Natural History Museum

I am having a ball being so close to so many museums!  Not only are they clustered in one spot, but admission to them is free!!!  When our friends John and Diana came to visit, I knew that top on our list of things to do was go to a museum!  We chose the Smithsonian Naitonal Museum of Natural History (NMNH).

Max looks thrilled to be there while Simone can't take her eyes off the exhibit!

What I love about Smithsonian exhibits are how creatively they display the taxidermy!  California Academy of Sciences's (CSA) African Hall is dramatic with the landscapes and animals it showcases, but it feels 2 dimensional compared to symbiotic relationships portrayed here!  This exhibit with the elephant even shows the animals that live underground in the savannah.  But don't get me wrong about  CSA - it is still one of my favorite museums.  I just didn't think I could be impressed again and Smithsonian has done it!

My favorite bird, the chickadee!

Butterfly Pavilion

We were all eager to see the butterfly exhibit and thankfully we went on a day that entrance to this special area is free.  When Max and I had gone to a butterfly garden at Tampa's science museum, I was so underwhelmed.  There were barely any butterflies and there was no literature regarding which insect was which!  At NMNH, there were charts within and videos outside about the life of moths and butterflies.  

A rusty-tipped page above and one I couldn't find on the chart

Two buckeyes getting jiggy

Talk about camouflage!  This is called the Orange Dead Leaf.

I had once asked my friend Kerry what the difference between a crocodile and alligator is and she drew me pictures of their heads.  Here are pictures to illustrate the difference - they're quite unique!

Alligator: wide and  short

Crocodile: narrow and long. 

Here is another example of the excellent quality in Smithsonian exhibits.  Not only do you see the alligator skeleton but floating around is its skin!  I don't know if the gravity of this display has hit the kids, but I hope it's tucked into their brains somewhere.

Fennec Fox

This fox is soooooooo cute to me!  I would want to befriend it if I saw it in the wild.  

Action!

Coral Reef

I didn't see much of the ocean life hall because I had to move the car.  That is the downfall of DC museums - lack of parking.  I would pay $20 to let my car sit there for 4 hours, but there is not real estate for a parking near these touristy areas.  We can take the metro, but it takes quite a while and a walk to get there. 

We decided to go again so Diana could see the gem and minerals exhibit.  The kids were excited to visit the very next day!  

I wasn't much impressed with the gems but found the minerals interesting!  The hunk of rock above is halite, or more commonly known as salt!

I would definitely head back to this museum regardless of who was in town.  In fact I'd love to spend my "alone" time and just leisurely read every placard of this building!!