PZ Myers. 2004 Dec 30. AMNH!. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/amnh/>. Accessed 2008 Dec 01.
Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Thursday, December 30, 2004
AMNH!
I'm still flitting about the East Coast, spending a few more days in Philadelphia before winging back to the Midwest. I'm going to continue to slack off on the updates until I get back, but at least DarkSyde seems to be keeping everything hopping around here.
I will mention that we had an absolutely splendid day at the AMNH. It would have been even better, if only days were a few thousand hours long.
Best Christmas trees ever. There was a pair of these evergreen dinosaurs outside the American Museum of Natural History. We spent a full day in the museum, which wasn't enough but was exhausting anyway.
We saw lots of bones.
There were splendid displays of comparative anatomy in the primate hall—
…and a number of famous reconstructions…
…and here's Skatje standing next to some of her relatives, Lucy and Turkana Boy. Christmas is a good time for family reunions.
We tried to hit all of the special exhibits: a couple of IMAX shows, butterflies, the comparison of northwest and southwest Native American art, and frogs.
Of course we saw the gem stone exhibit, but the biologist in me says that the Waxy Tree Frog is much, much more stunning than the old dead Star of India.
We planned things badly, though. We raced around the building all day, and finally, when we were all worn out, we hit the magnificent fourth floor, which was entirely dedicated to evolution. It was very well organized, laid out cladistically with displays in each hall showing the key morphological features that grouped all of the animals within it together.
Or maybe we planned it well. If I'd started here, the family would never have peeled me away until closing time, and then they'd have been really irritated with me. We may not look enthusiastic here, but it was after 5, and we were wilting a bit.
A few more days, though, and we'll be home again. We just have to survive Philadelphia, and it's natural history museum.
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- Yeah that AMNH is just mind blowing. You could spend weeks in there.
-
Philadelphia OTOH is not much. Aside from the family thing, you'd
have been better advised to hang out in the AMNH for the rest of the
trip.
Too bad about the fourth floor. I took my daughters there the day after
it opened.
BTW, you have something against astronomy?#: Posted by on 12/30 at 02:12 PM -
I had seven hours in the AMNH, and barely covered about 15% of it..
Wish I'd had longer.#: Posted by on 12/30 at 08:35 PM -
In Philly, one needs to spend a few moments at Independence Hall, I think. Pay regard to the ghosts of Ben, Tom, James, John and George. If there's no line, go see the real Liberty Bell, too.
This time of year, of course, all the lights on the boat houses will be spectacular, and quaint.#: Posted by on 12/30 at 10:23 PM -
If you can, you should visit Philly's Mutter museum, near 21st and Market or thereabouts. It's associated with the college of physicians.
Among other things, they have the soap lady - the body of a woman whose adipose tissue turned, after burial, into soap.
Not to be missed...#: Posted by on 12/31 at 03:33 PM -
Mutter museum: http://www.collphyphil.org/muttpg1.shtml
#: Posted by on 12/31 at 03:36 PM
- Aww, those infant hominid skeletons are so cute!