BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of Natural History -- Exhibit: 100th anniversary

DC -- Natl Museum of Natural History -- Exhibit: 100th anniversary:

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Description of Pictures: Celebrating 100 Years at the National Museum of Natural History
May 29, 2010 – March 20, 2011
To mark the museum's 100th birthday, this exhibition highlights the behind-the-scenes research that advances scientific knowledge and inspires the museum's public educational programs. Over the last century, scientists have used technological advances in photography to see farther, deeper, and in more detail than ever before. On view are photographs, both old and new, that show how these researchers have relied on photography to document their findings and to reveal the natural world that lies hidden to the naked eye.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] SINH00_100909_001.JPG	[2] SINH00_100909_008.JPG	[3] SINH00_100909_012.JPG
[4] SINH00_100909_017.JPG	[5] SINH00_100909_022.JPG	[6] SINH00_100909_036.JPG
[7] SINH00_100909_046.JPG	[8] SINH00_100909_063.JPG	[9] SINH00_100909_078.JPG
[10] SINH00_100909_081.JPG	[11] SINH00_100909_094.JPG	[12] SINH00_100909_101.JPG
[13] SINH00_100909_105.JPG	[14] SINH00_100909_115.JPG	[15] SINH00_100909_121.JPG
[16] SINH00_100909_129.JPG	[17] SINH00_100909_133.JPG	[18] SINH00_100909_142.JPG
[19] SINH00_100909_150.JPG	[20] SINH00_100909_155.JPG	[21] SINH00_100909_159.JPG
[22] SINH00_100909_169.JPG	[23] SINH00_100909_175.JPG	[24] SINH00_100909_180.JPG
[25] SINH00_100909_184.JPG	[26] SINH00_100909_189.JPG	[27] SINH00_100909_209.JPG
[28] SINH00_100909_215.JPG	[29] SINH00_100909_240.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SINH00_100909_001.JPG: Giant Fossil sloths, microscopic pollens in amber, fragile pottery sherds, and ancient meteorites -- 100 years ago this Museum opened to provide a home for such objects and a small group of curators, with labs for research, cases for storage, and dioramas for display. Travel back with us to 1910 and through the years of Museum exploring, collecting, researching, and teaching. And contribute to our vision for the century ahead as we examine the questions of global warming, habitat loss, and changing societies.
2. SINH00_100909_017.JPG: Setting the final stone in the arch over the south porch overlooking the National Mall, 1909
3. SINH00_100909_022.JPG: The Work in Never Finished: With 126 million objects, over 1,000 staff, and 7 million visitors annually, the Museum still runs like clockwork because of the dedicated facilities employees who work behind the scenes. As we move into our next 100 years, high-tech security systems, Wi-Fi Internet access for visitors, and state-of-the-art information technology for staff must keep pace with the latest advances. Did You Know? * Since 1910, the Smithsonian has established 16 museums. There are currently 28 Smithsonian museums and research centers around the world. * Work on the Museum's 222,943-square-foot (20,712 square meters) roof (that's almost 4 football fields!) goes on continuously. When the last section has been repaired, it is time to renovate the first part again. * After record rainfall in June 2006 flooded the basement, the Museum developed a new storm water retention system to prevent future floods and reclaim water for other uses in the building. * The Museum stocked 7,200 rolls of toilet paper for the crowds on Inauguration Day 2009, and visitors used them all in one day. By the 1970s, the Museum was once again running out of collections storage space. In 1978, Congress approved a state-of-the-art facility to provide long-term collections storage off the National Mall. Since it opened in 1983 in Suitland, Maryland, the Museum Support Center has provided environmentally controlled, secure space for research and storage of the bulk of the Museum's collections.
4. SINH00_100909_036.JPG: 1992. Aerial photo looking northwest. Buildings include the Smithsonian Castle (lower left), National Museum of Natural History (center), National Museum of American History (center left), and Federal Triangle (red-roofed buildings). The Ronald Reagan Building is under construction (upper left).
