National Museum of Natural History

  

(By: Tracy Schultz)

Location:   10th Street and Constitution Ave. NW, 

Visiting Hours:   10:00am - 5:30pm

Cost:   Free
Website:   www.mnh.si.edu
Phone:   202-633-1000

One of the first Smithsonian Museums opened on the National Mall, the National Museum of Natural

History houses exhibits focused on the natural world, with more than 126 million specimens.  There are 18 exhibit halls dedicated to geology, dinosaurs, animal life, plants and insects and other subjects. Of everything I have read and heard about, I am mostly looking forward to seeing the following...

      

The Hope Diamond
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T-Rex dinosaur display

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Ocean Hall

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Mammal Hall
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There is also an IMAX Theater, which shows some of the films in 3-D. Also, there is the Discovery Room, a family hands-on activity room - I'm sure this will be a favorite part of the kids!
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With 7.4 million visitors last year, the Musem of Natural History is the most visited of all of the Smithsonian museums. And interestingly enough, it's popularity significantly increased after the release of the movie Night at the Museum.  We watched the movie recently as a family and it definitely sparked our interest! We are all very excited to visit this fantastic museum.