Event name: Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Event time and place: from 9am to 8pm at NYC
1st guided tour: Dr.Holtz, dinosaurs In the first guided tour by Dr.Holtz, he led us down the dinosaur hall showing us the past fossil records. He explained how a record is organized based on evolutionary relationships such as a family tree. He explained how dinosaurs are most connected (ancestors) to archosaurs. Two of the different halls at the museum represented 2 branches of the family tree. The first branch was mainly about plant-eating dinosaurs with long necks. They have hips like humans and legs right under their hips to help them grow taller. We also learned how Stegasosurs have bony plates on the back and 4 spikes at the end of their tales to offer them defense. Another dinosaur with defense was the ankylosaurus, with its armor that grows on its skull allowing it to headbutt. Additionally, Triceratops had a strong shearing bite for example its horn din which was abundant. The other branch of the tree, ( in the next hall) was mainly about meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods. Many had hollow chambers on vertebrae and were smaller than herbivorous dinosaurs. Allosaurus were top predators with big skulls, shorter necks, and powerful hands which were commonly found in the Jurassic period. The T-Rex was the top predator in the Cretaceous period replacing the allosaurs. Not all meat-eating dinosaurs ate like ostriches, many had front limbs used to grasp prey and feed on them. Additionally, we learned that Jurrasic Park lied and that Velociraptors were tiny and super feathery. All raptor dinosaurs were feathered. Concerning the Collections Core: In the collection core tour, we learned about how specimens are useful for extracting DNA. They can collect additional data with modern tech and get something entirely new to sample. Concerning Antlers vs Horns we learned that horns are not branched and do not shed. They instead are made out of keratin but antlers are made out of bones. They are collected through deposits and collected by researchers or collectors to be further studied. The collections can be studied to further study evolution throughout time and isotope data. For example, corals are algae and animals. The corals are preserved by drying them out and the data from the corals can tell researchers about the future and how corals will further evolve. Additionally, box turtles, found in NY Long Island, are collected from dead box turtles and it is done so over a large period. Getting a series encapsulates many variations over the years. The researchers can extract DNA and get its genetic diversity. Researchers prepare the specimen by clearing and staining and clearing out tissue through chemical washes and staining the bones and cartilage to be able to see the skeleton and compare it to other species or itself. The staining allows us to see the skeleton and compare it to other species or itself. Researchers do this across different species such as seahorses, rays, and fish to compare the same bone across different species to compare evolution. Self-Guided Observations -> Rocks and Minerals exhibit: In our personal sed guided tour, we went to the Rocks and Minerals exhibit to view the pretty rocks. We learned how ice is a mineral and that minerals are organized based on their chemistry, environments, locations, and ages. The main marinas in the hall is arranged in chronological order based on how old the mineral is. Also major tectonic shifts close off the sea and raise the land resulting to an ore-rich fluid flowing leaving deposits. The Exhibit is organized by time of rock/mineral or by region from where they came from. The crystals stibnite are made up of tiny building blocks called unit cells made up of sulfur and antimony. Fluids flowing through rivers/lakes/soils/caves carry dissolved chemical elements; when conditions change, minerals called chemical sediments can form (or precipitate) from the fluid. Salt is a crystal (NaCl), aka halite; crystallizes as as saltwater evaporates & is usually found in deposits with sylvite, gypsum, and other salts. We also saw lots of jewlry made from crystals and showed many diamond necklaces which is made up of carbon atoms which makes it the hardest substance.
Space Show In the Space show in the planetarium, we saw the show called, “Worlds Beyond Earth”. The short movie explored different planets in our solar system and provided facts and science behind the planets. The major theme of the movie. The images in the movie seemed to be based on both but a lot seemed to be graphics designed by a special effects studio. The images were not shown at scale. Something I learned from the short movie was that one of the reasons we could explore the effects of CO2 was from Venus. Since Venus doesn’t rotate fast enough, there’s no magnetic field and therefore humans could never inhabited the planet. However, the closest planet in the Goldilocks zone which could potentially become habitable would be Mars which is very similar to Earth. All the asteroids in the asteroid belt out together has a smaller mass than the moon yes they are constantly spinning and crash into the other planets, the reason why our moon has craters. Overall the end of the movie pushed the message that our planet is an oasis in the solar system and we need to take better care of our planet because this is all we have. General Thoughts: The American National History Museum (AMNH) accommodated many of these different visitors by providing concise and visually striking information to all kinds of age groups and people, while everything was in English, the language was not too difficult to understand and also provided many visual cues to help the audience understand what they were looking at. In addition to the easy-to-understand language, there were lots of elevators and railways for those with disabilities or those with strollers to better navigate the museum. Lastly, the layout of the museum was very kid and parent-friendly by providing sitting areas and cafes on each floor to offer food and a place of rest. Overall the easy-to-understand signs and places of rest and accommodations allowed for an easy way to navigate the museum and benefited the people. Overall I thought it was a fun museum with easy-to-understand information