You are now standing in front of the largest and most famous museums of Manhattan.  The museum occupies 4 city blocks and is completely devoted to the evolution of life on Earth.  Incidentally, it was precisely in this museum of Natural History that the hero of the film "Night at the Museum" worked.  If you have seen the film then you are already acquainted with some of the exhibits of the museum.  The museum has been located in this building since 1874.  The exhibits of the museum are divided into separate sections depending on the sphere of natural science.  It is impossible to see all of the museum at one time.  The museum is maximally interactive so that it is possible not only to see the exhibits but to touch and hear them.The definite pearl of the museum is the library consisting of the largest collection of material on natural sciences.  The collection of books alone today numbers more than 450,000 volumes, but in addition there are illustrations, films, photographs and memorial objects.The gigantic collection of dinosaurs, mammoths, alligators and anthropomorphs attract particular attention.  A female brontosaurus standing on its hind legs at full height - more than 17 meters - in order to defend her child, is an unforgettable sight.  In the gallery on the life of the ocean and the biology of fish, you will most likely pay particular attention to the blue whale, with a length of 29 meters.It is also possible in the museum to see desiccated scalps, the miniature of an ancient eastern city, and an African hut in its natural state.  And would you like to know how much you would weigh on various planets?  There are special scales in the museum for this.  The collection in the gallery of Precious Stones includes more than 100,000 examples.  The most valuable of these are the extremely rare emerald - the 632 carat Patricia emerald -  and the stellar shaped sapphire, the Star of India.  It will also be worth while seeing the Lotus Flower Sapphire from Sri Lanka because of its rare orange color. One more important place of interest in the museum is its planetarium.  Visiting the planetarium you will be able to be taken to the beginning of time and the cosmos at the Big Bang.  On the lower level of the museum is a large cafe with very tasty food.  Thematic desserts are sold in the cafe - for instance, you can try a multi- layered parfait with marmalade worms.  You will not only enjoy the desert but learn about the strata of the soil.Photo noname by Steveen Manon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0