- For the museum in Manhattan, see American Museum of Natural History.
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year.
The museum's collections total over 125 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts, making it the largest such museum anywhere. It is the second most popular of all of the Smithsonian museums and is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists — the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of the natural and cultural history in the world.
History[]
The museum was established in 1910, with its building designed by Hornblower & Marshall.[1] The building, designed in the neoclassical architectural style, was the first constructed on the north side of the National Mall, along Constitution Avenue, as part of the 1901 McMillan Commission plan. In 2000, Kenneth E. Behring donated $80 million to the museum and in 1997 donated $20 million to modernize it.[2]
Features[]
Hall of dinosaurs[]
The museum has over 570,000 cataloged reptiles from around the world. The National Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles has increased 200% over the past 40 years (190,000 specimen records in 1970 to over 570,000 specimen records in 2008).[3] The Hall of Dinosaurs has fossilized skeletons and cast models, including Tyrannosaurus rex facing off with Triceratops, and the "Triceratops exhibit shows the first accurate dinosaur skeleton in virtual motion, achieved through the use of scanning and digital technology."[4][5] The collection consists of 46 "complete and important specimens" of dinosaurs.[6] The website has a "virtual tour" of the collection.[7]
References[]
- ^ "About The Museum". National Museum of Natural History. 2008. http://www.mnh.si.edu/about.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Smithsonian Receives Gift Of $80 Million". New York Times. September 19, 2000. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFDF143BF93AA2575AC0A9669C8B63. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Vertebrate Zoology: Division of Amphibians & Reptiles". National Museum of Natural History. 2008. http://vertebrates.si.edu/herps/herps_collections.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "New and Improved". National Geographic. December 1, 2000. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/premium/0286/0286-6431593.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Dinosaur Hall". National Museum of Natural History. 2008. http://www.mnh.si.edu/specialevents/dinosaurs.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Dinosaur Collections". National Museum of Natural History. 2008. http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Virtual Tour of the Dinosaur Collections". National Museum of Natural History. 2008. http://www.mnh.si.edu/museum/VirtualTour/Tour/First/Dinosaurs/. Retrieved on 2008-09-17.