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Hayden Planetarium

3.9 (96 reviews)
Open 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Updated 2 months ago

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Nicole E.

Part of the history museum entrance or it seems. $39 for each adult for every possible part of the museum experience. May be worth it if you have several hours to spend here. $28 per adult for the basic entry. The Big Bang theory was interesting. The African animals was also nice to look at the displays. The layout of this museum is all over the place, hard to get a good flow and see as much as possible.

Frank A.

I have been coming to the Hayden Planetarium since I was a child. When I have been to many planetariums over the years, none is comparable to Hayden Planetarium. It is the best.

The Planetarium.
Ken P.

I've been to the Hayden Planetarium about three times over the past two years and as result have seen the "Dark Universe" film 2x and the soon to open "Worlds Beyond Earth" show once in a preview. I've enjoyed it each time that I've gone and was fortunate to not have screaming children around me like some other Yelper pointed out but honestly if this is the case during any show the staff should be enforcing more quiet and perhaps they need to set aside a certain showing where younger children can attend and be themselves. I can agree that the seats are in need of being adjusted to look up a little easier but I was not overly uncomfortable during my screenings. I enjoyed both films and the exploration of the region just outside the Planetarium afterward. Sure you are going to find yourself exiting through the gift shop but I don't think anything avoids that nowadays. You are always able to say no and if you have tons of kids with you who will want to purchase something just be that adult that says "no" and shoo them out. Maybe distract them with the dinosaurs exhibits to get them to move along. Good luck.

Entry into the planetarium
Marqus R.

How or why this page is on Yelp I don't know as the main site for Hayden Planetarium is: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hayden-planetarium-new-york-2 Worse yet, the planetarium is located off 81st Street not at 81 West Central Drive. Or, you may enter through the American Museum of Natural History which is at 200 Central Park West. I'm really out of step with the consensus of my fellow Yelpers with regards to the Hayden Planetarium. In going, I was so sure I would love this place but for me it proved to be nothing but a big letdown. First off, the Hayden Planetarium is located in the AMNH Rose Center off 81st Street without any visible signs indicating exactly what it is or where it is. It appears to be little more than a backroom afterthought of the American Museum of Natural History. When you enter, you may enter through some revolving doors that hide the name, Hayden Planetarium, from view. Turning to your right is a big row of electronic kiosks supposedly designed for ticket purchases though none of them are functional. Each is posted with a sign stating "Please See Representative," leaving you with the question of what representative and where. Once you procure your ticket you're herded up a floor to some dark area to see a little hardly visible flat screen to hear some inaudible words of Neil DeGrasse Tyson, then herded onward into the big round globe of a planetarium. Pretty soon an overhead movie comes on. Unfortunately the chairs are designed for you to view forward, not up, so plan on possibly getting a good crick in your neck before it is over. The movie itself is pretty good but the nonsense of vibrating your seats for no apparent reason seems silly, unnecessary and overly gimmicky. Once you've seen the movie you can go out into the hallways which at best resembles little more than a second hand Lower East Side flea containing all kinds of souvenirs, t-shirts, children's books and the like. Or if you like you can bore (at least it was soooo boring to me) yourself looking around at a bunch of rock like exhibits or snap shot like pictures of space. To me, Hayden doesn't amount to much. It's more of an afterthought attachment than a well-defined standalone destination and way too gimmicky.

Tangier D.

My boyfriend and I went to the planetarium for a quick visit during a trip to NY. It was our first time going and as huge Neil deGrasse Tyson fans (and space fans in general!), we were super excited. We didn't get to see any shows, as it was a quick visit, but we still had an amazing experience. There was a lot to see, a lot to learn and wonder about. It was beautiful and interesting. The gift shop was the real fun, and that's one of the reasons I'm taking the time to write the review. I bought my boyfriend a gift and he got me one, we left like kids coming from a candy store, really excited. However, we get home (to Michigan) and find out that his gift was defective. Obviously we are too far for a direct exchange, so I emailed the museum explaining what happened. They responded pretty immediately asking what the product was and offered to replace it for free, no worries about sending back the defective item! I responded happily and I just got the product today, a few days later! Not only did they send the product, they also sent really beautiful post cards with it. I would highly recommend checking the museum and planetarium out, and I am really thankful for their great customer service!

Views from the elevator on our way to the Exotic Skies showing.
Victoria T.

My friend and I got tickets to Exotic Skies at the planetarium and were very excited to go since we haven't visited a planetarium in a long time. This was our first time going to this specific planetarium, so we didn't know what to expect. Getting into the planetarium was pretty easy. The employees were very nice and directed us the whole way to our seats. The show started a little after 7 and was pretty decent for a planetarium show. My only complaint was that the presenters could've been a little more exciting, some parts were boring. I would definitely go back if I was confident that the next show I was seeing was by good presenters.

