had to wait about 10 minutes and it was well-worth it for two main reasons:

  1. The line was considerably shorter than the one at the front entrance and as we waited we were warm inside and not standing outside in the cold rain
  2. Buying a ticket online costs the full admission price ($23 for adults) but when you go inside, you can “pay what you wish,” an option only available at ticket windows

Next time you go to the American Museum of Natural History, keep this mind. (Another option if you’re sightseeing a lot in NYC is to buy a CityPASS.)

 

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