With dinosaur and blue whale skeletons, a Butterfly Conservatory, IMAX theater, and life-size historical dioramas, this Upper West Side mainstay is one of the most popular places in New York to bring your young ones.  It's usually crowded and can be difficult to navigate, so it's best to plan a route; the museum offers maps and navigation apps for this purpose.  The Rose Center for Earth and Space is an impressive glass and aluminum structure attached to the main building.  At its center is the large spherical planetarium-one of the most impressive virtual reality simulators in the world-you won't want to miss the chance to see one of its shows.  Admission is 22USD, which includes access to the Rose Center.

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