Museum events

EXHIBITIONS

Biodiversity of Vietnam

Opens March 20

Akeley Gallery, second floor

This exhibition of photographs highlights Vietnam's remarkable diversity of plants and animals and the Museum's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation's ongoing research there.

This exhibition is made possible by the generosity of the Arthur Ross Foundation.

The First Europeans: Treasures from the Hills of Atapuerca

Through April 13

Gallery 3, third floor

The First Europeans reveals the mysteries of ancient humans in western Europe through exquisitely preserved hominid and animal fossils found in northern Spain.

Co-organized by the American Museum of Natural History and Junta de Castilla y Leon.

Einstein

Through August 10, 2003

Gallery 4, fourth floor

This exhibition profiles this extraordinary scientific genius, whose achievements were so substantial that his name is virtually synonymous with science in the public mind.

Organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York; The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles. Einstein is made possible through the generous support of Jack and Susan Rudin and the Skirball Foundation, and of the Corporate Tour Sponsor, TIAA-CREE

The Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter

Through May 26, 2003

The butterflies are back! This popular exhibition includes more than 500 live, free-flying tropical butterflies in an enclosed tropical habitat where visitors can mingle with them.

The Butterfly Conservatory is made possible through the generous support of Bernard and Anne Spitzer and Con Edison.

CONFERENCE

Vietnam in the 21st Century: Journeys on the Ground and in the Imagination

Saturday and Sunday, 3/22 and 3/23

10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

This conference on recent fieldwork in Vietnam highlights contemporary marriage, tourism and local identity, environmental issues, religious traditions, and more. Please call 212-769-5891.

FILM SCREENING

Tay Puppet Story: Tham Roc Village

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and Richard Connors. 2000.30 min.

Sunday, 3/23, 12:30 p.m.

In this story of cultural revival, the last surviving members of a venerable puppet troupe lead young apprentices in mounting the first public performance in nearly 50 years. Post-screening discussion.

LECTURES

Women as Society Builders

Saturday, 3/8, 10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Celebrate International Women's Day with an address by Mae Jemison, the first African American female astronaut, followed by film screenings and tours of Museum exhibits.

Beneath the Myth of the Kalahari Bushman

Thursday, 3/13, 7:00 p.m.

Travel writer Rupert Isaacson discusses his book The Healing Land: The Bushmen and the Kalahari, followed by a book signing.

The Empty Ocean

Tuesday, 3/18, 7:00 p.m.

Richard Ellis addresses the fate of the ocean's wildlife in his latest book, The Empty Ocean.

Journeys: A Dialogue

Tuesday, 3/25, 7:00 p.m.

The co-curators of Vietnam will discuss how staff of two museums with distinct traditions of museum practice worked together on the exhibition's implementation.

WORKSHOP

Animal Drawing

Eight Thursdays, 3/6-5/1

An intensive drawing course among the Museum's famed dioramas.

FAMILY PROGRAMS

Andrew Lost

Saturday, 3/15, 2:00 p.m.

Meet author J. C. Greenberg.

Identification Day

Saturday, 3/29, 1:00-4:30 p.m.

Bring your basement curios and garage-sale finds of natural and cultural objects to this perennial favorite event, and Museum scientists will try to identify them. Please call 212-769-5176.

Puppets on Parade

Saturday, 3/29, 1:00-4:30 p.m.

Explore the diverse art of puppetry as it illustrates traditional and contemporary stories. Please call 212-769-5315.

CHILDREN'S ASTRONOMY PROGRAMS

I Want to Be an Astronaut

Saturday, 3/8, 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m., or 2:30-4:00 p.m.

(Ages 4-6, each child with one adult)

Star Myths: An Introduction to Mythology

Sunday, 3/16, 1:00-2:30 p.m. (Ages 7-9)

Fly Me to the Moon

Saturday, 3/29, 12:00 noon-1:30 p.m., or 2:30-4:00 p.m.

(Ages 4-6, each child with one adult)

Space Explorers

Myths and Constellations of the Spring Sky

Tuesday, 3/11,4:30-5:45 p.m.

(Ages 12 and up)

HAYDEN PLANETARIUM PROGRAMS

The Life and Death of Planet Earth

Monday, 3/3, 7:30 p.m.

Peter Ward discusses his latest book, coauthored with Don Brownlee.

Cosmos 1: Reaching for the Stars

Monday, 3/24, 7:30 p.m.

Learn how "light pressure" has the power to send a solar sail out among the stars. With Louis Friedman.

Celestial Highlights

Tuesday, 3/25, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

This monthly tour of the heavens offers a view of the constantly changing night sky.

SPACE SHOWS

The Search for Life: Are We Alone?

Narrated by Harrison Ford

Every half hour, Sunday-Thursday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Look Up!

Saturday and Sunday, 10:15 a.m.

(Recommended for children ages 6 and under)

LARGE-FORMAT FILMS

In the Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak

IMAX Theater

Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey

Take a rhythmic voyage of discovery around the world of percussion and movement.