Museum of Natural History

In June of this year, I visited Washington DC with my mom. We were there for almost 3 weeks, and during this trip, I explored a lot of local attractions, museums, historical places and so much more.

Some of my favourite parts of the trip were visiting Smithsonian museums, such as the National Museum of Natural History, as well as the National Zoo (where I bought my prized panda plushie), the National Gallery of art (that has flooded my camera roll and my mind ever since) the Holocaust Museum, as well as the National Archives. In this post I want to talk about some of my favourite parts at the National Museum of Natural History. 

The Museum of Natural History

It is a truly amazing museum, with so many floors and so much information that we spent almost 4 hours there. I truly love visiting any and all kinds of museums, and with my passion for history, I remember spending hours reading each board in detail, studying the sculptures, pictures, paintings, and crystal collections with immense detail. 

It was such a fun experience, going from room to room, learning about everything, from looking at millions of years old fossil fuels enclosed in rocks, to underwater life and the "midnight zone", to even learning about Neanderthals' and the first civilizations. 

An African bush elephant in the rotunda section of the museum, on display since 1959. 

The remains of a Neandarthal. What I found particularly interesting about this was that it showed signs of damage on one of its ribs on the left, which was apparently one of the first cases of homicide as he could have been stabbed. 

The bones of a dinosaur (not sure if these were real or a cast haha) on display hanging from the museum ceiling. 

A part of the extensive crystals collection. A sight for sore eyes. I spent hours staring at all of the beautiful jewelery, glow in the dark rocks and crystals in front of me. They were organised very well, with special features for some countries too, such as Indian and Mexican origin crystals. I found this one interesting because it is shaped like a mouth. 

Overall, this trip was not only eye opening but also confidence building. Travelling for many, many hours all the way from India to the United States, navigating difficult airports, and seeing the world as it is, I escaped my little bubble for once and entered real life. 

I will do a separate post on the National Gallery of Art! :)