This massive, research-based museum is a center of art, science, and history dedicated to exploring the human and natural history of New York State. Established in 1836, it is the oldest and largest state museum in the country and each year welcomes thousands of students and visitors from across the world.

 
The museum’s 100,000 square feet of exhibition space features several new exhibitions every year as well as long-term exhibitions. Its wide-ranging exhibits features 9/11 artifacts and totals more than 16 million scientific specimens and one million cultural objects.


Some of its permanent exhibits includes a full-sized carousel made between 1912 and 1916 by the Herschell-Spillman Company of Tonawanda; an exhibit of historic fire fighting vehicles from the 19th and 20th centuries; and the skeletal remains of a mastodon excavated in Cohoes, New York in 1866.

 
From its inception, this museum has been home to some of the nation’s leading scientists, including the founders of American paleontology, ethnology, botany and mycology. It also offers a variety of educational public programs for all ages.