The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation wing at the American Museum of Natural History opened to the public on May 4, 2023. The center connects 10 buildings across the Museum’s four-block campus, establishing continuous pathways to enhance visitor circulation, and also holds exhibits and educational facilities.
Overview of Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation
Embodying the Museum’s mission of science and education, the Gilder Center displays exhibits in strikingly designed spaces and also provides new facilities for research collections, exhibitions, and learning are situated in close proximity
It emphasizes the central role of natural history collections in scientific discovery and providing deeper experiences that connect visitors to the evidence and processes of science through engaging exhibits and programs.
The 230,000-square-foot $465 million Gilder Center project was first announced in 2014 and includes six floors above ground, four of which are open to the public, and one below.
The Gilder Center’s façade is clad in Milford pink granite, the same stone used on the Central Park West entrance.
The Glider Center also enhances the visitor experience by establishing continuous pathways through its four-block campus, connecting the American Museum of Natural History’s buildings that were constructed over the course of nearly 150 years. It creates 33 connections among 10 Museum buildings to link the entire campus .
A New Museum Entrance at Theodore Roosevelt Park
It also establishes a new entrance on the Museum’s west side, at Columbus Avenue and 79th Street, in Theodore Roosevelt Park.
Visitors coming from Columbus Avenue will experience the Gilder Center as a building set in a park, constructed at the same height as the older Museum buildings.
Adjacent areas of the park have been enhanced with a new landscape design, developed by Reed Hilderbrand with community input, which features more pathways and seating areas.
The building was designed by Studio Gang, the international architecture and urban design practice led by Jeanne Gang.
What to See & Do at the Glider Center
Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium
Upon entering the Gilder Center, visitors find themselves in the five-story Kenneth C. Griffin Exploration Atrium.
This space is illuminated with natural light streaming through large-scale skylights. The building’s design is inspired by the way that wind and water carve out landscapes, as well as the forms that hot water etch in blocks of ice.
The texture, color, and flowing forms of the Griffin Atrium evoke the canyons in the southwestern U.S..
This grand entrance to the Gilder Center is aimed at evoking awe, excitement, and discovery.
A broad, grand staircase on the east side of the Griffin Atrium, on axis with the entrance, is designed with one side as seating steps. There are deep, walnut-covered treads and high risers where visitors can gather to rest. It also serves as seating for programs.
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core
Along the south side of the Griffin Atrium, the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core is a five-level facility that includes three floors of floor-to-ceiling exhibits that showcase the breadth of the Museum’s collections.
The exhibits at the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core, made up of more than 3,000 objects, establishes the central role of scientific collections as evidence from which knowledge is derived. It showcases the diversity and importance of scientific collections and the ways in which they are studied.
Museum’s collections in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, paleontology, geology, anthropology, and archaeology, with materials ranging from dinosaur tracks to astronomical instruments, and from antlers to pottery are all represented.
The Macaulay Family Foundation Collection Galleries on the first and second floors, offer visitors glimpses into working collections areas situated behind the displays.
Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium
On the north side of the Gilder Center’s first floor is the 5,000-square-foot Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium.
This is dedicated to insects, the most diverse group of animals on Earth. It also highlights the critically important role that insects play on earth.
The Susan and Peter J. Solomon Family Insectarium features 18 species of live insects, digital exhibits, models, and pinned specimens. Visitors will also learn about the 30 orders of insects and explores the vital functions that insects perform in different ecosystems, and their evolution.
Oversized models of honeybees mounted overhead draw visitors through the gallery and an 8,000-lb resin model of a beehive at the west end.
Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium
On the second floor, directly above the Solomon Family Insectarium, the exploration of live insects continues at he 2,500-square-foot Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium.
Visitors will be able to mingle with up to 1,000 free-flying butterflies in various micro-environments along a meandering route.
There are up to 80 species of butterflies. Visitors to this part of the Glider Center can refer to an identification board featuring an illustrated card for each species in flight to try to identify the butterflies.
There is also a pupae incubator, where visitors can learn about the butterfly life cycle and observe chrysalises.
Invisible Worlds
On the third floor of the Gilder Center is Invisible Worlds.
This is a 360-degree immersive science-and-art experience that showcases the next generation in scientific visualization. The 12-minute looping experience is powered by scientific data and celebrates the richness of life’s diversity and the basic building blocks of life, including DNA, that connect all living things on our planet.
Educational Spaces at the Glider Center
The Glider Center also houses to 18 newly built, renovated, or repurposed classrooms located on the second, third, and fourth floors, and in adjacent areas within the existing Museum complex.
Programs that will be run at the Glider Center include those that are aimed at high school and college students.
David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center
The David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Research Library and Learning Center houses one of the largest and most important natural history libraries in the world. There is the Reading Room on the fourth floor, with panoramic views as well as dedicated spaces for researchers and small meetings.
The fifth and sixth floors of the Gilder Center house the Department of Ichthyology, including research spaces and specialized laboratories.
Dining and Retail at the Glider Center
The Restaurant at Gilder, located on the second floor of the building offers table-service dining with a view overlooking the Griffin Atrium.
There are also two shops in the Gilder Center, located on the first and third floors, will offer a range of engaging products to complement Museum exhibitions and experiences.
A Towering Addition to the American Museum of Natural History
“We are thrilled to open this magnificent new resource and facility, especially as the City is more fully emerging from the pandemic period and people are eager for opportunities to learn, to be amazed, and to be inspired,” said Scott L. Bok, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees.
“Congratulations to the American Museum of Natural History on their new state-of-the-art Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “AMNH has been a beacon in our city for decades, bringing a glimpse of the many wonders of the world to New Yorkers. As one of the City’s largest cultural capital projects in recent history, I am excited to see what innovative and captivating exhibitions our City will get to explore next.”
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