Photo courtesy of Goldstar.com
Kathleen R.

It doesn't take much to amuse me. A simple formula of 3f + 4w + 1b* usually yields a good time had by all. But recent events suggest that it's time to diversify the old review portfolio. I.e., Yelp included a snippet of one of my reviews in its weekly Metro newspaper ad. Right above my picture, it read: "Category: Drinks." Color me typecast! So here's an explicitly non-alcoholic review. We've all heard of or gone to a showing of "The Wizard of Oz" accompanied by Pink Floyd, right? The SonicVision show is kinda like that, but the Galaxy stands in for Dorothy and a Moby mix replaces Pink Floyd. So if you've been on the hunt for a place that lets you listen to U2 while you watch eyeballs bouncing around planets, your search is over! "Flight of the Conchords" fans will also chuckle when Bowie comes on during another space scene ("This is Bowie to Bowie..."). As I've already said, this is a substance-free review, so I can't comment on how other variables may heighten the experience. But you can probably guess. In addition to the sounds and sights, the chairs shake at times in sync with the soundtrack. Unfortunately, I found this uncomfortable and jolting. Also, if the show is going on above you, they should really make the seats recline a bit more. My neck was feeling it by the end of the 40 minute screening. And in all seriousness, I wouldn't recommend the show to anyone who is epileptic, drunk or sensitive to motion sickness. Seizures and / or *reversals of fortune* are no one's idea of a good time. Regardless, this was definitely one of the most unique dates I've been on in awhile. I should also mention that if you get the tix from Goldstar (one of those free newsletters with discount offers), they're $7.50 a piece. Which is great, because in addition to being all the rage this season, "cultured and cost-conscious" will really never go out of style. *Where f=friends, w=well-made cocktail and b=bartender with yummy accent

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Pretty good. The shows are better than the guided stories. Small but nice for families

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Ask the Community - Hayden Planetarium

Review Highlights - Hayden Planetarium

We bought the special ticket to watch the Dark Universe and I thought it was really worth it.

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Spyscape - Special Ops Challenge

Spyscape

4.3(496 reviews)
1.2 miMidtown West, Hell's Kitchen
Free WiFi
Large group friendly

I found Skyscape museum while walking in the area and trying to get out of heavy snow. I wasn't…read morefully sure what to expect but I left really happy we got to experience it. Skyscape is a really engaging and a well designed experience. Theres a lot to see and do, with interactive spy style missions that kept both me and my son entertained the entire time! My son was completely locked in the whole time and I was right there pretending I definitely understood the instructions on the first try. It's mostly a hands on experience, you're not just walking through exhibits, you're actually participating, solving challenges and learning as you go. Even better, it didn't feel crowded, which made it comfortable to move through at our own pace. We were able to go back and redo some of the exhibits we enjoyed, which made the experience even more fun the second (and third) time around. Overall, a great mix of entertainment and learning, especially for kids but enjoyable for adults too. 10/10. My son loved every second. I loved pretending I knew what was going on.

What a fun and interactive place with friends or a date night! The husband and I came here as a…read moreswitch from a typical dinner and drinks date night. On weeknights, it's cheaper than the weekends, which made this experience more worth it at $27pp. Plus, you also save a couple dollars by purchasing your tickets beforehand online. We participated in the Spygames portion, which was worth doing. Once we got a wristband and setup an account, we got to start the games. They also offer free lockers (you'll want to remove any purses, bags, jackets, etc) as you'll be moving a lot. There's 10 rooms of a variety of games although some are similar or duplicates. You'll be very active jumping, climbing, and running around. The hour went by pretty quick but we were both sweating and exhausted by the end of it, so an hour is really all you need.

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Spyscape - Surveillance Challenge

Surveillance Challenge

Spyscape - SPYGAMES

SPYGAMES

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SPYGAMES

American Museum of Natural History - The best time to plant trees was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
        --Chinese Proverb

American Museum of Natural History

4.1(2.6k reviews)
0.0 miUpper West Side, Central Park

Yes it's a museum ... but not any museum! This museum has everything and anything science related…read more We mostly went for the dinosaur exhibit and my song loved it. The museum is so nice and so detailed he loved everything else he saw! Be prepared to spend a long time here! I came thinking may 2 or 3 hr ... since a smaller city is what you get. Nope! This can be an all day event and well worth the price

