DC Trip Day 5

Day 5:

This was our last full day to spend in DC and we still had most of the Smithsonian Museums left to explore. In the end we narrowed it down to the Smithsonian Castle and the Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Castle contained small samples of the exhibits from the various Smithsonian Institutions, along with some of the private items from the estate of John Smithson, who donated the funds to launch the Smithsonian. Mr. Smithson was a British scientist who had never been to the United States when he made the bequest which provided the intitial funding for the museum. The generosity and vision is something that I find amazing. The exhibitions in the castle were spectacular ~ especially the intricately carved ivory.

• After visiting the Smithsonian Castle, we headed to the field trip heaven that is the Museum of Natural History. We enjoyed the rocks, fossils, animals, bugs, and many other exhibits within the museum, but couldn't help but compare it to the Field Museum of Chicago, which we visited at Christmas and LOVED. The rock exhibit did have some fascinating specimens and the gem collection includes a display of the Hope Diamond. After the museum, we decided to try our chances at finding a mall and a Mother's Day present. We guessed using our map, jumped on the subway, and stepped out into a lovely and upscale shopping center just south of the Pentagon. And... the mother was happy with her gift.

Highlights:

The carved ivory exhibit at the Smithsonian Castle

The rock exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Seeing real elephant teeth at the Museum of Natural History (this was only a highlight for one of us ~ I will let you guess who)

Finding Mudder her Mother's Day present, after visiting practically every store in the whole mall