National Museum of Natural History - May 2019

While we were in Washington DC last spring we spent some time in the National Museum of Natural History.  We didn't spend as much time there as in other museums, but there were a few exhibits that we wanted to see while we were there.

We steward a collection of 145 million specimens and artifacts. Each one reflects a moment in space and time; in these moments we find Earth’s story.  And our researchers continue to glean critical new information from these objects. These discoveries about the past help us model and anticipate the future.

Our exhibits, our educational programs, and our staff and volunteers share our collections and the knowledge drawn from them with millions of visitors every year – deepening their appreciation for science, the natural and cultural world, and the challenges of our time.
--from National Museum of Natural History website

I wasn't too impressed at the bus drivers when we walked up to the Museum.

Quite a bit of construction was going on outside of the museum.

The main steps were mostly open as work was concentrated on either side of the entrance.

Once inside you are able to step into a very impressive rotunda as you begin your experience through the facility.

We started in the ocean area where we got to see this impressive whale display.  I think the huge space is very well utilized with a specimen like this.

While impressive, the giant squid doesn't look anywhere near as menacing as those Hollywood produces.  It was 36 feet long before the preservation process was begun.

This ammonoid fossil was accompanied by a sign encouraging visitors to touch it, which as I've stated before is a great trend in museums to increase visitor engagement.

It is fascinating to find other spirals in nature, even if they are sometimes on a vastly different scale.

Next we ventured into a dinosaur exhibit.

Here we found touchable models that represented changing ideas about how these dinosaurs appeared and were presented through different time periods in the last century.

Look out for the tyrannosaurus.

I enjoyed seeing this sign explain that the exhibit was always changing.

Straight out of the dinosaurs we ventured into an exhibit on ancient Egypt.

Naturally it included a number of mummies.  While many still exist in museums around the world it is sad to think of how many were destroyed during the early era of modern Egyptology.

There was even a mummy of a bull from the Ptolemaic or Roman period.

We passed by the butterfly pavilion but decided not to purchase tickets for entry.

On an upper level we discovered a fascinating display that talked about elephants as you looked down on the impressive specimens in the rotunda.

Of course we had to stop and see the Hope Diamond.

This is the Dom Pedro Aquamarine, the largest such gem yet discovered.  It was uncovered in Brazil in the 1980s and named after the first two emperors of Brazil.

This amethyst quartz sample was once part of 70,000 pound geode!

All of the minerals in this display are calcite.

Sandstone from about 65 miles south of Washington DC was selected to provide much of the building material for the White House and the US Capitol.

The Hall of Mammals contains quite a number of impressive taxidermy displays.

Watch out for the tiger above!

From pangolins to rhinos to moose mammals are fascinating.

I have always thought that okapi look rather extraordinary.

You can see all of the above pictures and more in this album of pictures that I took during our visit.

~Matt

Book Review: Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail by Theodore Roosevelt

Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail
with 83 illustrations by Frederic Remington
by Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was quite a prolific author, producing several dozen books during his lifetime.  As he died quite a while ago there isn't an active copyright on his volumes, the one I'm reviewing here is one you can actually read for free online at the Internet Archive, though it looks like the artwork wasn't uploaded.

The copy I own is one I found at a library sale in Cincinnati in 2018.  It was published by the University of Nebraska Press and is a good edition from all that I can tell.  The original book was published in 1883 and the first copy of this edition was published in 1983, so almost a century later.

Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail describes Roosevelt's routine labor and extraordinary adventures, including a stint as a deputy sheriff pursuing three horse thieves through the cold of winter.  Whether recounting stories of cowboy fights or describing his hunting of elk, antelope, and bear, the book expresses his lifelong delight in physical hardihood and tests of nerve.
--from back cover copy

While the illustrations are in black and white they are an excellent complement to the text.  Some are small and others are relatively large.  There are even a few that take up an entire page, but most of the larger ones are about this size.

The stories are definitely dated, with all of the author's original beliefs and wording intact.  Roosevelt was definitely not a terrible person from everything I've read, but at times he was also a creature of his times.  Lands populated by Native Americans were "wilderness" that only counted as explored if another white man had ventured through them.  Wolves were creatures to be hunted down.  However, don't let that stop you from checking out this book.  It is a series of true adventures that illustrate the rough-and-tumble life on the frontier, even at the relatively late date of the 1880s when Roosevelt ranched in Dakota Territory (land now occupied by Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which I hope to be blogging about later this year).  Roosevelt not only owned the ranch, but he also pitched in and worked the cattle drives, hunting, and other necessary tasks.  He describes a number of hunts, some of which were for trophies, but mostly were to provide provisions for ranch hands.

If you enjoy first-person historical narratives or want to learn more about Theodore Roosevelt in his own words then definitely check out this book.  It isn't terribly long, but isn't too short either.  You'll definitely be left with a taste for the West and for Roosevelt's outlook on life by the time you finish.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary: A first person narrative of ranching life and hunting trips from Theodore Roosevelt's years ranching in the American West.
Technical: Softcover, 187 pages, includes all 83 advertised illustrations.

~Matt

Metro Richmond Zoo

Before heading into Washington DC (that you'll be able to read about soon) we spent some time with my in-laws in the Richmond, Virginia area.  One new place (at least to me) that we visited was the Metro Richmond Zoo.  My wife had gone to this zoo while growing up in the area and at least some of our kids had been there before while staying with their grandparents.

The story that I was told was that the zoo started as someone's private collection of animals, but was eventually purchased and turned into a regular zoo.  According to their timeline they first opened in 1995 with 250 animals and 30 acres of land.  They now have at least 120 acres and over 2000 animals.

When you first pull in you're on a wooded drive.

The parking lot is partly paved and partly grass.

A number of school groups were lining up when we arrived.

We headed towards the main entrance.

Their price sign was large and highly visible.

As tickets were being paid for I had to check out what equipment they were using for their point of sale systems.  I can't help it, I always check out the systems wherever I go to compare them to what I utilize at work.

Inside were a number of picnic tables--but we'd left our food in the car and ended up eating there before we left.

Their map was most useful as a navigation aid.  I took a picture both to remember it and in case I needed a digital copy while we wandered.

Inside an aviary we spotted this bird high stepping around.

The netting was quite high overhead.

There were also a large number of flamingos nearby.

The Fennec foxes looked tired when we saw them, but they are nocturnal so this isn't a surprise.

The Komodo dragon was definitely staring back right at me when I snapped his photo!

I enjoyed seeing the snakes, but for some reason my wife wasn't keen to do so!

Have you ever seen Colombian black spider monkeys?  They were adorable.

This flamingo definitely liked staring at its reflection.

Another draconian closeup!

Back outside we got to get a large avian closeup.

A keeper presented a talk about a dog and cheetah that have been inseparable for years.

The giraffes were all next to the fence because they could be fed.

They were quite adept in getting through the bars for food.

Their tongues are quite sticky and adept at snagging food.

We also visited the budgie aviary and had a great time tempting the birds close to eat.

We didn't ride this but it looked fun.

This zebu made me think of a cebu, ;-).

Camels are fed at a distance.

You'll also find Bactrian camels!

We saw a bison as we went further down the path beyond the camel pens.

And then it came almost directly underneath the boardwalk we were on.  I've never seen a bison from above before.

We saw these hornbills hanging around later.

Eventually we swung back around to the giraffes and got a closeup.

All in all it was a fun visit.  You can see a number of other photographs in this album.

~Matt