Started the day off with a nice breakfast on 8th not far from our hotel before heading off to the
NBC Studio tour nice and early.
We had booked an early session 8am-ish so that we could get to the
AMNH - the American Museum of Natural History when it opened at 10am.
Having been to the AMNH in June 2004, this was the only other place we were resolved to come back to see. (Other being Woodbury Commons shopping outlet). Back then and having seriously underestimated the time it would take to visit almost all the venues then, we thought we could cover the Museum in about 4 hrs. Oh no....no way.
We spent our whole 4 hrs just in the Rose Center Planeterium and rushed off to catch Hairspray that evening.
So this time we planned - 10am to 6pm. Now surely you'd think we'd finish every section of the place.
So here goes...
"Dear Curators of AMNH,
My family members and I commend on what an absolute tremendous educational feat you have achieved with this museum. It is truly a wonder that you have captured what most museums struggle with - the attention of its visitors. Every exhibit is riveting and informative intriguing the young and old.
Having visited the AMNH in June 2004 and only managing to experience the Rose Center, we wanted to come back and spend a whole day there.
And we did.
Our visit in Dec 2006 was well prepared. We would go back to the Rose Center and catch the latest showing at the Hayden Planeterium and proceed quickly to the other areas of the Museum that we missed last time.
We were at your doorstep at 10.15am.
We queued. It was short. We got our tickets!
We headed straight for Cosmic Collisions thru to the Big Bang and down the Universe spiral path to the ground floor.
It was 11.30am. The crowds had built up. We headed for the Butterfly Conservatory.
By 1pm, we were out of that area and the crowds were no longer small. There were SWARMS everywhere.
We checked all the dining places. All had queues that stretched around the corner and at least 1 hr long. We decided to queue at the Soup Kitchen in the Food Court. The queue looked shorter. It was barely coping with serving and stocking its its displays and shelves with food. Almost everything was gone. Worst still, there was no place to sit. We took our purchases up to the 4th floor where the Gold Nugget cafe was. We wanted to be within easy reach of the Gold show. Like many, we had to sit on the floor near the stairs to have our lunch. The eating areas looked like refugee shelters with people unable to get tables.
We finished our visit with the Imax viewing "Roving on Mars" and the Dinosaur exhibit before leaving close to 6pm having covered about 70% of the museum hampered by the crowds.
We would love to come back some day. Yes, even after our ordeal and a rushed one at that. May we suggest that if at all possible,
- 2 day ticket options for avid visitors like us.
- Limited tickets for sale per day for crowd control.
- more rest areas.
It is truly amazing to see a museum full to the brim like this but most undignified to have your visitors trying to rest or eat while sitting on floors.
Yours Truly
Your Number One fans from Down Under"
