My Old Friend, The American Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is by far my favorite museum. I spent every Friday night during high school there with my international environmental organization called YouthCaN. YouthCaN was like a family and I continue to attend meetings as a supervising alumn. Even though I spend so much time in this museum, I hardly visit exhibits anymore. I spend most of my time in labs. The museum is now a meeting place for me to share research proposals, plan and execute workshops, and study specimen.

When my friend came for Thanksgiving Break, we knew where we would go to spend time with each other. We had met at YouthCaN and it played a great role in each of our lives. He has an extensive background on all things science related so touring the museum with him was like having my own personal tour guide.

However, when I do get to visit the museum’s exhibits I absolutely love it. The exhibitions are so varied and intriguing. Through the anthropological exhibits, a few steps gets you to another nation, another continent. The cultural representations are fascinating. I love the dinosaurs. When I was younger, I was obsessed with them. I absolutely love Human Evolutions. I never get tired of that exhibit no matter how many times I visit. The gems and minerals exhibits are gorgeous. I once had to do a project with them in high school; because of this, I am highly familiar with these stones. Nevertheless, my heart still pounds when I see the beautiful, glimmering gems – the way the light refracts off of the vertices, the variety of colors, etc. I once played hide and seek within the room in high school. I also love the taxidermies although they make me a bit sad. I love the wolves, as they are my favorite animals.

I loved touring the Natural History Museum. Although I know it like the back of my hand, I had a blast seeing my favorite exhibits. They have become old friends over the years.