5. SINH00_100909_046.JPG: 1932: Aerial photograph by the Army Air Corps. Making More Room: In 1930, Congress authorized the addition of much-needed wings to the Museum building. Allied Architects of Washington, DC, designed the wings, but as the Great Depression settled in, the plans were shelved. In 1960, the Museum finally received funds, and construction began. The new wings provided modern collections storage and laboratory facilities. The Botany collections, still housed on the third floor of the Castle, were finally reunited with the rest of the Museum's natural history collections. Changes to the Museum and Neighborhood: In the decades after the Museum opened in 1910, the surrounding neighborhood underwent major changes. Large federal buildings replaced the residential and retail area just north of the Museum. Since the 1960s, additional museums have filled the National Mall. The Museum changed, too, with the addition of two large wings, two enclosed courtyards, and a new name. 1930s: The National Mall undergoes major renovations, and federal buildings are constructed north of the Museum. 1960-65: The east and west wings are constructed to house laboratories, research collections, and offices for the scientific staff. 1967-68: The US National Museum divided into several separate Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of Natural History. 1983: The Smithsonian opens a support facility with additional state-of-the-art collections storage and laboratory space in Suitland, Maryland. 1999: East and west court additions are built to house collection and visitor services, such as the IMAX theater. Did You Know? * It cost $3.5 million to complete the original construction of the building. * Since 1910, the space used for public exhibitions and visitor services has stayed relatively stable between 230,000-240,0000 square feet (21,367-22,296 square meters). * Since 1910, the space used in this building for research and collections storage has tripled from about 160,000 to 475,000 square feet (14,864 to 44,129 square meters). * The Museum generated its own electricity for the first 25 years it was open. * The exterior of the building's dome is covered in slate shingles.
6. SINH00_100909_063.JPG: "Meet Me at the Elephant": Generations of visitors have used the elephant in the Rotunda as a touchstone for their visit and a central place to meet up with family and friends. Josef J. Fenykovi donated the male African bush elephant from Angola in 1957. Smithsonian chief taxidermist William Brown observed the habits of living elephants to create a scientifically accurate model of a fast-moving elephant. When first exhibited in 1959, it was the largest land mammal on display in any museum. Welcoming the Public: Today, the National Museum of Natural History is the most visited museum in the world. Its exhibitions opened to the public exactly one century ago -- before construction of the building was even completed in 1911. Later that year, the Museum added Sunday hours to allow working adults to visit on their one day off. From the beginning, the Museum had reached out and encouraged visits from school groups and provided opportunities for visitors of all ages to interact with our collections and scientists. Through the years, the Museum has inspired future scientists and stewards of the natural world. 1910: The Museum welcomes 50,403 visitors in its first 9 months. 1943: The Museum collaborates with the United Service Organizations (USO) to provide special guided tours for visiting soldiers. 1955: The Junior League of Washington DC, establishes a docent program to provide tours to visiting elementary school students. 1974: The Discovery Room opens to allow children to touch and explore some of the collections. 2007: The Museum joins with other leading scientific institutions to found the Encyclopedia of Life, a global effort to document all 1.8 million named species and share that information with the public via the Internet. Did You Know? * The items that our visitors most frequently lose are cameras, cell phones, and bags with items they purchased in the Museum shops. * The most photographed item in the Museum is the Hope Diamond. * The average visitor to the Museum is 36 years old and spends 2 to 4 hours here. * Ten percent of our visitors interact with one of our volunteer docents while at the Museum. * Last year, the Museum website had over 25 million visitors.
7. SINH00_100909_078.JPG: 2001: Visitors watching a fossil preparator at work in the fossiLab in "Life in the Ancient Seas."
8. SINH00_100909_081.JPG: Coming Soon! Visitors have next exhibits and experiences to look forward to at the Museum. A hands-on learning center, set to open in 2012, will provide space for adults and families to examine our collections more closely and talk with scientists and other experts. 2009: Concept view of the future Museum education facility. Did You Know? * The skin of the elephant weighs 2 tons and is 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick in some areas. * The elephant's eyes are custom-made, handblown glass. * The life-size model of the elephant used during the taxidermy process weighed 20,000 pounds -- 4,000 pounds more than the elephant weighed alive. * Underneath the skin is a light-weight, elephant-shaped frame made from aluminum screen wire, a coating of burlap, and papier mache. * The elephant was restored in 1981 by taxidermist Frank Greenwell, and it was reinstalled in the current exhibit in 1999.
