Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

The museum of Natural History located in the National Mall complex is one of the most visited museums within the complex, apart from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. National Mall is a government held open space in Washington D.C. that houses several Smithsonian Museums, governmental buildings, and monuments of historical relevance for the United States. Museum of Natural History is part of the Smithsonian Research Complex. With the Smithsonian’s reputation of being the world's largest museum and research complex (consists of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park and nine research facilities) and the Museum of Natural Histories being 100 years old, I approached the place with an expectation of being awed and impressed.

It did awe me. The Hall of Dinosaurs had several foot tall dinosaur skeletons and ancient birds, including a life-size model of the Quetzalcoatlus northropi, which lived 70 million years ago, having a wingspan of 40-foot, and reputed to be the largest flying animal ever. Also residing above this hall is the jaw of an ancient shark, which lived in the oceans 5 million years ago. The very human-like faces in the Hall of Human Origins were eye-captivating. The faces had watery, real-like eyes on display cases dating back to thousands of years and were from across the globe.  Among these impressive displays was the Hope Diamond, the 23.1-carat ruby, one of the largest and finest rubies in the world in the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals. Looking at all this amazing stuff, I thought I had missed the museum and had somehow mistakenly wandered into the sets of Jurassic Park or Ice Age.

What had happened to the museum? Where is the stuff, the Smithsonian boasts of? Where has their research on Human Evolution led them to? I closely read the reading material kept along the displays to find some sort of explanation to the dinosaur skeleton or the real-like human faces that were dated back to several thousand years and found none. The information available along with the displays were more focused on the description on the specimen, the sort that can be found in Wikipedia and less on how such a specimen was found or discussions that lead into serious topics. Later on while talking to others who had been to the museum, I found out that there was only a small bone in the rib-cage of one of the dinosaurs which was real and the rest of its body was constructed on assumptions. The same was the story for human-like faces. It is understandable to have reconstructions, but certainly not to way-led on-lookers. If most of what is displayed is reconstruction, it should be stated somewhere for people who might be interested in knowing about it. Their commitment to provide a wholesome entertainment doesn’t stop within their halls, but extends outside their building. Several display signs were erected around the Natural Museum and one of the recurring pictures was the following one:

Every single display sign that advertised for the Hall of Human Origins displayed the above picture, showing a man of Asian origin and an women of African origin with his/her ‘ancestor’. As of 2008 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States#Asian_Americans) only 4.4% of the U.S. population consists of Asian American and 12.4% of the whole population include Black Americans, while White Americans make-up the majority of the population at 80%.  Depicting a black American is quite understandable as they make up the second largest group, that is, if people of America are to be divided according to their racial make-up, but why people of Asian origin?

 According, to the museums official website, “the Museum’s temporary and permanent exhibitions serve to educate, enlighten and entertain millions of visitors each year”. Well, it certainly provides good entertainment to the visitors. However, it confounds the visitors more than enlighten them.