Natural Museum History

My favorite museum in New York is the Museum of Natural History. And one of my favorite things about the museum is that it’s kind of a museum of museum history, too. For me, the meta-exhibit of presentation styles is almost as great as the exhibits themselves. I love that the Hall of Gems and Minerals feels like a mod 1960s living room with its wall-to-wall carpeting, multiple levels, and funky angles. And that our early ancestors of Human Biology and Evolution actually live in a 1980s Trump-esque glass and black tile condo. And that the miniature hard-working farmers of the Hall of New York State Environment toil stoically amongst walls of 1950s wood paneling. And, finally, that the grand old dinosaurs were finally able to find some plasma TVs that didn’t clash with their palatial Beaux-Arts digs.

(American Museum of Natural History, 81 St & Central Park West, Manhattan)