9. SINH00_100909_094.JPG: Early Exhibitions: The new Museum embraced the most up-to-date exhibition techniques and displayed many artifacts and specimens in dioramas. Partitions in some larger halls created more intimate spaces, such as the Gallery of Art. In addition to natural history and anthropology specimens, the Museum housed fine arts and history collections until the 1960s. Other Smithsonian museums, such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of American History, now hold these collections.
10. SINH00_100909_105.JPG: ca 1911: Horse-drawn carriage moving the collections across the National Mall to the new building.
11. SINH00_100909_115.JPG: 1905: Construction of the arches above the ground floor windows. The footprint of the new Museum was larger than that of any government building except the Capitol.
12. SINH00_100909_121.JPG: 1904: Building a National Museum: Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P Langley turning the first spadeful of earth at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building, June 15, 1904.
13. SINH00_100909_129.JPG: Designing the Museum: The new Museum's classical style and monumental scale responded to the 1902 McMillan Commission's call for a revival of L'Enfant's original vision for the National Mall and surrounding federal buildings. Local architects JC Hornblower and JR Marshall produced the final design for the Museum after studying the latest museums in Europe. Their white granite building combined abundant light and functional spaces with a grand presence. The original design for the dome was later changed to a cleaner Roman architectural style.
14. SINH00_100909_142.JPG: Early Days of the Museum: Shortly after the Smithsonian Castle was completed in 1855, thousands of specimens -- mostly from government expeditions -- crowded the building. The Smithsonian's second building -- now known as the Arts and Industries Building -- opened in 1881. Officials quickly determined that the rapidly growing collections, now nearing a million objects, needed even more space. Two decades later, President Theodore Roosevelt authorized the construction of a third Smithsonian building. Opening to the public on March 7, 1910, the new US National Museum, which later became the National Museum of Natural History, contained exhibitions on art, culture, history, and the natural world -- as well as space for collections research and storage. 1882: Smithsonian officials first request funds for a new building. 1903: Congress appropriates funds for the construction. 1910: The Museum opens to the public on March 17. 1911: Construction is complete -- seven years and five days after groundbreaking. Did You Know? * Less than 2 percent of the Museum's collections are publicly displayed. * The US Air Force and Navy helped the Museum ship the giant squid from Spain for the Sant Ocean Hall -- an effort they named "Operation Calamari." * The papier-mache Stegosaurus on display in the Fossil Halls today was first built for the 1904 St Louis Exposition. * The Museum hosts an average of 6 temporary exhibitions each year. * To revise the color of the 800-pound leaping tiger's coat in the Kenneth E Behring Family Hall of Mammals, taxidermists used 14 kits of "Luscious Mango" hair dye by Garnier Nutrisse. * Lighting the exhibits consumes over 9,000 light bulbs a year, most of which are energy-efficient.
