The American Museum of Natural History has opened the Petra Shop in conjunction with Petra: Lost City of Stone. Much of the merchandise in the Petra Shop is from Jordan, handcrafted by local artisans. On Saturday, December 13, and Sunday, December 14, Huda Qasim an artisan from Jordan will be in the Petra Shop to hand-paint special glass ornaments for visitors.
Located on the fourth floor, adjacent to the Petra exhibition, the Petra Shop offers a wide selection of handicrafts from Jordan including handmade notepaper, soaps, ceramics, jewelry, and decorative pillows.
Highlights include:
- Decorative ceramic plates and mugs, painted with image of the Treasury ($10-$15)
- 14-inch-diameter decorative ceramic bowl etched in stylized desert animal motif ($150)
- Six royal-red velvet napkin rings with embroidered edges and gold tassel ($20)
- Dead Sea aromatic bath salts packed in a hand size decorative fabric bag with drawstring ($8)
- Bar of Jordan River extra virgin olive oil hand soap ($2)
- Sterling silver bracelets, earrings, and necklaces set with semiprecious stones ($45-$150)
- Blown-glass egg-shell-thin vases of varying shapes and sizes, richly marbled in eye-catching hues of blue, green, yellow, brown, and rose ($25-$45)
- Five-inch-high decorative ceramic olive oil vessel on a metal wire stand ($15)
- Plush 36-inch-tall camel, perfect for a child's room ($300)
- Plush 17-inch-tall Asian elephant puppet ($55)
- Hand-blown red and green glass ornaments with raised designs in gold paint ($8 each)
- Selection of brightly colored pillows with varied and complex stitching patterns ($35-$60)
- Accessories including embroidered purses and hair bands ($10-$60)
- Whimsical Petra t-shirt emblazoned with a camel train, and a t-shirt with photo reproduction of the Treasury ($19.95)
- Selection of history and art books on Petra and Jordan ($12.95-$200)
The Museum's Main Shop, a stunning triplex retail space, has entrances located on the first and second floors just off the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall and Rotunda. (Museum admission is not required to enter the Main Shop.) Other stores within the Museum include: the Planetarium Shop in the Rose Center for Earth and Space; the Satellite Shop in the Rose Center; Dinostore and More on the fourth floor; the Vietnamese Marketplace, in the 77th Street lobby adjacent to the exhibition Vietnam: Journeys of Body, Mind & Spirit; and the Butterfly Shop outside The Butterfly Conservatory. Merchandise from the Museum Shop is also available online at here.
