The imposing three-story entrance rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History feels like the busiest and most boisterous crossroads in all of DC, with troops of screeching schoolkids endlessly chasing each other around a colossal African elephant. Hundreds of other stuffed animals, tracing evolution from fossilized four-billion-year-old plankton to dinosaurs' eggs and beyond, are on display all over the place - pick up floor plans and guides at the information desk at the elephant's feet.
Naturally enough, the " Dinosaurs " section is the most popular part of the museum, with hulking skeletons reassembled in imaginative poses and accompanied by informative text, written with a light touch, accessible to children. " Exploring Marine Ecosystems " uses videos, aquariums and the odd furry seal to illustrate life on the "Rocky Shore of Maine" and a "Coral Reef from the Caribbean." Nearby you can admire a rare specimen of the giant squid; scientists don't know quite where it lives, but reckon it grows to fifty feet in length.
Elsewhere, the museum seems firmly locked into a 1950s-style approach to natural history, with a lot of very dated anthropology. Displays on " Native Cultures of the Americas " include the Lucayans (originally from the Bahamas), said to have "vanished" shortly after encountering Columbus. Dioramas of the "primitive" pueblos of the Southwest stand alongside bison, bighorn sheep and other once-wild creatures. Similarly static exhibits cover peoples of the Pacific and Asia, as well as ancient Greece and Egypt.
Upstairs are hundreds of creepy-crawly critters - lizards, snakes, tarantulas and the like - as well as an Insect Zoo , filled with hundreds of bugs, which you can play with should you so desire. The museum also boasts a truly exceptional array of gemstones, including the legendary 45-carat Hope Diamond that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, on display in a new Gem and Mineral Hall , which features natural and reconstructed environments, interactive exhibits and hands-on specimens.
As at the Air and Space Museum, you'll also find a rotating selection of IMAX movies ($6.50; tel 202/663-7400 for times). As you'd expect, the films shown here portray more earth-bound themes, the massive screens plunging you far beneath the oceans or whisking you away to the Galapagos.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