15. SINH00_100909_159.JPG: The Museum continues to update its exhibitions and inaugurating new halls. The David H Koch Hall of Human Origins opened in March of this year. And the Museum has started planning a future renovation of the Fossil Halls. To help interpret our collections, contemporary exhibits incorporate more sounds, video, and interactive technologies, helping to bring faraway places and the distant past into the Museum. 2008: Design concept rendering of the new David H Koch Hall of Human Origins. Exhibiting our collections has been a vital part of the Museum's mission since it opened in 1910. Over the years, the look of our exhibitions has changed, but our commitment to inspiring and educating our visitors about the natural and cultural world has not. A whole team of exhibit specialists -- designers, writers, taxidermists, conservators, artists, and production staff -- work together with scientists, researchers, and educators to create the exhibitions that have sparked visitors' curiosity and challenged their ideas of the world around them for generations. 1910-13: Innovation exhibitions, with dioramas and life groups, are prepared for the new Museum. 1954-63: The Museum modernizes the exhibition galleries to highlight select objects and include educational labels, lighted cases, and state-of-the-art design. 1970s: Exhibits are renovated to reflect new scientific ideas and styles of display, and to include interactive experiences. 1976: The Insect Zoo opens to allow visitors to observe, and even hold, live insects. 2000s: Exhibit renovations incorporate modern technology with artifacts and specimens, as seen in the Kenneth E Behring Family Hall of Mammals and the Sant Ocean Hall. Countless Collections: The Museum holds over 126 million specimens and artifacts from around the world. Yet visitors see only a tiny fraction of them. Scientists from the Museum, government agencies, and institutions around the world use the majority of our collections to carry out scientific research into evolution, biodiversity, human societies, and our relationship with the natural world. Every object -- from the largest dinosaur fossils to microscopic pollen grains -- is carefully documented, preserved, and stored in secure, climate controlled conditions in this building and the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland. 1879: Congress passes a law that all government collections be deposited in and cared for by the US National Museum. 1909: Staff begins moving collections into the new building. 1942: The Museum's most valuable collections are moved from the National Mall to a warehouse in Luray, Virginia, for safekeeping during World War II. 1978: The Museum begins an automated inventory of its collections numbering 60 million specimens. 1985: The Museum's collections reach the 100-million mark. 2007: The Museum encourages its scientists to share their collections research in the on-line, collaborative Encyclopedia of Life project.
16. SINH00_100909_169.JPG: Exhibit Provokes Legal Challenge: On May 18, 1979, the Museum opened the first exhibit in any American science museum that explained the basic steps of evolution. Court challenges resulted in a legal opinion that the display taught science, not a belief system. This ruling ensures that American museums can present this important scientific theory. 1979: Dynamics of Evolution exhibition.
17. SINH00_100909_180.JPG: Modernized Animals from Africa, Hall of Mammals, 1959
18. SINH00_100909_184.JPG: The Kenneth E Behring Family Hall of Mammals, 2003
19. SINH00_100909_189.JPG: Innovative for its time -- the original display of an East African lion group in a lifelike setting, 1915. Evolution of the Exhibitions: The Museum's galleries stayed relatively unchanged for the first 40 to 50 years. In the 1950s and 60s, every exhibit in the Museum was modernized. How we displayed our collections and what we said about them changed dramatically. The Kenneth E Behring Family Hall of Mammals, completed in 2003, illustrates the Museum's current renovation plan to integrate interactive multi-media with the Museum's collection.
20. SINH00_100909_209.JPG: 1992: Bird Collection of the Vertebrate Zoology Department
21. SINH00_100909_215.JPG: 2009: Cultural Artifacts from the Anthropology Collections
22. SINH00_100909_240.JPG: 1945: William Foshag, curator of minerals, observing an eruption of the Paricutin volcano in Mexico. William Foshag spent two years in Mexico studying the birth of a volcano and watching it grow from a level corn field to a 1,391-foot (424-m) cone. Until then, scientists had never watched these processes in action! Researchers still study the event using Foshag's film, photographs, specimens, and field notes houses at the Museum. Did You Know? * The US Natural Museum held about 10 million specimens and artifacts in 1910. * The same year, former US President Theodore Roosevelt donated 5,000 plants, a small collection of ethnological artifacts, and 11,400 zoological specimens from his African exhibition. The gift included 5,000 mammals, 4,000 birds, 2,000 reptiles, frogs and toads, 2,000 fish, miscellaneous insects, crabs, myriapods, and mollusks. * Our Triceratops skeleton was on display for 96 years. In 1999, staff dismantled it for conservation. A cast of the original currently stands in our Fossil Hall. * The Museum has more pieces of the 4.57 billion-year-old Allende meteorite -- the oldest known object on the planet -- than any other public collection. Did You Know? * From 1910 to 1912, the Museum led an effort to document the plants and animals of the Panama Canal Zone before canal construction disrupted their habitat. * In 1946 and 1947, Museum biologists documented the biology of Bikini Atoll before and after atomic bomb tests. * Our scientists work at Museum research stations far from Washington DC. Marine biodiversity and ecosystems are the focus at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce in Florida, and the Caribbean Coral Reef Ecoysystems field station at Carrie Bow Cay in Belize. * Today, Museum scientists do field research in over 80 countries annually.
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