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A visit to the Smithsonian in Washington DCThe Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum complex in the world. There are 19 museums and galleries and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., area and New York City. Furthermore it is an important research organisation.
Some parts of the Smithsonian are the National Air and Space Museum, which is the most popular one. ‘You can learn something about the roles that African Americans played in the development of aviation, space and planetary science.’ The areas in the museum are named the ‘World War II’, the ‘Golden Age of Flight’, ‘How Things Fly’, ‘Apollo to the Moon’ and the ‘Treasures of American History’. Many Americans visit the Treasures of American History because they want to see the famous objects out of the National Museum of American History. For example you can see the top hat of Abraham Lincoln and the light bulb of Thomas Edison or Kermit from the Muppet's Show. But there is one thing that people like a lot more, the flight simulator. 'You can get your adrenaline flowing', it says. Of course you have to pay for it but it shows many surprising things during the flight. It is also the most-visited museum in the whole world and a must-see for visitors to Washington, D.C. ‘The National Air and Space Museum tells the story of flight from balloon flights to the sands of Kitty Hawk, to the current explorations of space.’ You can see a lot of galleries on the solar system, satellite imagery and aerial photography, too.
Another part of the Smithsonian Institution is the National Museum of Natural History. ‘It presents the richness and diversity of cultures throughout Africa and its Diaspora.’ This museum complex holds more than 126 million specimen, most of them were collected almost 200 years ago. ‘The museum itself is an area of more than 18 football fields.’ The most overwhelming area is about the dinosaurs. Gigantic fossilized bones of dinosaurs that walked the earth as long as 230 million years ago are presented. If you walk into the first section, you can't miss Tyrannosaurus Rex, still fearsome after 65 million years. ‘You will also see a full-scale model of a reef which is 255 million years old.’ Something which might be interesting for people who love jewellery are the geology, gems and minerals. A have-to-see-thing is the Hope Diamond. It is very big and people would like to see it if they go through this section. ‘There are also two basic ways to approach there galleries: as a science buff who wants to see the 3-D molecular structure of NaCl or as a tourist here to see the huge diamond.’ Furthermore the museum has the largest collection of meteorites. Don't forget to visit the Reptile Hall and astrology: Hall of Bones. Looking at a skeleton of an animal may change your mind about it. One large issue are the mammals and the ice age mammals. ‘An array of animals in life-like settings, along with touchable fossils, explains mammal evolution.’ Create your impression of life in the ice age 35000 years ago. View fossilized skeletons and make up your mind.
 Or visit the National Museum of American History, which reflects the
experiences of American people. ‘A collection of more than 25000
objects is related to the contributions of African Americans.’
People
who love stamps have to see the National Postal Museum. ‘U.S. stamps
commemorating African Americans are on display in stamp pullout frames.’
Another
place to talk about is the Hirsh-horn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It
invites people to get closer to the art and artists of our time. Within
the collection of more than 11500 works of modern contemporary art are
works by African Americans artists. It is named for Joseph H.
Hirsh-horn, an American collector of international modern art.
The
last but not least section I want to talk about is the National
Zoological Park. ‘More than 2400 animals are living in the zoo,
including many endangered species. The National Zoo is an international
leader in wildlife conversation and education.’
In the end I just
have to say that the Smithsonian is a huge complex with many things to
see. You should understand and know the affecting collections of arts,
history, animals and research projects. Although most people aren't
interested in museums because they think they're boring, they should
have seen the Smithsonian. It's completely different from other
museums. So everybody can get another feeling of this stuff if they get
involved with the giant world of the Smithsonian.
Sources:
Information Papers from the Smithsonian and visiting the Smithsonian
Summed up by Vivian Adamski and Leif Bruhn (10c)
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