NHM - Other Exhibit

8-Nov-2010 (Monday), there were many many other wonderful exhibit to see in the National History Museum. Among my favorite besides the obvious previous 2 blog post, was the great Sperm Whale! It really gives you the perspective of how big a whale is!

 

The exhibition hall on rocks or geology was pretty impressive too! I mean, there was a whole hall of just rocks! And I get to see real meteorites! Those that really fell from the sky! The ones that once was flying through space before hitting Earth! To me, that felt like as close as I'll ever get to a meeting with ET!

And at the far end of the geology exhibit hall was the vault, where precious rocks were placed. Precious rock, as you may know includes diamonds, ruby, sapphire etc. What I really really like about the exhibit, is how they link the beauty of the rocks to humans. I thought that was almost poetic! Here are some examples to share with you what I meant. Below are three pictures, click to view in detail. 

1st is a pyramid of colored diamonds! 

  

 2nd precious gem formation stones and with it these words

"That we find a crystal or a poppy beautiful means that we are less alone, that we are more deeply inserted into existence than the course of a single life would lead us to believe. John Berger, novelist, painter, art historian, born 1926"

 

3rd precious stones with it these words

"There is in them a softer fire than the ruby, there is the brilliant purple of the amethyst, and the sea green of the emerald - all shining together in incredible union - Pliny (on opals), Roman historian,23 -79AD"

The only exhibit that I was disappointed not to see was the room simulation of the Kobe Earthquake.In total, we spend 8 hours in the museum!

Next stop - Paris!

Ref:
Sperm Whales
Meteorites
Great Hanshin Earthquake a.k.a Kobe Earthquake