American Museum of Natural History, NY/Shake Shack

Written by Carol Cain on 11 January 2009

Snowy days in New York City are those kinds of days that, when they first happen, are greeted with great joy by most New Yorkers, especially if they happen to be on lazy weekends. NYCity Mama woke up to such a day.

She appreciates a snowy day more lately. No longer do snowy days mean having to shovel the driveway (at her Madison, WI home), nor do they mean having to drive miles and miles in frosty roads. Instead she and her husband can sit back and watch as the beautiful white snow piles up on cars (though not theirs because theirs is in a garage), and sidewalks that they don’t have to plow, and trees and buildings, bringing a certain level of peace and serenity to the otherwise busy, bustling streets.

She loves it. She loves the transformation of her city on snowy days. But she especially loves that snow days do not at all limit what she and her kids can do outside of their home. It’s one of those things that she missed the most when living in the Midwest, where she often found herself surrounded by snow, but still itching to do something fun. And with options being very, very limited for her and her family she was often homebound, which became a huge drag for this big city mama, and she found herself missing NY even more.

But on this Saturday afternoon, she and her husband sat down and went through the list of endless possibilities, and settled on visiting the The American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side, across from Central Park. They loved this beautiful museum, and though they suspected that it might be a bit crowded on a day such as this one, they thought it would be worth braving the crowds, and the cold.

Though they took the subway, which conveniently stops on the corner of the museum block, they have often travelled by car to this location. The museum offers underground parking, but at an incredibly ridiculous rate. It is something like $31.00 for 2 to 5 hours. Non metered street parking is a bit difficult to find, but meter parking is about $3.00 for 2 hrs, which for Mama has worked very well in the past.

They arrive to the museum at the peak of lunch time, and already the boys are asking about food. So they walked over to 79th and Columbus Ave, across the street from the back entrance to the museum, to the newly opened Shake Shack. Forever, NYC only had one Shake Shack located in Madison Square Park (on Broadway and 23rd St) and it is known for amazing custards, shakes, and burgers. On any given day you can expect to find lines that seem to be endless of people waiting to get their fix on their amazing scoops of deliciousness in a cup. Sensing the increase the demands for such, restauranteur Danny Meyer, also known for other New York City favorites, such as Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke, Gramercy Tavern, Tabla, and Eleven Madison Park, did us the favor of opening this location. How crowded it will be when one gets there, especially on a weekend during the lunch rush, is all based on luck. And they were very lucky. They arrived in what seemed to be 10 minutes before the crowd and quickly ordered their burgers, hot dogs and fries…as well as shakes and sodas, before heading to the lower level, with limited sitting, to grab a nice big corner table. Because the food is done on the spot, it can take a good 10-15 minutes to get the food, especially if your group is as large as Mama’s.

The boys ate their meals happily, talking about all the things they wanted to see once they got to the museum. Mama had purchased a family membership pass ($115) upon her arrival to the city, as she knew that they would frequent it often. But like the zoo, and all their other favorite spots, how well it all went and how long they stayed was always unpredictable. And like their pass to the zoo, it has since paid for itself more than thrice over.

They enter the museum, tummies content and full, and head straight for the boys favorite hall: The Milstein Hall. This is located past the Rainsforest, and it is where most parents go, maybe not right away, but certainly at some point, to let the little ones run around freely. The hall was recently renovated, and though it still features the gigantic, life size Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling, it also has a few extras, such as the effects of glittering water, so as to make you feel as if you are underwater the minute you enter the huge room, and this is accompanied by the sounds of “whale calls” which absolutely fascinate Mama’s little ones as the run around the room, stopping occasionally to peer at the sea animal exhibits behind the thick glass windows, and glare at the large screen showing films of the Earth formation, geographical shifts, etc.

Every time Mama comes here she smiles anxious for the day when they might be able to finally participate in “A Night at The Museum“, which are activities done after hours, and includes a slumber party in that very room, underneath the whale. It’s not cheap, but it’s something that she thinks would be great fun, especially when the kids get a little older.

After the kids let out some energy, they head back past the Rainforest and towards other exhibits. They covered two floors today, (the first and thesecond) passing the mammals, and Indians, the American birds, and the reptiles and amphibians.

Today Mama’s 3 year old learned that inside his skull is a “boo-ain” and that it helps him think. Her 11 year old watched a video and played with a keyboard used to teach bonobo apes our language and how to communicate, and the 2 year old, half scared, half intrigued, couldn’t get enough of the skeletons. All these could be found in The Hall of Human Origins.

The museum is a wonderful location, with various halls and sections full of all sorts of exhibits and displays for kids of all ages. Before they were done seeing all there was to see on the first floor, the little ones started showing signs of being tired, and the toddlers that were so cooperative and happy two hours ago, where becoming the little trouble makers she often tries to make sure don’t appear much, especially in a crowded museum.

So, they headed for the last sight of the day in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, and as they children stared at the tall dinosaur bones standing over them, Mama and daddy were able to quickly put on coats, gloves, hats, scarves, and head out without too much commotion.

They stepped out into a Winter Wonderland, and suddenly Mama felt that feeling that often overcomes her on days when she is out exploring the city. It’s a feeling of sheer joy and excitement to be here, and to be able to say, “Wow. How lucky am I to be able to call this great place home.”