Yeah, yeah, dinosaurs. But where are the jawless fish? Where are the tetrapods? In fact, the American Museum of Natural History has a fantastic looping display on the top floor, taking you through 250 million years of vertebrate evolutionary history. As an anatomist there was plenty of detail available to keep me happy, and likewise all the kids there were engrossed and entertained, so it’s a great exhibit for all. There is so much information available that you could visit over and over again.
Yeah, OK, so here’s another big dinosaur. To be honest I was far more interested in the earlier species and mammalian evolution, but hey, you’ve got to see the Tyrannosaurus Rex, right?
The marine life exhibit was also excellent, with a huge whale dominating the room. Seaworld was probably a bit more fun, but they didn’t have a giant squid being eaten by a sperm whale.
The Darwin exhibit cost extra to visit, but it turned out to be well worth it. It was very informative, teaching you about both the man and the science. Thank God not all America has gone completely bonkers over evolutionary theory and intelligent design (pun intended). If you’re seriously considering intelligent design as an alternative to basic scientific evolutionary principles, you really need to spend several hours in this museum (or similar museums) and attempt to refute all of the available evidence.
