Tag archives for Museums
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If you like to do hands-on science activities, you’ll want to visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. The museum opened its doors in early December 2012, and has already had nearly 200,000 visitors! Some favorite exhibits are been the hands-on robots in the Bio Lab, and the Rose Hall of Birds, where you can have a 3-D flying experience.
Visit the Perot Museum website to learn more.
Get ideas for science experiments to try at home on National Geographic Kids.
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Hi readers. Wow, what a week… it started in Serbia. Do you even know where Serbia is? Serbia is a little Balkan country bordering believe it or not, eight other small countries. We visited Belgrade the capital city. Our first afternoon we explored the old ramparts, and oddly enough there was a photographic exhibit on the USA. There was a beautiful picture from every state. Later that night went to the bohemian quarter, perfect for us, and we listened to traditional music.
Our next day we wandered and ate dinner at the coolest opera restaurant, we pulled a rope for our waiter to come and sat in a vintage opera box. At the end of the night a pianist and a violinist came and played, the violinist was hilarious.
NASA’s decommissioned space shuttle Discovery took a victory lap over Washington, D.C., today on the back of a Boeing 747. The shuttle was traveling to its new home at the National Air and Space Museum in Dulles, Virginia. Discovery flew by several iconic buildings as it passed over the the city, including the Washington Monument and the White House.
Discovery‘s first space voyage was on August 30, 1980. The shuttle flew 39 space missions over the next 30 years. Its last mission was a trip to the International Space Station.
See more pictures from Discovery‘s last flight on National Geographic News.
See space shuttle pictures on National Geographic Kids.
Watch a video about space shuttle history on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph courtesy Glenn Benson, NASA
How does a cow digest its lunch? “Eat, upchuck, chew the barfed-up cud.” That’s just a sample of a weird fact you’ll pick up at the cow station at the Animal Grossology exhibit at National Geographic in Washington, D.C.
This new exhibit is filled with all kind of gross facts. You’ll get the scoop on your cat’s hairballs, a cow’s four stomachs, weird undersea creatures, and more. You’ll also learn the science behind the yucky tidbits so you can explain the fact to your friends! The exhibits are interactive, and there are a bunch of games to play. Special demonstrations held every day will show you the science behind bioluminescence and how germs are spread between people.
Animal Grossology opens at the National Geographic Museum today. The exhibit will run through January 2, 2012.
Learn more about the Animal Grossology exhibit on the National Geographic Museum website.
Play Dung Beetle Derby on National Geographic Kids.
Photographs courtesy of Advanced Exhibits
Have you ever dreamed about being an archaeologist? Visiting the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis gives you a chance to experience real archaeological discoveries as you explore the tomb of Egyptian pharaoh Seti I, the terra cotta warriors excavation site in China, and Captain Kidd’s shipwreck off the coast of the Dominican Republic. The National Geographic Treasures of the Earth exhibit was created with the assistance of the National Geographic Society and opens on June 11, 2011. Watch this video to get an amazing behind-the-scenes look at the exhibit!
Beginning on April 4, kids will be able to participate in an 8-week online-offline mystery game called VANISHED. The game, developed and curated by MIT’s Education Arcade and the Smithsonian Institution, includes puzzles, real-world museum challenges, and sample collecting. Players will race to solve an environmental disaster mystery by using real scientific techniques. Do you think you have what it takes to play the game and solve the mystery?
The game is open to players across the United States, and registration begins this week. Visit http://vanished.mit.edu if you’d like to join in!
Learn more about VANISHED on the game’s website.
Want to find out if a museum near you is participating? Check out the list of affiliate museums on the Smithsonian Affiliations blog.
Egypt Protects Artifacts From Looters
During protests against Egypt’s leader Hosni Mubarek looters tried to steal precious artifacts from the Cairo’s Egyptian Museum last Friday. Looters are using the chaos in the country to try to loot historic areas, archaeological sites, and museums, and are probably looking for gold.
Civilians and police helped secure the Museum’s priceless treasures on Saturday. More citizens formed a human chain around the outside of the museum to keep additional looters from getting in. Although nothing has been stolen, some artifacts were damaged, such as two royal mummies whose heads fell off. Ordinary people have protected historic sites in other areas in Egypt, too, such as Luxor and Alexandria. National Geographic fellow Fredrik Hiebert explains that historical objects in Egypt are easier to loot than in other places. “In Iraq and Afghanistan, people [had] moved away from the archaeological sites.” Egypt is mostly desert, though, so “you can’t move anywhere–the Nile is it.”
National Geographic explorer-in-residence Zahi Hawass says that the country’s museums are now safe and guarded by the army, and should open near the end of the week.
Read more about the situation in Egypt on National Geographic News.
See pictures of what was damaged on National Geographic News.
Get the facts on Egypt on National Geographic Kids.
Read an interview with National Geographic fellow Fredrik Hiebert on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic
The National Museum of the Marine Corps invites kids in grades 3-12 to enter a poster contest celebrating World Geography Week. Those entering need to design a poster containing information on a location where a Marine might be stationed. There will be a winner selected from the elementary category (grades 3-6) and the secondary category (grades 7-12). The winning posters will be displayed a the Museum during National Geography Week, which is November 15-20.
The submissions deadline is November 5, 2010.
Learn more about the poster contest on the National Museum of the Marine Corps website.
Get the facts on countries around the world on National Geographic Kids.
Check out country profiles on National Geographic.
The votes have been counted, and the name for the National Geographic Museum’s gecko has been chosen–Gripper! Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll.
Get gecko facts in the Creature Feature on National Geographic Kids.
Want to visit the gecko? Visit the National Geographic Museum’s Geckos: Tails to Toepads gecko exhibit, which will be open from September 24, 2010 to January 5, 2011.
Print out a gecko mask and coloring pages on National Geographic Little Kids.
Photo courtesy Eugene Green
A new exhibit opens at the National Geographic Museum today in Washington, D.C. The exhibit, Geckos: Tails to Toepads, features more than 70 live geckos from 18 different species. The visiting geckos arrived this week in plastic storage containers, packed in a large cooler for safety during their transport.
The geckos in the exhibit come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and different species have different personalities. Watch this behind-the-scenes video of a tokay gecko being released into its enclosure by zookeeper Colin Walker.
The geckos will be at National Geographic Headquarters through January 5, 2011.
Learn about the exhibit on the National Geographic Museum webpage.
Get the facts on geckos in the Creature Feature.
See more photos of the geckos featured in the exhibit on Nat Geo News Watch.
Photographs by Lyssa White
If you’re looking for something fun to do with your family this weekend, why not visit a local museum? This Saturday, September 25, is the sixth annual Museum Day.Visit the Museum Day website to print out a ticket. You and a guest will get free admission at participating museums.
Find a participating museum near you and print out a ticket on Smithsonian’s Museum Day website.
August is National Inventors Month. To celebrate, the National Museum of American History built a giant light bulb model out of LEGO bricks on August 3. Museum visitors worked with LEGO Master Builders to assemble the multicolored model. The light bulb is 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall and contains over 300,000 bricks!
Get LEGO tips from a LEGO Master Builder on National Geographic Kids.
Visit the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center Invention at Play website.
Photograph courtesy of the LEGO Group
