On Sunday I was at the American Museum of Natural History with a pass courtesy of a public school visit one of my children went on this past year. My youngest and I visited the Discovery Room and dug for dinosaur bones, visited the hall of Pacific Peoples - seeing DumDum (Easter Island Head) never gets boring - and dined in the Museum Food Court on the lower level. At the end of the visit, we went to the Arthur Ross Terrance (outdoors of the AMNH, beside the Rose Planetarium)- it was a hot day and the water fountain offered some cool entertainment.
The Arthur Ross Terrace, a magnificent 47,114-square-foot public outdoor space at the American Museum of Natural History, opened two years ago on September 23, 2000. Adjacent to the Rose Center, the new Terrace is accessible from the Museum, as well as from Theodore Roosevelt Park at 81st Street and Columbus Avenue. The addition of a new public space in New York City is quite remarkable event. We don't expect to find a newly carved out corner in this big metropoulos, so when an institution generously facilitates such a treasure, it is truly a remarkable event. Certainly, a public work like this illustrates the museum's commitment to the community as well as it's visitors.
The Terrace, rich in trees and plantings, with sloping lawns and a central plaza with water jets, is built over the new parking garage on 81st Street. Visitors may relax at large wooden benches that double as "activity tables," and at café tables and chairs set amongst the trees on the upper terrace, facing the Rose Center.
Its clean, well manicured and cared for, and is a lovely oasis on a hot day. And its free, cool entertainment for little ones!
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| Dum Dum |
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| Courtesy of AMNH |
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| Arthur Ross Terrace |
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