It feels like spring!

So this is the first March during which I have ever felt, especially this early in the month, that spring was close…really close. This weekend was gorgeous, so I tried to do as much as I could outdoors while still going to some local indoor attractions.

I’m really enjoying my job, so I thought I would actually check out another archives, the National Archives, which holds the Magna Carta, The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. I have no pictures of these because photography is official restricted there. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think those documents are exceptionally important, but my favorite part was actually the interactive public vaults area. It’s really interesting even if you’re not a super nerd like myself, but what I really enjoyed about the set up of the exhibit as that it actually looked like we were walking in to an actual archive, they had acid free boxes, map cases drawers, images of microfilm and reels. The average visitor has probably not seen the inside of an archive, so I probably looked like a moron, since I was fascinated with the way the exhibit was set up and not so much the interactive materials.

I also made a stop at National Museum of Natural History, which was overrun with kids! I didn’t take pictures because I had trouble actually getting close to something without someone ruining the shot, but I would definitely recommend making a visit. Its full of ANIMALS! All and any kind of animal you could think of, including the bones of dinosaurs and wooly mammoths as well as Neanderthal bones. As a Smithsonian employee I also took advantage of my weekly free IMAX ticket, so I saw the Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia. This was my first 3D IMAX, ever, although not my first 3D, or first IMAX. However this is the first 3D in the newer not so “blue and red” kind of 3D, so it actually looks the coloring it was supposed to be. I found it really interesting, and am excited to see the other films that are offered at the museum. They range between 6-10 dollars depending on age.

I also decided to walk to some more outdoor park service sites, I walked from the Washington Monument, down passed Thomas Jefferson Memorial, to George Mason Memorial.

I continued to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which is really large, although these are some of my favorite images of the monument.

There were so many people out on the Mall and it was just a really beautiful weekend.

This week at work was really awesome as well because, Michelle Obama’s Inauguration dress was officially presented and is now on display at the National Museum of American History. I decided not to take and post an image first because its up on the Smithsonian website somewhere, but more so because I truly don’t think that dress, or many of the others with sparkly accents transfer well in photo media.

Also, this week was the last week for my fellow interns at the Archives Center, so Ryan and Katrina head back to California to finish their semesters, but they were really nice and I’ll definitely miss them.

So, Spring Forward.

And I'll catch you all next week...

Til then,

~K