Reptiles

Where: National Museum of Natural History

When: through Spring 2011

I couldn't find a firm date on when this exhibit is closing, so I decided to see it now to avoid missing out on it. My hope is that this is an exhibit that will be closing so that it can be completely redone. It didn't have the appearance of something that was temporary, and no starting date was listed on the website, so I'm hopeful that it will soon be making way for something better.

The exhibit is clearly very old. It reminds me of the exhibits that the museum had when I visited as a child, 35+ years ago. The colors are drab, there's lot of text, and the specimens themselves seem tired. No child is going to look at this and think, "I want to study reptiles for a living!" I don't require a lot of excitement in my exhibits - really, I can make my own fun, but even I was bored. I did learn that a tortoise is a turtle with elephantine hind legs, so I can't say it was a completely wasted trip, but other than a nice walk away from the office, I didn't get much out of this.

I can say that the exhibit is in a good location - right next to the Insect Zoo. While I was there, one of the volunteers was conducting a tarantula feeding. Not every day you get to see that!

Verdict: Skip it; let's hope a new and improved reptile display will be coming soon!