Jonathan took today and tomorrow off of work so that we would be able to go and see some of the sights together.
First up?
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
This was one of the activities that we have been looking forward to the most, and so we decided to tackle it early. (Sadly, the Air and Space museum is going to be closed for the duration of our stay in DC. We are very cry about this. 😰)
And can I just tell you, one of my favorite things about DC is that so many of the major spots (including the Smithsonian museums!) don’t charge admission! Hooray!
The Natural History museum is in a beautiful building. And it is massive.
We decided to visit the Fossil Hall first, and as we walked there, there was a small hallway exhibit called “Birds of DC.” Great was the happiness of our little ornithologist.
After the bird nerd got her fill, we moved on to the The Fossil Hall. Which was awesome. The kids definitely enjoyed all the dinosaur-oriented displays, and we also learned about human impact on the earth. And obviously, we saw lots of fossils. Of every kind.
Next, we went to the Ocean Hall. There, we learned about various sea creatures, how the ocean is changing, and we got to see a short film about deep ocean exploration, and there were a few small aquariums too. So much to see.
Next up was the Bone Hall. I really enjoyed this section. It was fascinating. There were literally hundreds of skeletons representing every major group of vertebrates. And there were displays about how bones form, their functions, all the things. It made my bio-nerd heart so happy.
Amazingly, the bone exhibit has existed in its current form since the 60s! I actually didn’t know that until Jonathan pointed out a sign. It’s funny because it didn’t feel dated, obviously mid-century modern is having another moment.
I can’t even imagine how much work and expense it would require to overhaul that section. With all those skeletons. Such a delicate undertaking.
Anyway, after the bones, we moved on to the mummy section. That. Was. Cool. This was a favorite for sure. There were a couple of adult mummies, a child, and also a mummified ‘Divine bull.’
There were also a bunch of other artifacts. The kids were, of course, quite fascinated by the embalming process, particularly the scrambling the brains part of the procedure.
Next up, we went to the Bug zoo. Unfortunately, the butterfly house was closed. So we could only peek in through the windows.
And we also got to see the lab where the entomologists care for the pre-butterflies which are still in their chrysalises. After they emerge, the butterflies are then placed in the butterfly house. So, the butterfly house should be opening in the next little while.
And there were plenty of other bugs to see. Um….Yay? (Let’s be honest, I’m no entomologist)
Adjacent to the bug section, was a small area dedicated to the flora and fauna of the rainforest, and so we walked through there also.
Next we went through the Genome section, where I took exactly 1 picture. This area was fun to go through, we learned all about DNA structure, DNA sequencing, genetic disorders, gene therapy, etc. It was fascinating stuff.
We had done snacks at some point while we were in the museum, but it was about 2 pm by this point, and so we went and got real food at the cafe. And I have to say, the food was pretty good for museum fare. And I have to say, that was some of the finest Mac n cheese I’ve ever had.
We were getting close to our time slot to visit the Library of Congress. And so we called it a day at the Natural History museum. There were a lot of exhibits that we didn’t get a chance to see, but fortunately, we can come back and check everything else out another day.
For some reason, we decided to stop and take pictures with the IRS building. That was a good time.
Library of Congress
Jonathan dropped me, Clara, Jonas, and Logan off while he went and found parking with the twins. I definitely got the better end of the deal, because both twins fell asleep in the car. So, poor Jonathan had to haul some rather cranky yams out of the car and into the stroller.
We wandered around the outside of the Library of Congress for a moment and took pictures. It is an incredibly beautiful building.
We all got there in the end. And in we went, into the largest library in the world. We had to go through TSA-style security to get in. Fortunately, we all passed. No contraband.
Once we got in, we decided to head to the children’s reading section on one of the lower levels. Unfortunately, it closed just a few minutes before we arrived. Dang.
So, we decided to go upstairs to check out the grand staircase and atrium and the main reading room.
We got up there, and right off the elevator, one of the first things we saw was a Gutenberg Bible. That was fun to talk about with the kids, we got to explain the significance of the printing press and how that pretty much changed everything.
So, then we went over to the main atrium and the grand staircase. And WOW!! THEY were INCREDIBLE. It reminded me of the Sistine Chapel with all the artwork and the architectural details. I absolutely loved it. It was GORGEOUS.
Here were a couple of my favorite details:
There are a number of exhibits housed in the LOC also. Some are rotating, others are permanent. One of my favorites was the reconstruction of Thomas Jefferson’s original personal library. Many of the books were the actual physical copies that he owned. It was pretty cool.
The other thing that I had really wanted to see in the upstairs area was the Main reading room. You have to go through a whole process to actually study and research in the main reading room, but the members of the public can go up a staircase and look down on the reading room from behind a plastic barrier. So we did that. I took Clara and Logan wile Jonathan stayed with the twins. And then Jonathan and Jonas went up to see.
It was quite the impressive sight. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d get much studying done there! I’d be too busy admiring the beauty and opulence of the room.
After we had all admired the main reading room, we wandered a bit more, checking things out, and then we decided to head out.
I have to say, it was kinda funny. The kids were rather disappointed by the Library of Congress. They thought it was the lamest library ever. They had not been able to interact with a single book!! 😂😂 That made me laugh.
On our way back to the car, we wandered through a lovely neighborhood. So, of course, I took some pictures.
Some of these houses reminded me of this scene from the West Wing:
It was a full and awesome day.
