National Museum of Natural History

The green-domed National Museum of Natural History was opened in 1910 and was an original part of the 1901 McMillan Plan, an architectural plan for the development of Washington D.C. which included designs by many famed U.S. architects of that era.

The exterior of the museum was designed by Daniel Burnham and Charles McKim, who chose a grand Beaux Arts style to match the other buildings in the National Mall area. The remainder of the museum was designed by architects Hornblower and Marshall, a Washington D.C.-based partnership, who were most concerned with providing as much natural light as possible in order for visitors to enjoy exhibitions that portrayed the natural world.

An east wing and west wing were opened in 1964, designed by architectural firm Mills, Petticord, and Mills. Five years later, the name of the museum changed from the Museum of Natural History to the National Museum of Natural History, making it “the people’s natural history museum.”

The building has an octagon-shaped rotunda, which is visible from many parts of the city, a portico entrance, and columns of two different styles – Doric on the first floor and Ionic on the second and third floors. A “clerestory” – an upper level with semi-circular windows – sits above the third floor. These were common in Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals.

The two added wings are each six stories tall. The second, fourth, and sixth floors connect directly to the main museum and the sixth floor is set back.

A variety of displays and collections can be enjoyed by visitors to this free museum. As a matter of fact, the National Museum of Natural History boasts one of the finest collections of gems and minerals in the world, including the 45.52 carat Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia sapphire.

Kids and adults both love the Hall of Dinosaurs, with its collection of 46 complete fossilized dinosaurs. Be sure to check out the “fight’ between the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Triceratops. The Hall of Mammals boasts the largest collection of vertebrate specimens in the world, more than twice the size of the next largest collection, the museum claims.

There are also several exhibits on the waters of the world and sea life in general as well as botany and anthropology displays and an IMAX theater.