Natural History Museum

On October 25, 2007 I visited the National History Museum in London. Upon arriving, I was astonished by the sheer size of the building and the amount of people waiting to go in. I also found the architecture and design to be very neat in that there were animals all over the building. It was also very spacious, and the exhibits were laid out well.
Thankfully I visited the dinosaur exhibit before the massive lines formed. I started by taking the bridge over the whole exhibit and got a full appreciation for the size of the animals. The skulls of the large dinosaurs were particularly fascinating in that they were over two meters long! Next I moved on to the T-Rex part of the exhibit. I found it interesting that paleontologists are still unsure if this dinosaur was a scavenger or carnivore. Although the replica was very fake and not frightening at all, it still served the purpose of showing the size of a T-Rex, and it was not even a full grown model. In addition, a T-Rex would have been able to swallow a human whole! Another impressive fact is the rate of growth for teenagers; in just one day they could put on many pounds of weight. Another interesting piece of the exhibit was the detailed display of defense mechanisms the dinosaurs had. For example, one dinosaur had horns all over his body to prevent being predation, and these horns were even on the eyelids! Other dinosaurs had heads that would inflate to warn others of nearby predators, and another species had large thumb claws that could be used to stab potential killers. Moreover, it was interesting to learn that these animals did not normally die of old age as it was usually fighting or disease which ended their lives. There were fossils of dinosaur feet which showed signs of arthritis, and it was almost odd to think they experienced similar problems we still have today. Finally, I gained a new respect for paleontologists because the exhibit explained the painstaking work they must go through in order to preserve these fossils. The carefulness in their work can allow people to piece together the past and make educated opinions about dinosaur’s evolution, lifestyle, and extinction.
After exploring the dinosaurs, I made my way to the marine invertebrate exhibit. At first I was surprised by how small the place was, but quickly I understood that much was contained within the room. The Mollusks, Cnideria, and sponges were very diverse and there were numerous here to observe. I found it funny that the prettiest, bright colored shelled had names which somehow incorporated royalty. On the other hand, there were also some creatures that were not so beautiful in my opinion such as the squid and worms.
Next I moved on to more complex organisms, the primates. Many parts of this exhibits explained the social hierarchy, and I found it interesting that some primates would help out another with their young if they needed a break. The children also stay with the mother for a longer period of time than most organisms. Furthermore, playing is an important part to their growth and teaches many lessons. On a more serious note, there was also an exhibit showing how humans have impacted primate populations. For instance, many species of Madagascan lemurs have gone extinct and others are endangered.
The places in evolution exhibit showed how humans have evolved from primates. There was evidence of intermediary species and the objects they used. The Australopithecus were the first group to use tools, and the Habilis used fire and had death ceremonies. These are all human like characteristics, and looking at morphological differences in the bones can allow one to create a phylogenetic tree. This provides a logical map of the relationship between organisms and how they evolved to form new ones.
Due to my interest in the sciences, I decided to end my visit by looking at the human biology section. It began by simply describing the different types of cells within the body and how they function. While I know much on the topic, there were still some things I learned such as red blood cells not needing a nucleus because they do not divide. I also found the section on hormones very interesting. There was a large bucket showing how much blood a body contains next to a spoonful of liquid which is the amount of hormones a body has. Furthermore, the exhibit allowed you to press different hormone buttons and see where they stem from within the body. Finally, there was also a large section on human reproduction which was completely fascinating. I have watched reproduction videos many times, but it still amazes me to see the different stages of development, particularly what is occurring at a cellular level.