Today, we took advantage of the unusual spring-like weather (in the 70s) and spent a few hours (three, to be exact, as that is the time allotted in the free parking zones along Jefferson and Madison Streets, heh) on the Washington Mall.We started at the Smithsonian Museum of American History (which we'd never been to), where the first thing we saw when we walked in was an immense artistic rendition of a waving flag made up of over 900 metal tiles (above). It hangs above the entrance to the display of the original American flag that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner (which had a line way too long for our kids, so we didn't take in that exhibit). As with most museums on the Mall, there was no way we could see the whole thing, so we chose a couple of exhibits to focus on, including the Science & Innovation section where we really enjoyed the hands-on Innovation at Play exhibit which had some interesting ways to get at the background on scientists and their inventions. I loved the quote about the inventor of the microwave (below):
Then we headed off to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, a favorite haunt for the kids and I. We walked through the new Sant Ocean Hall, where I enjoyed utilizing the wide angle capability of one of the lenses of the new camera I got for Christmas. Yes, that's a life-size, full-scale model of a North Atlantic Right Whale, 45 feet long:
We also took in the museum's live butterflies exhibit--this was the third or fourth time through for the kids and I, but the first for their dad, who loved it just as much as we do. Heh, in that exhibit I had fun utilizing the macro capability of my new camera:
It was a good day with good temps and good spirits--as most of our trips to the Mall seem to be blessed by.(Images: mine)