
The dinosaurs that greet you at the front of the Natural History Museum were our favorite ones, a hint to what most kids want to come see at this world class museum.
On the 41st day of our family road trip, the PapiBlogger family made it a “Day at the Museum” with a long overdue visit to New York’s incredible American Museum of Natural History.
NATURAL MUSEUM ‘WOWS’ THE KIDS
Your first family museum stop in the world museum capital of New York should be the American Museum of Natural History. If you’re wondering, yes, it’s the same one that appears in “Night of the Museum”, and yes, the museum does have the same Theodore Roosevelt and Dum Dum (an Easter Island pillar) you saw in the movie on display. Thanks to that movie these are some of the most famous icons of the museum.
When you go, plan for a full eight-hour day because there is a lot to see. This is one of those museums that requires some homework about what to see, when and for how long. Luckily the museum has a free App on iTunes that helps you do just that.

The famous Easter Island Head statute (Dumb Dumb on the movie "Night at the Museum" statute is one of the only parts of the museum with a constant line for photos.
The American Museum of Natural History has one of the best collections of original dinosaur bones in the world and given the popularity of these prehistoric beasts I would bet the dinosaur exhibit rooms is the most highly visited section. I won’t get into all the details about the museum but suffice to say that the kids ranked their favorite parts of the museum for me in this order: 1. dinosaurs, 2. Rose Center for Earth and Space and 3. Hall of North American Mammals.
Jonathan and Elena spent so much time taking photographs of the dinosaurs that the day literally ran out on us. Planning your visit is key to maximizing your time there. One bonus about this museum too is that there is no specific cost. They recommend a donation amount and you give what you see fit.
WORLD PREMIERE OF ‘GUN’

PapiBlogger went to the world premiere of Jessy Terrero's "Gun" at the New York Latino Film Festival.
In the evening the PapiBlogger family split into two camps. I went to the world premiere at the New York International Latino Film Festival of “Gun”, a feature film directed by my good friend and two-time Hollywood director Jessy Terrero. The urban crime movie, starring 50 Cent and Val Kilmer, got cheers from the audience as the film ended. Terrero is a multi-talented, Hollywood and music video director that you will hear much more from in the future.
While I went to the glitzy after party to celebrate the premiere with friends, Angela and the kids stayed back and went to eat some sushi.
SPRINT NEXTEL ROAD TRIP TIP OF THE DAY
Unless you’re planning to do something extraordinary with certain photos or videos, save packing space on your vacation and leave your tripods behind. If you’re going into a museum or indoor exhibit of any kind, anywhere in the United States I can personally assure you there is virtually no chance you will be allowed to use a tripod without special permissions. The only time to consider lugging tripods around is when visiting natural destinations like the Grand Canyon or viewing unrestricted monuments like Mount Rushmore or Devil’s Tower.