National Museum of Natural History (Washington, D.C.)

 Neoclassical (architecture), 1911_construction, natural history museum

The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year. Its building was designed by Hornblower & Marshall.

The museum's collections total over 125 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts, making it the largest such museum anywhere. It is the second most popular of all of the Smithsonian museums and is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists — the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of the natural and cultural history in the world.

Displays include the world's largest elephant, the Hope Diamond, a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, a Triceratops skeleton and a huge meteorite collection. Beginning in the spring of 2014, the Hall of Dinosaurs closed for a five-year renovation.

naturalhistory.si.edu