Written by Sarah Worthy

The first thing you see when you walk into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is an elephant on an African plain.  As you stand there barely a meter away from a towering beast looking into its intelligent eyes, you feel inspired as you decide to learn more about how life began on this planet to develop creatures so large and soulful.  Of course, the elephant in the Rotunda of the Mall entrance has been long dead and artfully preserved by the museum, but it makes for a grand impression as you enter what is probably the most visited museum in Washington D.C. by school children eager to learn more about how all these amazing animals came to be.

The building that houses the collection of over 125 million specimens of fossils, insects, preserved mammals, and more has a long history of its own.  The building was designed in the neoclassical style and feels like you are walking into an old library full of scholars and books.  In many ways, this is exactly what the museum offers, with the specimens as fully illustrated books and over 185 natural history scientists employed to study the natural and cultural history of the world.  Established in 1910, the Museum of Natural History’s building was the first to be built by the restoration project for the National Wall by Congress in conjunction with the McMillan Commission. 

The first floor leads you through the beginning of life, as science understands it, starting with the tiniest single celled organisms evolving into large sea creatures and eventually coming out of the ocean to form dinosaurs and small mammals.  The recently commissioned Kenneth E. Bering Hall of Mammals houses preserved mammal specimens found throughout the world.  There are also exhibits for African and Asian cultures as well as a limited time display of the Sikh Culture, (on exhibit until 2007).

The second floor contains the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Gemology, Gems, and Minerals and contains a special display of the infamous Hope Diamond.  The second floor also holds the Orkin insect exhibit, history of reptiles, and several bones from various animals.  There is also a large exhibit on western culture and an IMAX theatre that takes up the first and second floor.  In the gift shops located throughout the museum, you can find replicas of the Hope Diamond, posters, books, and various souvenirs to remind you of your visit. 

The National Museum of Natural History is open everyday except Christmas Day and admission is free.