The American Museum of Natural History announced big plans Wednesday for its big 150th anniversary, including exhibits, an anniversary website and a new space show in the planetarium.
The slate of events is starting next month to commemorate the museum's incorporation in April 1869, with the opening of the "T. rex: The Ultimate Predator" exhibit on March 11, and will continue over the next couple of years.
Another part of the plan is an exhibition on the statue of Theodore Roosevelt at the museum's entrance. It will include discussions about statues in public spaces and issues of racism and cultural representation.
Some spaces in the museum are being renovated or redesigned in conjunction with the anniversary, including the Northwest Coast Hall, which was the museum's first cultural gallery, and the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals.
The gems and mineral display, re-opening in the fall of 2020, will include new specimens like a 12-foot (3.7-meter) geode.
The Northwest Coast gallery is scheduled to re-open in 2021, and native scholars and artists are advising on the project.
The museum is also breaking ground on a 230,000-square-foot (21,368-square meter) facility, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, which will let visitors look into the museum's storage and research areas.
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