The National Museum of Natural History

Welcome to our gallery for the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. Click on any photo to see a larger version. For more information about the Natural History Museum, visit their web site.

All photos were taken with Canon PowerShot G2 and G6 cameras between 2004 and 2005. Some post-processing was done with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Click here for copyright and contact information.

The Metro is the easiest way to get to almost any Washington, D.C. museum. For the Natural History Museum, you can do as most tourists do and get off the train at the Smithsonian station. Or, for a shorter walk, stop at Federal Triangle. Either way, your best bet to avoid the crowds is to time your arrival for as early in the day as possible (the museum opens at 10 AM).

Poof! Now it's summer! And here we are at the main entrance to the Natural History Museum. This is the entrance you'll go in if you get off at the Smithsonian station.

If you get off at Federal Triangle, the closest entrance is at the rear of the museum on Constitution Avenue, where you'll be greeted by a replica of Colossal Head 4 (a portrait of an Olmec ruler from Veracruz, Mexico, 1200-900 B.C.E.).

The Rotunda is where all visitors to the museum end up sooner or later. The African bull elephant was, um, "fixed" many years ago so as not to offend squeamish visitors.

Tourists love to take photos of their families in front of the elephant. Here's a tip: the flash on your point & shoot camera will illuminate your family, but it won't reach far enough to light the elephant, too. Try photographing your kids in the dinosaur or mammal halls instead, where they can get closer to one of the exhibits.

This tiger greets visitors to the Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals, located on the first floor.

While it's a credit to the Hall of Mammals taxidermists that they were able to position the animals in such realistic poses, they seem to have a propensity for showing violent scenes. Of course, you'd probably never see action like this up close in a safari, let alone in a zoo, so there's some educational value to be gained. And to show how much times have changed, this Cape buffalo - unlike the elephant in the Rotunda - is very much intact.

The Hall of Mammals has examples from all over the globe, including a section dedicated to Australian mammals. Other sections include information about North American wildlife and mammalian evolution.

It must be tough to be forever reaching for food you can never have. For humans, though, the museum offers two cafés with a decent selection of food, including several health-conscious items. There's also an ice cream & espresso bar.

As an alternate to the higher priced food indoors, on warmer days you can save a few bucks and grab a hot dog or a pretzel from one of the independent vendors parked out on Constitution Avenue.

Located on the opposite side of the Rotunda from the Hall of Mammals, the Dinosaur Hall is another big draw for museum visitors.

The triceratops is one of the more familiar highlights. You can even duplicate one of the museum's own publicity photos, as we did here.

Mike gives some scale to this Tyrannosaurus Rex head. Not something you'd want to meet in person (uh...the T-Rex, that is).

Tucked away in the back of the Dinosaur Hall is a "FossiLab" where - during weekdays - you can see archeologists at work. On the far right of this table is a Tyrannosaurus Rex leg.

The museum also has fossils of early sea creatures and assorted mammals, including this Wooly Mammoth.

In addition to fossils from long-extinct animals, the museum has an interesting exhibit of more recent bones, located on the second floor. This exhibit is typically not too crowded, since most people who pass through it are on their way to the Insect Zoo.

The O. Orkin Insect Zoo is, humorously enough, sponsored by a major U.S. pest control company. A colony of honeypot ants comprise one exhibit.

An Australian walking stick demonstrates his camouflage abilities.

The Insect Zoo also houses such friendly invertebrates as hissing cockroaches, tarantulas, and this brown recluse spider. Tarantulas are fed publicly several times a week, to the delight of visiting school groups.

Oh, yeah - there are a few scorpions there, too.

On to something a bit less squeam-inducing. Across from the bones exhibit and the Insect Zoo is a large section dedicated to geology, gems, and minerals. A highlight is the (in)famous Hope Diamond, which supposedly brought bad luck to most of its owners.

Among the museum's extensive mineral collection is this scolecite.

And yet another intriguing example - crocoite.

Pyrite, otherwise known as Fool's Gold (can you tell the minerals area was a favorite of ours?).

The museum also houses the largest meteorite collection in the world. There are several minerals that you can actually touch, including this example from Arizona.

Totem poles from Alaska and British Columbia. The museum houses cultural artifacts from around the world, including items from Asia, Africa, and South America.

The African Voices exhibit features displays on the history and culture of African nations, including this display of African dolls.

The Western Civilization section traces the early history of communities in the Middle East and Europe. The Egypt section includes a display about mummification that contains the mummified animals (two cats, an ibis, a hawk, and a crocodile) shown here. If your kids ask, yes, those are real.

You can compare your height to those of typical inhabitants of those early communities here. It's sometimes not as great a difference as you'd think (Mike is 5'8")..

Temporary exhibits are hosted by the museum throughout the year. In 2004, one such exhibit was devoted to the U.S. National Wildlife Refuge system. Mike is standing in front of a brown bear - popularly referred to as a "grizzly" - from Alaska.

In 2004-2005, a special exhibit was dedicated to orchids, with dozens of live examples and a couple of working model trains to delight the kiddies.

A 2005 exhibit in the gems area featured famous pearls, including the one hanging from this necklace, owned by Elizabeth Taylor. The pearl was once worn by Mary Tudor and was purchased for Taylor by Richard Burton. It must be nice to have that kind of cash!

Speaking of spending money, don't forget to check out the museum stores on your way out. There are two large ones on the ground floor and several smaller ones associated with various exhibits throughout the museum.

The Natural History Museum is only one museum within the Smithsonian Institution. Next door is the American History Museum, which houses a variety of U.S. historical and cultural items such as ...yep, Kermit the Frog! Also close to the Natural History Museum are the American Indian Museum, the Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Freer Gallery of Art, the Sackler Gallery, and the National Air & Space Museum. The National Gallery of Art (not associated with the Smithsonian) is on the other side of the Natural History Museum.

Special events sometimes take place on the Mall outside the Natural History Museum. During two weeks in late June/early July, the Smithsonian and the National Park Service co-host the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, celebrating various cultures from the U.S. and around the world. In 2005, Oman was the featured foreign country. Dancers and musicians such as these gave performances and demonstrations throughout the day.

At the end of the day, you'll be exhausted. Follow the signs at the Metro station to make sure you get on the right train back to your home or hotel. Massage those tired feet, get some rest...and come back to do it all again tomorrow, because there's lots more to see!

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