I went to the Natural History museum today - compared to the FREE museums in England $16 + extra for any shows/educational films/etc...seemed very steep. I only got the $16 admission - so no planetarium movie for me. It is a very strange museum in my opinion. Gorgeous. Huge. The outer space exhibits are spectacular. (Hey - it houses the Hayden Planetarium - responsible for demoting Pluto from planethood.) There is a time line of the universe since the big bang that you get to walk along while above you hangs a HUGE model of the planets of the Milky Way. (no Pluto.) There is a huge meteorite exhibit and a huge "rocks" exhibit which was very informative - perhaps the most informative section of the museum. I didn't realize the swirls in marble are essentially squished pebbles. Also they had an ice drilling from Iceland where you could see different rings - each ring filled with a different amount of salt - which inform scientists to patters in the earths atmosphere for thousands of years. That being said - the animal exhibits were just strange. After visiting the aquarium in Brooklyn, looking at plastic models of jellyfish just seemed pedestrian. They were beautiful plastic models, but 99% of the fun of a jellyfish is to see it move! And Kat and I go for walks in the woods so we've seen real white tail dear - seeing a taxidermist version was just strange. PLUS - the Teddy Roosevelt exhibit was covered up by --- COAT RACKS? WHAT! ONE of the GREATEST conservationists of our time was covered by COAT RACKS? I actually was interested in seeing the different hats Teddy wore throughout his life. Seemed more interesting to me than plastic models of jellyfish - but I guess I'm in a minority.
With the exception of rocks and meteorites - most everything there was a "cast" or "model" or "copy." (Wait - I BELIEVE the NAtive American masks were real.) I'm spoiled. I like to see the real deal. And I always thought we had more of LUCY's skeleton. I dont know how they can so an artists rendering of LUCY when all we have is a lower jaw bone and top of a skull - but no - eye sockets, nose, teeth - but I suppose it was interesting to see a cast of her skeleton...
Overall - for people who don't get to see living animals - and even for people who do - the exhibitions are spectacular. There is a huge life sized humped back whale -that is pretty amazing. You can walk through a rainforest and peek into an upstate apple orchard. You can jump up and down on a special pad and see where your jumps measure on a richter scale...(for the record - my don't register - I guess I'm too ballerina like - the 8 year old boys who bounced up and down before me measure 1.8 - still not big enough to be felt by most humans - but definitely more of an impact than mine) - you can see samples of just about every mineral known to man - see what earth would look like without water - see a rock sample from Mars - walk a path of evolution - see a Lacross stick and ball used by Native Americans - and the museum is filled with videos and hands on displays - for a school trip - the experience is unparalleled. I imagine the planetarium is even more stunning - (I believe it is world famous) - but alas - I wasnt willing to pay the extra $10 to see it this trip around. Maybe next time if I bring a friend. (It is a pretty lonely museum to go to by yourself. I actually normally enjoy going to museums by myself - but this one I imagine is better with a buddy. It is more active than introspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment