The museums of the Smithsonian Institution get pretty quiet this last week of August. With most children (DC public schools included) back to school, it's the ideal time for we locals to enjoy the sites without the crowds.
We had read about the new marine life exhibit in the newly restored 'Sant Ocean Hall', but somehow missed the fine print that it opens at the end of September. We were one month early.
Here's a sneak peek.
That's as much as we could see coming up the escalator. It looks amazing and I cannot wait to return in a couple of weeks to get the first hand view from underneath that whale. Meanwhile it is absolutely worth checking out the on-line features on their web site, here.
Instead this day, we explored familiar territory: the prehistoric mammals, such as (my favorite) the giant sloth, the dinosaurs, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, ...
... and the ever fascinating human child exhibit.
There's also a terrific hands-on 'discovery room'where kids can look at samples under a microscope, examine real skeletal systems, and explore drawer after drawer of various insects, shells, minerals, and other life forms with a magnifying glass.
This is a pretty great area for homeschooling which happens to be among our plans this year.
Yep, we're keeping one at home this year. There are many reasons, and I'm not without a few unsettled nerves, but all in all I am confident in her endless curiosity and my ability to put information in front of her.
We're excited to move ahead with a new approach to the back to school season.