We visited American Museum of Natural History on Jun 25, 2025. Tickets were purchased online by…read morescanning the QR code posted by the entrance. My primary concern was my backpack being too large to be allowed in per their policy. In addition, it contained my laptop. Then I noticed that a departing visitor had a backpack about the size as mine. At the was security checkpoint, my backpack was searched, and then we were allowed in. The first hall we went to was the David S. and Ruth L. Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, or Planet Earth as shown on the map. Its exhibits offered a wealth of information on everything geological about the planet. It would take me at least an hour to peruse them all. Next was the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall - devoted to the namesake half-term Governor of New York, Rough Rider boss and President of the United States. There was also another hall on Floor 2 bearing his name but we didn't get around to see it. I was however amazed by the next hall. It bore Roosevelt's name but is simply known as Biodiversity on the Floor 1 map. Hundreds... no, thousands of life-sized replicas of creatures of various shapes and sizes on the walls and ceiling - the Spectrum of Life. I didn't think squids were that large, but there they were. The Rain Forest exhibit was there, and so was the Siberian Tigers exhibit. If the Biodiversity hall was amazing, the next one was epic. Named the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life and spanning two stories, its biggest star is the life-sized model of the great Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the hall. No matter where I was, the whale was in my line of sight. There were more exhibits on the lower level, including the Walruses. I did not take more pictures because the lighting was poor. I could sit in this hall all day and do nothing but marvel. I would even pay to spend the night here in front of the great blue whale. (It's not the real thing but still magnificent.) Time was limited so we moved on... to the Futter Gallery. To all the party-lovers out there, this is the place to host a party. You can claim you partied with celebrities... well, portraits of them. Next was the Northwest Coast Hall for exhibits of Native American culture. Wife liked this one the most. The collection was impressive. One exhibit was a set of Tlingit artefacts enclosed in glass located near an alcove. These artefacts supposedly had a history of occultic usage with a sign on the glass warning against any form of photography. Though not superstitious, I chose not to take any pictures. At this point, Wife was ready to call it quits. I wanted to see the dinosaur exhibits, which was on Floor 4. She was interested in Gardner D. Stout Hall of Asian Peoples that was on Floor 2. According to the map, Asian Peoples had the largest floor area and certainly felt like it. Unlike the layout of Northwest Coast where one could access to and from any point in the hall, Asian Peoples had wall partitions and aisles flanked on both sides by enclosed exhibits. Lots of life-sized dioramas of human figurines in period costumes, minimalist homesteads, domestic tools and wares, weapons, statues and miniature ships that represented the diverse cultures across Asia. Most notable were the Chinese and Japanese ones with artifacts from religion (especially Buddhism), mythology (including the Eight Immortals) and theater (Noh and Chinese opera masks). Finally, the dinosaurs on Floor 4. In the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, I saw the t-rex and the apatosaurus. A guide told us that we happened to be in the final hall and suggested that we backtracked using the arrows on the floor to see the others. From there, we went into the long, large Hall of Vertebrate Origins. Unlike the former, the latter had life-sized models and fossils hanging from the ceiling. I didn't realize a pterodactyl was in my photo until much later. The Orientation Center did indeed have the titanosaur with its neck stretching to the next hall. Sadly, the pictures I took of it didn't turn out good. On to Paul and Irma Milstein Hall of Advanced Mammals, then the Hall of Primitive Mammals, and finally the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs for the triceratops and the stegosaurus. I'm pleased that the five original Dinobots (from "The Transformers" series) were represented. After almost two hours in the museum, Wife wanted to leave. Otherwise, I'd have spent the rest of the day exploring the rest of the museum. It would take more than a day to appreciate every exhibit in every hall on every floor. The ticket price felt like a bargain, but we got $30 worth of it. My top three favorite exhibits are Ocean Life, the entire Floor 4 of dinosaurs, and Biodiversity. I'd love to come back here again.

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American Museum of Natural History - Don't play what's there; play what's not there. 
        --Miles Davis

Don't play what's there; play what's not there. --Miles Davis

American Museum of Natural History - "Beyond smart enough to think it, one must be brave enough to be it"
        --VerveBimly

"Beyond smart enough to think it, one must be brave enough to be it" --VerveBimly

American Museum of Natural History - "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." 
               ― Jack London

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"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ― Jack London

Rose Center for Earth and Space - Research is what I do when I don't know what I'm doing....
      --Albert Einstein

Rose Center for Earth and Space

4.0(35 reviews)
0.0 miUpper West Side, Central Park

Great show on the origin of the universe. Interesting exhibit outside the planetarium showing where…read morehumans fit in with the beginning of the universe, but it's hard to fathom.

