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Privacy Policy

Introduction
The American Museum of Natural History (also herein referred to as AMNH or the Museum) is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its online visitors. We believe that maintaining privacy on the Web is very important, and that informing our visitors about the types of information we collect and how we use it is crucial.
Information Collection and Use

The American Museum of Natural History does not collect any personal information about individuals—such as names and postal or email addresses—except when such information is knowingly provided to the Museum.

Personal information may be obtained from online transactions as detailed below. Additionally, personal information may be transmitted as part of a form submission or in connection with other activities, services, or resources made available on our site. Any personal identification information retrieved by the Museum must be voluntarily submitted by the user.

Surveys

From time to time, the Museum may provide you the opportunity to participate in surveys. If you participate, we will request certain personal information from you. Participation in these surveys is completely voluntary and you therefore have a choice whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information may include household and demographic information (such as marital status and zip code).

We use the information obtained from survey responses to improve the experience of visitors to the Museum and the Museum's Web site. You may be given the opportunity to opt-in for Museum communications after participating in a survey, but this information is not associated with your survey responses.

We may use a third-party service provider to conduct these surveys or contests; that company is prohibited from using our users' personally identifiable information for any other purpose. We will not share the personally identifiable information you provide through a survey with third parties unless we give you prior notice and choice.

Contact Forms

The information provided to the Museum using the online Contact Us form is used for responding to your comments and inquiries and will not be used for any other purpose without your prior notice and consent.

Aggregate Information (Not Personally Identifiable)

The Museum's Web site does collect some anonymous non-personally identifiable aggregate information about visitors automatically when pages on our Web site are requested through a browser. This information is used for statistical purposes and to help us monitor how guests navigate our site, allowing us to tailor our services for the majority of visitors. Non-personally identifiable information may refer to information about our visitors' browsers (e.g., Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer), operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), Internet Service Providers, and other similar information.

The Museum's Web site collects IP addresses as a component of the non-personally identifiable aggregate information. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by a Web server when you're on the Internet. This information is used only for non-user-specific purposes such as determining how many users visited a specific area of our site. Such information could, if necessary, be used to identify a user in order to comply with safety and/or security issues or with legal requirements.

Any personal information provided to the American Museum of Natural History is maintained and accessible only by the Museum unless the Museum explicitly states otherwise.

Information Sharing
The Museum will not intentionally disclose any personal information about you as an individual user (such as your name, street address, telephone number, or email address) to any third party without having received your prior permission.
Third Party Partners
The American Museum of Natural History has teamed up with reputable third-party vendors in order to provide certain services to its online users. The Museum has taken precautions to insure that the privacy of its online visitors is protected by our online partners. In cases when users leave the Museum's site to visit one of its partners' sites, users are encouraged to become familiar with the privacy statements of each site they visit.
Links to Other Sites
Users may find content on the Museum's site that links to the sites and services of our partners, sponsors, or other third parties. In many cases, these links represent cooperative projects or are established with persons or entities that have a significant connection to or relationship with our site. Although every effort is made to ensure that site referrals are to reputable and relevant sources, the Museum does not control the content or links that appear on these sites. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies, or no policy at all. The Museum maintains a policy against the non-consensual collection or sharing of personal information and encourages visitors to review the privacy policies of any sites they visit to ensure their personal information is being protected.
Children
The Museum does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. Children should always ask parents for permission before providing personal information to any Web site or purchasing any products or services online. The AMNH urges all parents to participate in their children's exploration of the Internet and to teach them about protecting their personal information while online.
Choice and Opt-Out

If you give us permission, we may use any personal identification information you submit for Museum marketing and promotional purposes. For example, occasionally the Museum may wish to send emails to inform users of new exhibitions or events we think might be of interest to them. You will not receive such communications unless you have willingly provided the personal information required. In some cases, you will be required to opt-in by joining a mailing list or creating a registration account with the Web site. If you do opt-in, you will have the option to opt-out at any time by unsubscribing to that particular list or Web site registration or following the opt-out instructions included in the body of the email message.

If for any reason you do not wish to receive email from the Museum, please follow the instructions for unsubscribing included in the body of the message that was sent to you.

Policy Changes
Occasional changes may be made to this document as new services and content are added to our site or to reflect changes in the Museum's policies. Visitors to the Museum's Web site are encouraged to check this document periodically to stay informed of current AMNH privacy guidelines.
Acceptance of Terms
By using any of the American Museum of Natural History Web site(s), you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our sites. Your continued use of any AMNH site following the posting of changes to these terms will indicate your acceptance of those changes.