Today, New York is known for its diverse culture and fast-paced lifestyle. No other place in the world epitomizes city life like New York with its sky-high infrastructures, bright lights, and its ever changing cultural trends. But can you ever imagine massive mastodons once roaming the bustling streets of New York? Or the skyscraper-dominated skyline filled with 170 native New York birds flying about? Have you ever wondered how each of the famous neighborhoods immortalized in books, movies and songs started out?
At the New York State Museum in Albany, you will find the answers to these questions and more. In fact, a trip to the museum can teach tourists that there’s something more to the glitzy and glamorous image New York has long been associated with. Stripped of the glitz and glamour, New York is simply another state that started out as a land for immigrants who dared to become dreamers and visionaries in a foreign country.
See and learn about the other side of the “Empire State” with a trip to the New York State Museum. Here you will see popular exhibits detailing the evolution of New York from the prehistoric times to the modern day New York like the interactive Cohoes Mastodon exhibit which showcase the skeletal remains of a mastodon unearthed more than 100 years ago, the Native Peoples of New York which explores the cultural history and landscapes of New York dating back to the Ice Age until the present day, and The World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery, Response exhibit which not only recounts the tragic events and the public’s response to the September 11, 2001 attacks but also includes artifacts recovered from the site like the remains of a firefighter’s used ladder among others.
Learning more about the Empire State will give you a better understanding of the state and have a deep, giving respect for the New Yorkers who continue to give shape to their beloved New York.