I’m so excited to finally travel!!! ✈️✈️ And not to mention to one of my favorite cities, Washington, D.C.! Adventure with me, as I take on the National Museum of Natural History administered by the Smithsonian Institution.

Now before you get all riled up, know that I am taking this journey from the comfort of my own living room and I’d love for you to join me too. This is an interactive blog post where I’ll leave clues and ask questions, that you will have to virtually tour the museum to find the answers.

Due to COVID-19 museums, zoos and theme parks have resorted to offering virtual tours. Now is a great time to pre-plan future vacations, see national landmarks from your own home and learn about history at your own leisure and pace.

Before we start, below are virtual tour tips from the National Musuem of Natural History’s website:

• To navigate between a joining rooms in the tours, click on the blue arrow links on the floor or use the navigation map in the upper right of the presentation screen.

• Look for the camera icon which gives you a close-up view of a particular object or exhibit panel.

• Try zooming in as some of the images are stitched together from individual pictures in order to create a very high resolution giga-pixel image.

And with that, let’s begin. For this trip we will be accessing the “permanent exhibits.”

Activity 1: On the first floor in the Rotunda:North there stands a giant elephant.

Underneath the elephant 🐘 it states,:

Elephants in danger: Your _______ make a ________.

Complete the phrase with the missing words.

Activity 2. In the Mammal Hall:Africa 1, find and name the “short-necked relative of the the giraffe 🦒.

All I can say is, it looks like the offspring of a zebra and giraffe. It’s a very cool looking mammal. 🧐🤔

Activity 3. Next stop on our tour, Ocean Terrace Cafe: 2 because I need some water and a snack, how about you? 🍿

Located in the cafe is a giant shark, using the placard on the wall, identity the type of shark being displayed in the cafe. Once you’ve made your guess, read more about this exciting “T-Rex of the Sea” and watch the corresponding video of how it was made.

Activity 4. Now let’s head into the Sant Ocean Hall: Ocean Diversity 1 and learn about the Japanese research vessel on display. Go ahead and let me know in the from below what the vessel is called:

Activity 5. We’re almost done exploring the first level. Head over to the Ice Age Extinction Event: 2 exhibit with me. Provide the percentages of animals over 110 lbs that have disappeared from the corresponding regions.

• Africa

• Eurasia

• Australasia

• North America

• South America
  

Activity 6. In the Fossil Basecamp Education Center: 2 exhibit, there are six steps detailing how the bones in the below display case became fossils. What are the steps?

Activity 7. Join me in the African Voices: 5 exhibit to learn more about _________ coffins and master carpenter ______ ______. This exhibit was fascinating to me and I did some additional research on Fantasy coffin making and the history and practice behind this Ghanaian custom. Paa Joe’s creations have attracted high-profile fans: “Jacob recalls visits from Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, and the ex-US president Jimmy Carter, who reportedly purchased two coffins. Bill Clinton also stopped by during an official state visit to Ghana in 1998.”

Activity 8. Anyone getting tired yet?!?! Hopefully you can catch your breath in the Partners in Evolution: Butterflies 2 Exhibit 🦋 because who doesn’t love a good butterfly pavilion. On the wall you will find a placard with “Butterflies of the Week.” How many butterflies of the week are listed?

Activity 9. Our time is almost coming to an end, 😭 the next stop is to see Bones: 6. Find the display case stating the following and fill in the blanks:

The ________ turtle, which may attain a length of eight feet, is the ________ living turtle. 🐢

Activity 10. Last and certainly not least we have our final stop of the virtual tour/scavenger hunt, in the Geology, Gems & Minerals: Precious Gems 1 exhibit. For the last activity, tell me the difference between a mineral, crystal and gem.

If you’ve come this far, thank you and I hope you had a lot of fun exploring just a small portion of the National Musuem. Stay tuned as I find more ways to travel + explore + play all across the globe from the comfort of the couch! This was a lot of fun and I would love to hear your feedback. Shoot me an email or DM on instagram @salleejay if you are interested in the answer key!

Until next time, be safe and wear your mask. 😷❣️💋

Sallee Jay! 💋