Akshay Manglik

2016-10-21 20:53:57 UTC

History and General Information
The National Museum of Natural History was built in 1846 and opened in 1910 as a part of the Smithsonian. Over the years, it has gone through multiple challenges, from funding to director upheval to controversies about scientific exhibits. However, it has grown to be one of the most amazing sources of natural history in the entire world, housing many different live animals, including lions, polar bears, and even elephants! Not only do they cater to the animal lover, they also house the Hope diamond, one of the largest diamonds in the entire world! At a size of over 18 football fields, the museum has numerous specimens and artifacts which document the history of our earth and universe, from the big bang to the present day. The National Museum of Natural history is truly an American treasure that represents how far we have come in the way of knowledge and science.
The National Museum of Natural History is one of the biggest repositories of natural knowledge and artifacts of our time. Stretching 18 football fields long with over 126 million items in their various collections, it is a major museum in even the international scope. With skulls of dinosaurs, live animals, and priceless gems on display, it contains a multitude of natural wonders collected from across the globe. Inside the museum, you can typically view t-rex skulls and other dinosaurs. However, the fossil wing is closed because of renovation and will reopen in 2019. However, there are still many different open exhibits, including a live insect zoo, lions, elephants, and polar bears, and even ocean life. Even though animals are their specialty, the museum’s animal diversity never ceases to amaze visitors from the average tourist to even renowned scientists. In addition to all of this, the museum contains a geology wing that includes numerous gems and minerals. The most famous of these by far is the Hope diamond, a whopping 45.52 carats! Overall, the museum’s diverse array of exhibits appeals to even the most stringent of tastes and delivers a wonderful experience that visitors will treasure forever.
What will we do there?
Usually you will be able to explore the Natural Museum by yourself or go for a scavenger hunt looking for the exhibits. Either way, you will see many different amazing exhibits that will surely amaze you, from ocean life to elephants to the hope diamond.
Fun facts:
Questions from http://naturalhistory.si.edu/ :
How many items are in their collections, total? (over 126 million)
For how many years have the national parks running? (100)
An interesting part of the website to read is the Research and Collection section which includes many different pages about the many different types of research being conducted at the museum and even just more in-depth information about the collections there.

Ethan Choi

2016-10-21 21:45:35 UTC

The Museum is the largest Natural History Museum in the world and he museum houses around 500 million specimens ranging from animals, fossils, gems, minerals, plants, rocks, cultural artifacts and meteorites. https://docs.google.com/a/harker.org/document/d/1gCBvadt5tEUnE-XUvl84Gkdqc373G0WAfF-SPclRCmE/edit?usp=sharing <-My Brochure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Cg4UvjHdw&feature=youtu.be <- my video

Akshay Manglik

2016-11-03 21:14:57 UTC

The National Museum of Natural History had SO many exhibits - it was amazing and breathtaking!

Ethan Choi

2016-11-03 21:48:48 UTC

The museum was huge and way bigger than I imagined. There were so many interesting exhibits. The Gems and Geology hall was awesome.

James Pflaging

2016-11-03 22:18:29 UTC

Arusha Patil

2016-11-04 01:26:58 UTC

It was amazing! All the exhibits were strikingly realistic, and it was a very informative experience.

National Museum of Natural History by

Akshay Manglik

Ethan Choi

Akshay Manglik

Ethan Choi

James Pflaging

Arusha Patil