For as long as I can remember, I have had an interest in dinosaurs. I am interested in prehistoric life in general, but dinosaurs are what captured my fascination the most. I don't know where this interest came from, it began so far back I can't pinpoint a beginning. As a child I had dinosaur toys, books, even a bed tent at one point with colorful dinosaurs decorating its exterior. I am glad my parents always indulged my interests.
One thing I loved to do as a child was look through my parents' old photo albums, paying particular interest to photos from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. There were many other photos in those volumes of albums, but I loved the museum photos. It became a dream of mine to visit this museum and see everything for myself.
I did get a chance to see some fossils when I was in high school during a trip to Washington DC. The Smithsonian Natural History Museum had a few reconstructed skeletons, and assorted fossils. The display was confined to a room or two, and felt rather small. The pictures I had taken with the disposable camera my Mom got for me to use came out dark and gritty.
I finally got my chance in June of 2008, when I took a trip to the city for a concert. I set aside a day for sightseeing as well, and decided the AMNH would be my place to visit. To my pleasant surprise the whole top floor of the museum is devoted to fossil displays. The exhibit halls may have changed since my parents' visits from the 1970s, but these displays seemed grander. The collection is unbelievable, including classics like the Tyrannosaurus and the two Anatotitans.I took my time to look over the skeletons, despite feeling slightly tired from the show the night before. Sunlight streamed through the windows and mingled with the overhead lights. The display halls were crowded with people, many like me who just wanted to take in the wonders before them. Yet there is something about standing face to face with a creature that lived millions of years ago that makes the crowds worth it.
I returned to AMNH this past summer for another visit to the fossil exhibits. I was on a tighter schedule this time around, but having seen the museum as a whole before I spent the majority of my visit in the fossil halls. I hope in the future to return to the museum or visit displays that are just as grand.
