S M I T H S O N I A N   I N S T I T U T I O N
N A T U R A L   M U S E U M   O F   H I S T O R Y

Washington D.C.

I jump over into the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals for a looksee. Time is very short now, the Museum is about to close. Rushing through the exhibit, the Hope Diamond catches my eye. This one of a kind diamond is deep blue in color and weighs 45.52 carats. As legend has it, the diamond possesses a terrible curse that has reaped misfortune upon many of its past owners.

There are loads of mineral exhibits nearby. I shoot many, many pictures, but, due to the low lighting levels, only these two come out. Well, at least they were the more interesting ones of the bunch.

A general announcement has just been made, the Museum is kicking us all out. I immediately run down to the Hall of Mammals for a quick tour before I get the boot. The exhibit is well done, the animals are all positioned in lifelike wildlife scenarios. I especially like the display of the cheeta who has pulled his prey up into the treetops. Heck, add robotics and you could have singing, animated animals, just like at Disneyland.

The time has arrived, Museum security is hounding me to leave. I must exit the Museum now, or risk getting beaten with a large dinosaur bone. All told, my tour of the Museum was rather whirlwind in nature due to my limited time constraints. However, I'm not complaining, near the tail-end I was getting somewhat burned out anyway. There's just so many great things to see in this place. Maybe someday I'll come back with more time and enjoy the rest of what the Museum has to offer.

I give my tour of the Smithsonian Institute's Museum of Natural History 4.5 thumbs-up, a near perfect rating.