At New York's American Museum of Natural History, "For the Win" Puts Sports Treasures on the Upper West Side

The American Museum of Natural History on the Upper West Side opened "For the Win: Objects of Sports Excellence" on May 15, and it is scheduled to run into early 2027. A museum best known for dinosaurs and planetarium shows is taking on sports through a lens it knows well: gems and minerals.

The show is installed in the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, inside the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. More than 70 objects are on view. According to MLB.com, this is not a memorabilia exhibit of jerseys and caps. Every object is made with gems or minerals, and the pieces were sourced from institutions, leagues and athletes around the world, many of them things fans cannot normally see up close.

One highlight is a gold medal won by Jesse Owens at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. National Jeweler reports that the exhibition spans championship rings, trophies, medals and jewelry from nearly 150 years, across more than 15 sports including basketball, baseball, football, soccer, tennis, boxing and golf. It also traces how sports prizes have evolved, from traditional medals and trophy cups to elaborate rings.

MLB.com also points to a 2024 New York Liberty championship ring among the objects, so local fans will find names they know presented as works of craft. For visitors from Japan, the draw is seeing familiar sports, baseball above all, through the eye of jewelry and mineral collections rather than a hall-of-fame display.

The museum is at 200 Central Park West.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by MLB.com, National Jeweler.)