There was much to see inside the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. There’s the Natural World Photography exhibition and Geology, the collection of gems and minerals, and the origin of Oceans.
The museum has so many impressive displays, yet I found the Human Origins very interesting.
Look how the human faces has evolved in chronological order.
Australopithecus afarensis
An extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago.
Paranthropus boisei
It lived in Eastern Africa during the Pleistocene epoch from about 2.3 until about 1.2 million years ago.
Australopithecus africanus
An early hominid who lived between 2.7 and 2.1 million years ago in the later Pliocene and early Pleistocene era.
Homo erectus
The first fossil evidence has been dated to around 1.89 million years ago and the most recent to around 70,000 years ago.
Homo neanderthalensis or the Neandertals
Closely related to modern humans and differing in DNA by just 0.12%. Fossil evidence has been dated to around 200,000 to 28,000 years ago.
Homo heidelbergensis
Species of the genus Homo which lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia during about 700,000 to 200,000 years ago.
Homo floresiensis (nicknamed ‘Hobbit’)
This the most recently discovered early human species, which have been found between 95,000 and 17,000 years.
Here are scaled models of the faces of our ancestors.
Which one closely resembles you?
Of course, there are more inside the museum.
A huge collection of mammal, birds, and other animal bones.
The mummy of Ramses III
The Pharaoh who in the Biblical story attempted to prevent the exodus of the “Children of Israel” from Egypt.
A sacred mummified bull.
World’s largest flawless quartz sphere
Find this Crystal ball inside the National Gem Collection
Do you wanna see how giant is the Giant Squid?
And more mammal collection.
There is no miss seeing the giant elephant statue.
You could spend the whole day there with how much there is to see. Kids and adults alike will enjoy this museum. The weekends are usually busy and crowded.
Contact.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Address: 10th Street and Constitution Ave, Washington DC, DC 20560
Phone Number: 202 633-1000
Admission fee.
FREE
Hours.
Open daily except December 25, 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM.
Search for a hotel that is within your travel budget.
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See the rest of What’s Inside series here.
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