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June 2, my
family decided to visit the
Sam Noble Museum of Natural
History, located on the University of Oklahoma Campus
in Norman. The museum just opened its latest building in April
of this year. It is a huge 195,000 square feet. It was clear
that the museum wasn't quite finished when we visited. The
discovery room was closed and many of the explanatory signs
describing the exhibits were not up yet. Still, the experience
was very enjoyable.
There are exhibits on early mankind, Oklahoma wildlife and
Native Americans, but the most exciting of all, at least to the
children, were the Dinosaurs. The kids enjoyed the huge
displays of the skeletal remains of the animals. Especially
impressive was the elevator ride to look at the Brontosaurs in
the face.
Museum displays include the
Clash of the Titans -- an ancient life display that features a
95-foot-long Apatosaurus and a 40-foot-tall Saurophaganax. Both
reportedly roamed the earth more than 145 million years ago.
Another magnificent display
is a bronze replica of a Columbian woolly mammoth at the south
end of the Great Hall. It was interesting to note that this
beast is anatomically correct as we noticed children swinging on
a certain, uhmm, part of the mammoth. The kids also enjoyed the
wall of handprints celebrating Native Americans.
All and all
it was a very nice way to spend a day.
It was even
more interesting three weeks later when my four year old and I
toured the
Royal
Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.
The ROM is
huge museum full of antiquities from all over the world.
Four-year-olds are at the perfect age to comment on things
without holding back their "true" feelings. She enjoyed the
stairs the most, I think, that and the bat cave. She giggled at
the "naked" greet statues and admired the dinosaur display.
After our trip I asked her what she thought, so she declared….
"They have
bigger dinosaurs in Oklahoma!"
Yep, we do! |
