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American Museum of Natural History (NY, NY)

James Taylor

Over Christmas break, my family took a trip to New York City to explore and experience everything the city has to offer. One pertinent part of our trip was a tour of the American Museum of Natural History. We spent numerous hours exploring every floor and exhibit the museum had. There are a couple of exhibits that pertain to this course. One in particular was the “Hall of Plains Indians”. The exhibit consisted of highlighting military and ceremonial societies, which played an important role, as well as games, weapons, and agricultural tools. Distinctive clothing was emphasized and the exhibit as a whole painted a fantastic picture of what life was like as a Plains Indian. One of the coolest pieces in the exhibit was a Folsom Point arrowhead that is made of flint and is over 10,000 years old. Another exhibit was the “Hall of Eastern Woodlands Indians”. This was a similar display, but had a few different artifacts and props that were very interesting. One in particular was Menominee birchbark canoe, which was made entirely of forest products and was light enough to be carried from stream to stream. The exhibit details how the canoe was constructed and its importance in transporting people and goods through forested areas. This museum is definitely a place of interest when visiting New York. It depicts so many different pieces of life and is so fascinating to try and fathom some of the animals that lived in the past, and how incredible it is that people have reconstructed this so well.