The Museum of Natural History has a wide variety of collection on different things from the past not only from the United States but from all over the world. It is a place where history has been brought back to life. From what I’ve seen throughout the entire exhibit, I’ve came to realize that history clearly presents the power that exist in nature and that living creatures cannot resist in any way against those natural forces.
My journey began as I walked into the front lobby that was filled with people of all ages; kids running around all excited about their trip with their parents waiting on line for tickets. There were also grandparents sitting around with their grandchildren and many teenagers waiting on line for their tickets as well. As I waited on line to get my ticket, I noticed the artworks painted on the walls stretching from the bottom of the floor to the ceiling. On those paintings there were symbols and images of people and buildings from all over the world. Some of the buildings and people that I recognized were from places such as Egypt, China, Japan, Europe, India, Africa and many more. I thought it was interesting seeing different kinds of culture and people each taking up little sections of the painting and then merged together in the end to create a seamless picture.
After getting my ticket, I went through many different exhibits, including the dinosaur hall, reptiles, mammals, Indians, pacific peoples, birds, African mammals, lizard and snakes, and ocean life sections. Two of my favorite ones were the dinosaur hall and the pacific peoples. I especially liked the dinosaur one because it shows how big dinosaurs were and how even at that size they can’t resist the powers of nature and became extinct. Natural forces create the form that earth takes now. Volcanoes contributed to making the land shaped in this way where some parts of the world can be livable while others not. An asteroid or comet struck earth and killed the dinosaurs and changed everything. History provides evidence of the destructive forces nature can bring to living things, it wiped out the entire race of dinosaurs and started a new age.
What attracted me to the Pacific peoples was that they had no technology at that time, or at least we know not of, but they were still able to create buildings which some lasted even until this day. The structures of their architecture were in sophisticated forms that even people today would need a lot of technology and time to build. It was incredible to see the pieces preserved from that time, but even with the solid forms of buildings they’ve had, the structures could not in the end escape natural force but demolish into bits. According to the museum’s wall labels, Pacific peoples value nature as an important factor in life. They used things from the nature such as rocks and wood pieces to create statues and tools for everyday life. The ideas of nature were incorporated into many of their building through the use of symbols to represent the sun and the moon. That explains the fact that they understood the powers of nature very well. They fear that natural forces can destroy their people so they give sacrifices and have temples for the sun, the moon, and other nature gods to show their gratitude.
After the visit I felt that history is not just history but is something that’s alive and interesting to look at. The Museum of Natural History successfully brings history to people today and bridges the connection between things from the past to things that exist today. It shows where evolution takes its form and how natural forces can make world wide changes and impact every living thing. Natural forces can destroy and create at the same time. It ended the dinosaurs’ era but because of the fragments left behind, nature also helped marked the beginnings of human exploration. In today’s world, we as humans should not forget that natural forces can be very powerful and can bring destruction to earth as a whole. People should reconsider the way of living and should be cautious of manmade harms that are changing nature in ways which will eventually lead to destruction of the human race.