Space...the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the…read moreStarship, Enterprise. Its 5-year mission... To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before! Awwww-aw-awwww-awww-awww-aw! OK, enough with the Star Trek theme...I think the Rose Center is very cool for young and old alike, and I've been about three times since it opened in 2000. That's probably enough for an old curmudgeon like me who remembers staying up for those all-night TV broadcasts of the Gemini and Apollo missions. It's a great set-up that begins with the Big Bang Theater, where you're led into a dark room and a circular screen on the floor where Maya Angelou's voiceover explains how the universe was first formed. It used to be Jodie Foster's voice right after she did "Contact", but I guess even in space, contracts expire. Then you walk down the spiral walkway known as the Heilbrun Cosmic Pathway, an image-oriented timeline of the universe's history from the Big Bang to the present day. Lots of cool pictures taken from the Hubble to peruse, though watch out for impatient kids attempting to age you faster than you want. Most people pay the extra $14 for the 1/2-hour film in the Hayden Planetarium. They make a big ta-dah out of it by making you go up an elevator into a darkened waiting room and then into the rocketship-type seats in the planetarium. I remember the Tom Hanks-narrated one very well as it tracked a voyage from Earth to the outer reaches of the universe. I missed the Harrison Ford-narrated film which discussed extraterrestrials. However, I did just see the Robert Redford-narrated one where he shows how cosmic collisions formed the moon and the Milky Way. I just kept thinking how old and grizzly Bob is starting to sound. There is one shocking moment when a meteor hits Earth...like a gazillion years ago. Pretty soon, they'll run out of male menopausal American movie stars to narrate what's left to describe of the universe. I assume Barbra Streisand will be next singing "Somewhere" to an enraptured audience of Martians. My one complaint about the Rose Center is the poor coordination with the adjoining Museum of Natural History, in particular, how little direction you are given to buy the combination ticket that would save you money on the ticket for the planetarium show. We had to go back and ask for a refund in order to get the significant discount. What a pain. Oh well, there's a great gift shop...always the sign of a great museum, including my favorite item, a kit to show how farts happen. Gee, I think I have the perfect white elephant exchange gift for the office.

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Rose Center for Earth and Space - My opportunity to mash dash and splash a new view. Thanks for that.

My opportunity to mash dash and splash a new view. Thanks for that.

Rose Center for Earth and Space - The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer
    -Ken Kesey

The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer -Ken Kesey

Rose Center for Earth and Space - "Art is the funnel, as it were, through which spirit is poured into life"
  -Thomas Mann

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"Art is the funnel, as it were, through which spirit is poured into life" -Thomas Mann

Liberty Science Center

Liberty Science Center

3.7(463 reviews)
6.6 mi

We visited Liberty Science Center for the first time during their Wild About Animals event and I…read morewas honestly surprised by how much there was to do. The butterfly house was definitely a highlight for me. It's a really nice walk-through space with butterflies flying all around you, and some even land on you which made it feel really special. The chick hatchery was also really cool. Being able to see chicks hatch in real time is not something you get to experience often, and it's a great learning moment without feeling like a "lesson." There were also a lot of animals to see throughout the exhibits. We saw everything from turtles and snakes to more unique ones like Madagascar cockroaches. The kids were really into it and spent a lot of time just watching them. They also had the Easter Bunny there which was a nice bonus, and the photo is free which is always a plus. We made sure to check out SUE the T. rex before it leaves, it's huge and definitely worth seeing at least once. There's also a Daniel Tiger exhibit that's great for younger kids, especially if they just want to play and explore. Overall, it was a really fun and easy day with the kids. I like that it's a mix of fun and learning, and there's enough to keep everyone entertained for a few hours. Definitely worth visiting, especially while this event is still running.

I recently visited Liberty Science Center with my 2 year old son and another family with two boys,…read morearound ages 6 and 9. Overall, we had a good experience, though it definitely felt more geared toward older children than very young ones. There is an interactive room designed for younger kids, which we appreciated. We tried the planetarium, but unfortunately my son didn't enjoy it--the images moving toward him scared him. Luckily, the show was only about 20 minutes long. Highlights: the "ice" rink (big win with the kids), a hands-on chromatography experiment where I learned about capillary action, and an air spout exhibit with a floating ball that my son couldn't get enough of. There were also animals and insects on display, which added some variety. Overall, we enjoyed the experience, but it did feel a bit expensive when you factor everything in. Admission for two with the planetarium ($8) was $73, and between driving, tolls, paid parking ($7), and heavy traffic on the way back to Westchester, it added up quickly. It's a fun and educational spot, especially for older kids, but the cost and travel make it more of an occasional visit for us.

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Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center - The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, is now open at LSC.

The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, is now open at LSC.

Liberty Science Center - The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, is now open at LSC.

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The Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, is now open at LSC.

Hayden Planetarium - planetarium - Updated May 2026

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