February at the American Museum of Natural History Includes ROMANCE UNDER THE STARS, HERE WE STAND, and More

Catching a Comet with the Rosetta Spacecraft
Monday, February 2, at 7:30 pm
Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
$15 ($12 Members; $13.50 seniors, students)
The Rosetta space mission is one of the most ambitious ever flown. Launched in 2004, Rosetta finally reached its goal in August 2014 when it became the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet. Not only will Rosetta escort and study the comet for more than a year, but its lander, which touched down on the comet in November 2014, has already examined it in greater detail than ever before. This "mission of firsts" has brought scientists along on a journey that is providing new insights about our world and its origin. In this presentation, Dr. Joel Parker, one of the scientists on the Rosetta mission, will take audiences through Rosetta's expedition so far, offer a glimpse of what will happen next, and share the excitement of why we study comets and what they can tell us about the solar system billions of years ago and today.

SciCafe: NYC Subways: Mapping the Urban Microbiome, Genome, and Metagenome
Wednesday, February 4
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Program begins at 7 pm
Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis
Free with cash bar
21+ with ID
Enter at 77th Street
Geneticists such as Chris Mason, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Biophysics at Weill Cornell University, are combing the New York City subway system to swab surfaces, collect specimens, and create a map of the urban microbiome and DNA in the world that surrounds us. The approach involves rapid, continual sampling and analysis of microbiomes in public places to detect changes that could signal a microbial threat due to bioterrorism or emergent disease. The project could serve as a model for detection, rapid-response, and containment of bioterrorism and other microbial dangers and may eventually give real-time, city-wide diagnostics for medical laboratories.

The SciCafe Series is proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

Museum Lecture: Darwin Goes Digital
Tuesday, February 10, at 6:30 pm
Kaufmann Theater
$15 ($13.50 seniors, students)
Free for Members, Reservations required. Please call Central Reservations at 212-769-5200 to reserve
Charles Darwin's Evolutionary Manuscripts include numerous original documents that make it possible to trace the long maturation of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. A panel of noted Darwin experts will mark the Museum's historic online publication of this entire 30,000-item corpus by speaking on the collection's never-before-published treasures. The presenters will includeRandal Keynes, a conservationist and Darwin's great-great-grandson; field biologist and historian of evolution James Costa, and David Kohn, director of the Museum's Darwin Manuscripts Project. Moderated by Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch.

Romance Under the Stars
Saturday, February 14, at 6 pm and 9:30 pm
Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
$125 per person
Celebrate Valentine's Day with a unique NYC experience only at the Hayden Planetarium. Join us for a cocktail hour, complete with open bar, champagne, and hors d'oeuvres, along with the music of theJosh Rutner Quartet. Then join Hayden presenters Lydia Maria Petrosino and Ted Williams in the planetarium for a view of the night sky. Sit back and enjoy some of the greatest romance stories from the ancient celestial past.

Sackler Brain Bench: One-Day Course
The Early Childhood Brain
Saturday, February 21, 9 am-­4 pm
$95 ($85 Members)
What lies behind the wonder in a baby's eyes? Are my toddler's tantrums, say, or facility with language, determined by genes or upbringing? In this one-day course, a group of experts will lead you through recent insights into early childhood brain development.

Guest Speakers:

Dr. Catherine Monk, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University; Director of Research, The Women's Program, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University; Research Scientist IV, Division of Behavioral Medicine, New York State Psychiatric Institute; Senior Sackler Scientist, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons; Co-Director, Sackler Parent Infant Project, the Sackler Institute, Columbia University.

Dr. Charles Nelson, Professor of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital; Director of Research, Developmental Medicine Center; Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Nim Tottenham, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Columbia University.

The Museum gratefully acknowledges The Mortimer D. Sackler Foundation, Inc. for its support to establish the Sackler Brain Bench, part of the Museum's Sackler Educational Laboratory for Comparative Genomics and Human Origins, in the Spitzer Hall of Human Origins, offering ongoing programs and resources for adults, teachers, and students to illuminate the extraordinary workings of the human brain.

NASA Missions
Tuesday, February 24, at 6:30 pm
Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
$15 ($12 Members; $13.50 seniors, students)
After an eight-year journey, NASA's New Horizons mission will soon be arriving at Pluto. It is very far away, but far from the only mission that NASA has sent out. Various spacecraft with scientific instruments are all throughout the solar system-some orbit Earth, some have landed on Mars, and others have plunged into Jupiter. Join Brian Levine and Carter Emmart for a ride around the solar system, and maybe even farther, to visit these missions and check on the truly amazing research they are performing.

HERE WE STAND: Honor Black History
Saturday, February 28
LeFrak Theater
3-5 pm
Free for Members or with Museum admission
Experience globally-minded, groundbreaking artists create history at the Museum! Legendary hip-hop artist Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, NEA Jazz Master Delfeayo Marsalis, and renowned director Jamal Joseph together with the Oscar-nominated Harlem-based IMPACT Repertory Theatre and New Orleans' Uptown Music Theatre, choreography by Obediah Wright, premiere "From the African Village to the Urban Village."

From the African Village to the Urban Village." "From the African Village to the Urban Village" is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Art Works.

Support for multicultural programs is provided, in part, by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., the Sidney, Milton and Leoma Simon Foundation, the family of Frederick H. Leonhardt, and The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation.

Museum Info

Hours

The Museum is open daily, 10 am-5:45 pm. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving and on Christmas Day.

Admission

Museum admission is free to all New York City school and camp groups.

Suggested general admission, which supports the Museum's scientific and educational endeavors and offers access to the Museum's 46 halls including the Rose Center for Earth and Space, is $22 (adults) suggested, $17 (students/seniors) suggested, $12.50 (children) suggested. All prices are subject to change.

The Museum offers discounted combination ticket prices that include suggested general admission plus special exhibitions, IMAX/3D films, and Space Shows.

• Museum Plus One includes one special exhibition, IMAX/3D film, or Space Show: $27 (adults), $22 (students/seniors), $16 (children)

• Museum Supersaver includes all special exhibitions, IMAX/3D film, and Space Show: $35 (adults), $28 (students/seniors), $22 (children)

Visitors who wish to pay less than the suggested Museum admission and also purchase a ticket to attend a special exhibition, IMAX/3Dfilm, or Space Show may do so on site at the Museum. To the amount they wish to pay for general admission, they add $25 (adults), $20.50 (students/seniors), or $13.50 (children) for a Space Show, special exhibition, or IMAX/3D film.

Public Information

For additional information, the public may call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum's website atamnh.org.

Follow

Become a fan of the Museum on Facebook at facebook.com/naturalhistory, or visit twitter.com/AMNHto follow us on Twitter.