Description: Himself and Yours Truly have been visiting the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) for nearly four decades. Over time we have escorted tours of this grand edifice with children, parents, out-of-town friends and extended family, Girl Scout troops, and now grandchildren. Not even the most blasé museum-goer can fail to be impressed—and the WOW factor starts with the architecture and the setting.
NMNH occupies a prime piece of real estate along Washington’s National Mall. With one entrance on Constitution Avenue and another on Madison Drive, it has a prestigious position between the West Building of the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of American History. The Madison Drive entrance features a "small" Classical portico with fluted Corinthian columns. Passing through the entrance and into the museum—and through the obligatory security screen, of course—visitors emerge into the grand Rotunda. Where the altar should be in a Classical temple, all eyes are drawn to a magnificent African elephant with its trunk raised high above its head—an elephant gathered for the museum as a specimen during the days before such methods garnered widespread disapproval. This is a temple to Nature, and from the first steps into the building, visitors are constantly reminded of that fact.
Galleries are generally topical--including Mammals, the Ocean, Human Origins, Fossils, Western Cultures--and most of the exhibit halls lead toward or away from the Rotunda on the museum’s two main levels. The first and second floors are connected by elevators and by two rather grand staircases. The ground floor, which is directly accessed from the Constitution Avenue and connects to the First floor by escalators and elevators, houses the auditorium, café, and two gift shops. The museum also has an IMAX theater.
Over time, NMNH has experienced a number of renovations and rearrangements, but by and large the permanent exhibits have been updated rather than changed. Consistent favorites from our visits have been the dinosaurs (kids of all ages stand in awe over these ancient creatures), gems (my younger daughter has actively coveted the Hope Diamond for most of her 30-odd years), and the Insect Zoo (complete with the opportunity to hold a giant cockroach for South America). The permanent Ocean exhibit is also popular, particularly the life-sized fiberglass blue whale suspended from the ceiling.
The floor plan of the museum is generally easy to follow in that everything eventually leads back to the Rotunda. Still, the museum covers most of three city blocks and with so many tempting attractions, in a building so large, it’s easy to get separated. It’s an excellent idea to set a prearranged meeting point for members of your party. The museum is generally crowded, especially during the summer and on weekends, so plan your trip well enough not to spend too much of your time looking for one another (voice of experience, that).
Special exhibits are often a special draw, especially for old-timers like us who have been there often. Two such recent exhibits have been particularly attractive: an outstanding display of orchids from the nearby National Botanic Garden (both Himself and Yours Truly are suckers for orchids), and a fantastic display on butterflies. We had the Grands in tow for the butterfly exhibit, which featured a delightful enclosed area full of live flowers and butterflies--under an extraordinary environmental system to simulate the natural light and humidity favored by those lovely and fragile creatures. The children were fascinated—and so were we.
Unlike most major natural history museums, admission to NMNH is free. Many of the special exhibits, however, are not. If memory serves, it cost our party of five (two adults and three children) about $25 to tour the butterfly exhibit. (The orchid exhibit was free.) An IMAX visit can also set the wallet back a bit. As for the onsite "café," it’s no bargain—though being "onsite" counts for a lot. The café consists largely of a series of buffet-style stations and offers mostly fast food options in a largely self-serve environment. During our most recent visit, it cost our party of five about $70 to dine on pizza, chicken strips and fries, mac-n-cheese, and oversized cookies. Healthier options are few and far between, but they can be found—apples and simple salads joined the fast food staples at our table. Add to these expenses the obligatory trip through the gift shop for the children, and a free visit to the museum can become fairly expensive.
All in all, a visit to the National Museum of Natural History really is a natural high. Kids and adults alike can be seen uttering exclamations of wide-eyed wonder. The exhibits are carefully thought out, with touches of whimsy to be found for those who wish to find them. In the anthropological sections, the old insensitivities to culture—especially Native American cultures—have declined as curators seem determined to find better ways to touch the past without offending the present. For those who love continuous learning, NMNH is both a valuable resource and an important example. And for those who just love seeing the wonder and excitement on their children’s faces, this museum fits the bill. Boredom simply isn’t an option!
-BawBaw
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