National Museum of Natural History

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Washington DC
National Museum of Natural History
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The National Museum of Natural History is a phenomenal museum! It is in a gorgeous building, with a stuffed elephant in the center. The best part is the gems and minerals section which just continues endlessly with incredible sights! Come first thing in the morning at 10am so you can look at everything in peace. 45 minutes later it starts to get crowded in the museum. 

The oceans section is not that good- mostly signs. The mammals section has many stuffed animals and is done nicely. Check out the tarantula feeding at the insect zoo. There is also a birds and a bones area. 
Since this is such a famous museum, you must come early or you'll be battling crowds!
Walk seven minutes to the east to the less crowded National Gallery of Art. Or walk five minutes to the west to check out the National Museum of American History.

Continue to directions...

Sulfur and its lovely yellow color.

The museum, as seen from Smithsonian Castle, across the Mall.

Stuffed lion with red mane.

Stuffed giraffe and goats in the Sahara Desert exhibit.

Standing upright.

Coral reefs exhibit.

The giant elephant!

Hope Diamond. 45 carat, blue colored, flawless diamond.

Silica-rich liquid filled cracks in the mountains near Hot Springs, Arkansas, caused these huge slabs of clear, colorless quartz.

A woman walks past the amethyst exhibit.

Beryl, in green and gold hues.

Turquoise.

Varieties of quartz.

Rhodochrosite.

Romanechite from Michigan.

Anglesite from Namibia.

Giant chunk of Fluorite.

Gypsum crystals that grew from the wall of a cave in Mexico.

Phantoms inside gypsum crystals that stopped growing, were coated in mud, and then grew again.

Amethyst quartz from Rhode Island.

Willemite, which glows in the dark.

Ferberite and Scheelite.

Rhodonite with Calcite and Franklinite, from New Jersey.

Exhibit on how caves form.

Azurite.

Azurite.

Azurite from Bisbee, Arizona.

Malachite from Copper Queen Mine, Bisbee, Arizona.

Stannite, Pyrrhotite, Stibnite, Hematite, Tetrahedrite, Enargite, and more.

Galena, Fluorite, Calcite, and Sphalerite.

Sphalerite.

Fluorite.

The pitted areas in the sandstone had less cement than the rest of the rock and were weathered by acidic rain, snowmelt, and groundwater.

Cross-bedded river sediment from Texas.

Sandstone, Granite, Marble, and Limestone.

Quartz from St. Gothard, Switzerland.

Basalt stalagmite, and lava, from Hawaii.

Pahoehoe lava from East Rift Zone, Kilauea, Hawaii.

The beautiful architecture of the museum.

Elephant- kids love this.

Trump International Hotel and Old Post Office Pavilion, one block north.

US EPA Headquarters, one block north.

Directions

The National Museum of Natural History is located in the center of the National Mall on the north side.

map

Click on map for interactive view

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Last Updated: Sat, 06 Oct 2018 16:46:59 GMT

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