During the field trip to the American Museum of Natural History New York City, NY, I learned many fascinating concepts about different parts of nature, specifically the evolution of historical species. I started my trip with a tour by Dr. John Merck that covered the topic of vertebrates. After this I learned other interesting information from Dr. Thomas Holtz about dinosaurs. I then ventured through the museum with some of my fellow classmates and learned about gems and minerals. All of this allowed me to learn new and compelling concepts on an exciting trip.

My first tour was very intriguing. Professor Merck taught us about vertebrates and how they have adapted overtime. The fields of science that we covered include environmental science and biology as we learned about the organisms’ biological structure and growth throughout time. We learned about the evolution of these species, their DNA, and how they can relate to one another. Dr. Merck started the tour in the beginning of the hall, introducing us to a species called Sacabambaspis. He described how they had separate mouths that were jawless, so they could not bite. The development of jaws was a sudden genetic accident and there were no half-jawed creatures. He also told us that there were no bony fish and that they just had cartilage on the outside. Dr. Merck then led us towards the sharks and told us that they would not preserve their cartilage and fossil sharks showed this evolution. Eventually there were bony fish. He introduced us to other species and showed how some of them passed away given the fossil that was in front of us. One died because it had another fish lodged in its throat, showing how it was not biologically advanced enough to consume certain organisms. Dr. Merck then led us to the introduction of feet and toes, but it took 20 million years for species to effectively use them. This creature was called the Acanthostega. Merck later described how turtles and dinosaurs eventually came. Different vertebrates slowly started to evolve to become more biologically advanced and sustainable.

The hall was well equipped to show us this information and add onto Dr. Merck’s points. For example, when learning about the Sacabambaspis, Dr. Merck showed us the fossil along with its description. It allowed us to see its structure and how it did not have jaws. Another example is when Dr. Merck showed us the Acanthostega. This was very interesting because it was easier to see how toes and feet were new on this creature as it was in a display case next to many species related to it. Having the actual displays helped with the visualization aspect of the experience. Due to the elaborate and detailed qualities of this hall, I believe that it was aimed towards students who are at least in high school. I thought a lot of the information was complex and advanced, making it difficult for a little kid to comprehend. I also thought one’s understanding of DNA and mutations is crucial to understanding what we learned in the museum, so a high school biology course could give one a solid foundation for this topic.

As for the interactive parts of the hall, there were components that one could touch to feel the structure of different species and why they are formed in those ways. I thought there could have been more technological displays, as it is easier to express more thorough information on vertebrates. For the existing interactive components, I thought they were effective during the tour because Dr. Merck used them in a way that allowed us to specifically see what component of the creature he was talking about. The 3D models were much more effective for learning than if we were to see it on a screen. Lastly, there were some flaws with the exhibit as Dr. Merck pointed out that the organizational structure of the museum was out of date. He said that some of the plaques were incorrect and needed adjustments which would be slightly difficult to achieve. He also said how some of the displays could be moved around for a better understanding of the topic which would be more difficult to complete. Overall, this was a very compelling tour.

The next tour I went on was with Dr. Thomas Holtz and he taught us about dinosaurs. His tour touched on aspects of geology and natural science as he showed use the evolution of different dinosaurs and explained their biological structures. He also informed us about the reasons behind their structural formation. We started our tour in a room with the Titanosaur. Dr. Holtz showed us how they have open sockets with their legs under their bodies, which was quite interesting. He told us that dinosaurs come from descendants like the Megalosaurus and more. 255 million years ago, some of the dinosaurs started to become big and large to reach trees because climate change was occurring and caused rain and trees to increase. He then taught us about Sauropods which had an interesting growth rate. We learned that carnivores had feet that were fast and arched. There were also ostrich dinosaurs in the exhibit that were herbivores/omnivores. We then saw the Deinonychus which was similar to birds but different from the t-rex and ostrich dinosaurs. Another interesting creature he showed us were velociraptors. They are very tiny and have the mass of a coyote.

I thought the display of the Titanosaur was very interesting as it was an actual fossil and helped us to see how gargantuan it was. Viewing it in person also made it easier to understand Dr. Holtz’s description of why it was structured in that way. I thought seeing the velociraptor along with its description was helpful as well because it helped eliminate misconceptions about the creature. One of these include it being very large. Due to all these helpful displays, I think the hall is aimed toward people of all ages. The information provided by the plaques were complex, so it would take an advanced student to understand them; however, everyone begins learning about dinosaurs when they are in elementary school, so little kids would love seeing them up close.

I thought that hall lacked interactive components which could help to better comprehend the information on display. I only noticed different materials that one could touch, but I think more technologically based devices could help to give one a deeper understanding of dinosaurs. Due to the lack of interactive components, I thought they were not very effective. The few that were present only provided minimal information to understand the components of dinosaurs. One last aspect of the hall that Dr. Holtz pointed out was how some of the descriptions for the species were out of date which would not be very difficult to adjust. He also mentioned how some of the displays should be slightly moved around, which would be harder to achieve as it is very difficult to put dinosaur bones together. With all of this being said, Dr. Holtz’s tour was fascinating and helped me to further understand dinosaurs.

The last hall I went to was the Hall of Gems and Minerals. Here, I expanded my knowledge on more aspects of geology as the hall covered the topic of rocks and minerals. I also learned a little bit of chemistry as there were many explanations about the chemical composition of different minerals. Throughout the exhibit, I learned that minerals are solids and found in nature. They cannot be inorganic, shells, bones, fossils, and cannot contain organic life. They also must have a uniform chemical composition. I then learned about meteorites such as Ahnighito which is 34 tons of iron. The display also explained how shooting stars are meteors.

I thought the displays were very helpful as they had Ahnighito centered for everyone to see. They also had gargantuan geodes for people to observe. The exhibit implemented many beautiful pieces of jewelry full of gems that had a plaque describing its structure and elements, which I thought was very interesting. Due to this, I think the hall is aimed towards middle schoolers and above. There were many fascinating aspects of the hall and the descriptions were not too complex, so it could be understandable as long as one knew basic geological information. I also noticed how they had many interactive components. Me and my friend participated in a simulation that had us identify and rule out what were and were not minerals (we only got one wrong because we did not know ice is a mineral!). One could also easily observe the details of rocks and minerals. I thought the interactive displays were very effective as they allow one to learn something new. They were also placed towards the front to provide a strong introduction to the topic. We did not have a tour of this hall, so we could not learn if any of the information was out of date.

All in all, this trip is one that I will not forget. I was very excited about and impressed with all the information that I obtained throughout the museum. Having two tours provided to us was very intriguing and allowed me to expand upon what I knew about these topics. Also, having the opportunity to explore on our own made for great learning experiences. I had a wonderful time in New York and hope to do the trip again!

Last modified: 11 December 2023