The Smithsonian Institution includes 19 museums and galleries, along with the National Zoo, and each museum contains countless exhibits and displays. The Museum of Natural History is no exception, so on our first visit, we only got to see a small portion of the museum's holdings.
Initially, we thought we would quickly check out the Hope Diamond, and then head downstairs to see the dinosaurs. Upon arriving at the Hope Diamond display, our reaction could best be summed up by these children, who said: "What's so special about this rock?"
But, the more we started looking around, the more beauty we found. This crown was originally set with emeralds (which were later replaced with turquoise) and diamonds, and it sparkled in the lighting.
Here is a massive, uncut emerald. Reading about many of the stones, including the Hope Diamond, we learned they often were cut down to half their original carat size in the process of being shaped and polished.
This display features an uncut diamond on the left, and the largest diamond (the 127-carat Portuguese Diamond) in the collection on the right.
After looking at all the jewels, we were drawn further into the mineral exhibit by this rainbow of stones. The mineral exhibit explained the exact chemical composition that caused the formation of the mineral. It reminded Jessica that she had, at one time, wanted to become a geologist.
When Jessica studied rocks in 7th grade, she became infatuated with stones until the following unit, which featured astronomy, but we'll talk more about those memories when we get the the Air and Space Museum. But first, the dinosaurs!
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