Houston Natural Science Museum

January 11, 2009

I decided to go into the city today. I had heard tale of the Science Museum being pretty good. So I got directions and made the 50 minute drive to a part of down town Houston. It was pretty cool actually. Besides kind of not really knowing how to drive around a few of the weird little streets, I got there. I parked in the garage which cost me $10. I won't do that again. I'll find another spot to park. And they took my student ID for a cheaper price. Thank god!
I caught a movie in the Planetarium as well. It was neat to learn what stars would be out tonight. And then a bit about the universe in this full use planetarium. I also learned about an actual observatory, I think, North of the city that you can visit on a clear Saturday night to just gaze or even do amateur astronomy looking.
I went through the main exhibits. I couldn't tell which of the dinosaurs or fossils were actually real. There were a few that you could tell were definitely either models or remakes. Which was a little disappointing. The Mammoth skeleton was amazing! And I don't know why, but the one skeleton reminded me of the bones you might have found inside of one of the large creatures the Orcs used in Lord of the Rings as a riding animal. The gem gallery and vault were really amazing. But I always did enjoy geology as a child. So, of course, I found it all very intriguing.
The stuffed skinned animals kind of made me gag a bit. Some of them were well done, but the thought went through my head of "I wonder if they were old or sick animals and not just killed for their skins." That would be horrible. But then again, I'm not one to enjoy a stuffed animal mount either. Its just not in my favor. Deer heads are interesting but not in my own house.

The view of Houston on the drive was amazing. I don't know why, but I do enjoy the sight of a beautiful sky line when I'm visiting a place. And Houston does have a nice sky line.