The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). simply known as Museum of Natural History is a large museum in New York City in America. It is located next to Central Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.This museum has the particularity of having its exhibits that come back to life every night due to the presence of a Tablet of Ahkmenrah. It is the first museum that Larry decides to work at and where most of his museum friends live.
History
The museum was built in memory of a president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, who has his stone statue at the front of the building. In 1954, an expedition to Egypt brought back a tablet that has since been on display. And since then, every night, the whole story comes back to life in the museum. N have to deal with miniature wars, Civil War soldiers ' clashes, Dexter's pranks, Attila's chases and many other dangers and surprises.
But over the years, the museum is less and less visited and goes bankrupt. The management dismissed its three night guards and replaced them with only one, Larry Daley, who managed to find peace in the museum and harmony among the residents. The strange events that happen are relayed in the media and thus attract the curiosity of the spectators, allowing the museum to redo the figure.
Two years later, the museum is modernized: it separates from its artifacts and replaces them with interactive holograms, which will be able to answer questions from visitors. The exhibits were sent to Washington, but returned two days later. Larry goes by without knowing an arrangement with Dr. McPhee: the museum will open at night. Now residents come back to life in front of visitors and ensure the show. But no one knows, they pretend to be animatronic.
Personnel
Museum
Entrance hall
Its a large room with high ceiling, paved floor and stone walls. The architecture of the room represents arches at the back, where two stairs, one on the right, the other on the left, lead to the upper floors. Two balconies allow to dominate the space. In addition to the posters hanging on the ceiling, the American flag is also hung. The only exhibits in the room are the skeleton of a T-Rex, at the entrance facing the doors, and the equestrian statue of President Roosevelt on his Texas in a showcase on the right side. A circular counter in the center of the room serves as an entrance window. Among the decorative elements, green plants, benches, a rotating globe in the center of the counter decorate the room. Although it is not in the lobby, an elevator on this floor serves the rest of the museum.
Temple of Ahkmenrah
It is here that the tablet allowing the museum to come to life is on display. It's embedded in a piece of wall designed for this purpose, facing the entrance. The visitor must cross the long corridor, under the high ceiling and between the columns on which the hieroglyphics follow. Two giant statues with the head of Anubis, protector of the deceased, guard the entrance. Basically, the pharaoh sleeps in his tomb, from which he is unable to come out at night.
The Hall of Miniatures
The room is open and well lit. The windows are built into the walls. They represent various civilizations, such as the Mayans, the Romans or American West. In the center is a wooden bench. The room also exhibits in display cases dials, old stones and any other object related to the miniature representations.
Hall of American History
A stag and a stage drawn by four horses are on display in the room. The Northerners and the Southerners are separated, each on a block, and face each other, their guns pointed at each other. But the main attraction is the showcase showing Sacagawea with Lewis and Clark. At night, Civil War soldiers clash and plunge the room into chaos of gunfire and explosions, while Lewis and Clark argue over which route to take. The stage coach is used by Cecil Fredericks to flee after he robs the museum.
Hall of African mammals
This room in tawny tones houses different spaces: the circular "enclosure" in the center represents a small portion of savannah with rocks on which a lion and two lionesses rest majestically, one lying down, the other sitting. A green space allows three monkeys (including Dexter) to hang, and a snake is also hidden in the foliage. The other enclosure, this time featuring a desert plain, exhibits pairs of zebras and antelopes as well as an ostrich. An elephant is represented behind a separation of ropes. A rhino, two leopards and birds are also in the room.
Ocean Life
Ocean Life is a early exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. The exhibit show cases marine life. Cecil Fredericks stumbles upon the exhibit while looking for Gus and Reginald after he manages to obtain the tablet back from Nick and Larry Daley. Cecil opens the doors leading into the exhibit but is soaked when the Blue Whale releases water onto him.
Security room
This is the room where the night guards can relax. They have lockers at their disposal, a desk and a sofa.
Director's Office
Gallery
Real Life Museum
The museum complex comprises of 27 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain over 32 million specimens of plants, humans, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts, of which only a small fraction can be displayed at any given time, and occupies 1,600,000 square feet (150,000 m2). The Museum has a full-time scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year, and averages about five million visits annually.
Filming
The interior scenes were that are seen in the films were shot at a sound stage in Vancouver, British Columbia, but exterior shots of the museum's façade were done at the actual Museum of Natural History. One of the most notable consequences of the film is the 20% increase in the number of visitors to the real museum after the film's release. In part, this helped the film crew get the Smithsonian clearance for second Night at the Museum.
