Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Day at the Museum

As some of you might remember I went to New York last November and I promised some more photos. I had a fabulous time and saw so much and I walked and walked and walked, just taking everything in. It was weird being somewhere that I had never visited before, but that was also instantly familiar in so many ways from film and television. While I was there I also visited several museums including the American Museum of Natural History and with the movie 'Night at the Museum' being on here in the UK at the moment I thought I would dedicate this post to this museum.

The Museum was founded in 1869 Theodore Roosevelt Sr., the father of the 26th U.S. President, was a co-founder.

The photo above was taken looking across from Central Park on the Upper West Side. As it was late November, many of the buildings were decked in lights and decorated for Christmas. The Museum had topiary dinosaurs holding wreaths outside! As you can see from the photo the entrance to the museum is quite grand and in fact the architecture was magnificent both inside and out. In the picture below you can see the moulding on the ceiling and the marble columns.


The dinosaurs in the picture above stand in the foyer but there are many other fossilised remains of dinosaurs with the circuit of an entire floor is devoted to vertebrate evolution.The Museum boasts habitat groups of African, Asian and North American mammals the full-size model of a Blue Whale (photo below) suspended in the Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life, the 62-foot Haida carved and painted war canoe, and the Star of India, the largest blue sapphire in the world. The Museum's anthropological collections are also outstanding with large displays showing differnt cultures and their development.

While I was at the museum they had a special display of live reptiles so I took pictures of a few. It was nice to see some exhibits that were moving after seeing so many that were models or that had been preserved. Also worth checking out is the huge meteroite which is smooth to the touch. The museum is huge and takes the best part of a day to go around and is well worth a visit if you find yourself in NYC with time to fill.

16 comments:

kenju said...

I've been there several times, but it is one of my favorite places in NY, as is the Smithsonian in DC) and I always love going there. You got some good pics!

Katherine said...

Once again - great pictures!!

Niall young said...

next stop..Jurassic Park! your photos are good..I visit a couple of photographers blogs in Sweden.(if you visit my site again, it's worth following up the links)

diyadear said...

All i can say is just wat katherine says.. "great pictures!!"

Preeti Shenoy said...

Would love to go to this museum.I always feel that people who get to travel are really lucky.Travel really broadens your horizon and is so much better for education than academic degrees.And the last picture, reminds me of the lizard that came into my house!(Uninvited visitor--on my posts of note!)Lovely pictures--and was surprised to learn about 'live exhibits'.What a nice idea.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the pics...was a mini-vacation. Having just seen "Night at the Museum" a couple of weeks ago it brought back memories of a pleasant evening.

Melody said...

How lovely. What a gorgeous building... Great photos.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

I LOVE these pictures Bob-Kat...One gets such a feeling of the Museum from them...I LOVE that Blue Room with the Whale....And Those reptiles look so much like my little teeny lizards in my garden...only much bigger of course....Thanks for bringing another gift from New York City!

Moogie said...

Wow! These are fabulous pictures! It makes me really want to visit there. I love stuff like that. I may have to pick your brain about New York..and taking the family there for vacation.

utenzi said...

Those lizards look very familiar B-K. Didn't you use that shot last time you posted about the NYC trip?

I've not been to the Big Apple in something like 8 years. It's a great place to visit--I need to go back with my camera. I love your pictures!

Unknown said...

live animal in a museum, cool!

Kristal said...

I've never been to New York, but if I ever go I'd definitely like to go. Of course, seeing your pictures is the next best thing!

Michele sent me.

MaR said...

I love friendly museums which allow visitors to take pics inside!!! Great shots, must be very special to see a dinosaurs holding wreaths!

Princess said...

Wow, those photos are amazing! I would love to travel and see awesome things.

Do you have a favourite?

Have a great weekend!

xoxo

ps. Michele sent me

Karen said...

Great post and great photos! I'll bet that museum is just packed now that the movie is being shown. And it was a great movie!

Michele sent me. Have a great day!

Becky68 said...

Here from Micheles,
What beautiful pictures, I've never been to this museum but I've been to all the museums in Boston. I try to revisit with my kids each summer.