It is hard not to be impressed walking into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as you stand in front of an elephant on an African plain. As you stand there barely a meter away from the towering beast and look into its intelligent eyes, you feel inspired as you decide to learn more about how life began on this planet to develop creatures so large and emotive. Of course, the elephant in the Rotunda of the Mall entrance has been long dead and artfully preserved by the museum, but it makes for a grand prediction of what is to come beneath the dome of this museum.

The building that is home to the Natural History Museum has a long history of its own. The building was designed in the neoclassical style and feels like you are walking into an old library full of scholars and books. In many ways, this is exactly what the museum offers, with the specimens as fully illustrated books and over 185 natural history scientists employed to study the natural and cultural history of the world. Established in 1910, the Museum of Natural History's building was the first to be built by the restoration project for the National Wall by Congress in conjunction with the McMillan Commission.

The museum holds over 125 million specimens, some of which are more than 200 years old. The museum exhibits the wonderful animals, plants, fossils, rocks, and minerals that have evolved on our planet Earth.

The first floor leads you through the early stages of life, as science understands it, starting with the tiniest single celled organisms evolving into large sea creatures and eventually coming out of the ocean to form dinosaurs and small mammals. The recently commissioned Kenneth E. Bering Hall of Mammals houses preserved mammal specimens found throughout the world. There are also exhibits for African and Asian cultures as well as a limited time display of the Sikh Culture, (on exhibit until 2007).

The second floor contains the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Gemology, Gems, and Minerals and contains a special display of the infamous Hope Diamond. The second floor also holds the Orkin insect exhibit, history of reptiles, and several bones from various animals. There is a large exhibit on western culture and an IMAX theatre that takes up the first and second floor. In the gift shops located throughout the museum, you can find replicas of the Hope Diamond, posters, books, and various souvenirs to remind you of your visit.

The National Museum of Natural History is open everyday except Christmas Day and admission is free. It offers free guided tours daily. For more information you can call 202-633-1000.