Week 3, part six, the National Museum of Natural History

The saddest-looking stuffed animal I have ever seen...

I've finally visited the National museum of Natural History! I have to say, one of the things that impressed me the most was that I left my sun cream and insect spray on a pillar outside the building (to comply with security regulations) and came back to get them 2 1/2 hours later, and they were still there! Ok, I had found a pretty stealthy place for them, but even so, that made me happy. I did enjoy the museum too, by the way.

However, a couple of things were noticeable;

1. Some adults with children were unable to recognise even (what I'd always thought) some of the world's most well-known animals. For example, I watched a woman tell her children that a ring-tailed lemur was "a big squirrel"
2. Some people, of all ages, but especially young people, simply took photos of things on display, without even reading any of the surrounding information. They then went on to photograph other things. That made me sad.
3. The most popular exhibit was a gallery of diamonds and gemstones, "all that glistens..." (saying that, I did get to see some of Marie Antoinette's earring, though it's the Diamond Necklace Affair that really went down in history)
4. The way to avoid crowds was to take the stairs. There were no Americans on the stairs, only non-English speaking tourists. So that was stereotypical.

From the 2nd floor balcony...reminds me of the film "Night at the Museum"!

As well as the objects on display, there was also a wildlife photography exhibition. The winning photo was of a gorilla with her baby, reading a book with a photo of a gorilla in it. Meta. I think the reason it may have won may be that to us as humans, the gorilla "reading" and appreciating its own image, with its baby by its side, just seems so human and therefore familiar.

Smithsonian castle building from the National Mall

Most interesting facts learnt;

• distinctive earbones are what set mammals apart from other animal kingdoms, as well as being covered in fur, giving birth to live young, and being fed by a mother that produces milk
• (especially for my sister's interest, this is for you Georgia!) - the most common species of wild rabbit was introduced into Australia, from Europe, in 1858
• 50 million years ago, the Artic was not cold, but forestland. Admittedly, 50 million years is a long time, but I guess I've never really thought about either of the polar regions just not being cold...
• Corundum (a crystalline form of Aluminium Oxide) forms gems, which are known as rubies if they are red in colour - but all other colours are known as sapphires!
• Polar bears evolved from brown bears who became stranded on a glacier off the coast of Alaska. Their fur had to change to match their new surroundings.
• After a meteorite slammed into Earth and killed the dinosaurs, 70% of all animal species died. Mammals now had the advantage as they were smaller, and had primarily lived underground. Being warm blooded, mammals could survive the fluctuations in climate which occurred immediately after the meteor and subsequent dusty darkness. Gradually mammals evolved to become bigger, and more dominant.