Our first stop was the dinosaur rooms, which were really nice, even for a novice like me. Of note is that the T-Rex is mostly made of real T-Rex bones and was recently repositioned to represent what the newer research indicates was a more likely position for the T-Rex. We also went to see Dinosaurs Alive at the IMAX, which was really interesting, and showed how dedicated the museum is to dinosaur research (they dropped a lot of names of people who were working for the museum and are doing the filed research.) If you're interested in dinosaurs this place is definitely worth visiting. The IMAX wasn't quiet as good as some others I have seen, but the others I have seen were based on real video (one of the coral reefs and one from space) but this one was a mixture of things - video and computer technology, it ended up not being as dynamic as I've come to expect from IMAX movies.
The Milstein Hall of Ocean Life and the African Mammal Hall. I'm covering these together because my thoughts on them are pretty much the same. These halls are not a reason to visit this museum. They're like the poor man's Zoo and Aquarium. It's not that the exhibits are cheap, but its dead stuffed animals with little bits of information about them. Unless the animal is extinct find a Zoo or Aquarium to see it in, it will be a much better experience. My 3 year old nephew did love these two rooms though, so maybe kids will like it.
We did make quick stops in a couple other rooms, but didn't spend much time in them:
Northwest Coast Indians - this room seemed to have a bit of promise, though I suspect that the amount of stuff on exhibit might not make it to the top of the list of places to visit for someone really interested in this. But then again I don't know too much about this topic so I could be wrong.
Human Origins - This was actually a pretty interesting exhibit and a place I wouldn't have minded spending a little more time in. Though I suspect that someone who believes in creation wouldn't want to bother stopping here.
Hall of Planet Earth - Another exhibit that showed some promise, but my nephew wanted to go home and play with his new dinosaurs so we didn't spend much time in here.
Some other notes about the museum: I found the ticket line to be long at 1:00 on a Saturday and poor signage to explain different ticketing options. It was my first time there and found it confusing. You need to pay for admission and then for the IMAX and for any current/temporary exhibits. If we had realized this we probably would have gotten tickets for the climate change exhibit, but by the time we realized it, it was too late. The cafeteria is pretty nice, though it was so crowded and there were so many choices that it was a little overwhelming. There were the usual grilled options, a nice looking salad bar, sandwiches, pizza as well as some entrees and desserts. I wouldn't shy away from eating here, though it's not the cheapest option.
