HMNS: Fabergé and Dinosaurs

 

The Houston Museum of Natural Science opened a Fabergé exhibit this weekend, and y'all know I am all about the bling.

 

I don't wear diamond pins, but then again, I don't have any (I'm open to offers). And the necklace (right) has the most beautiful moonstones I've ever seen. Jewelry exhibits should have replicas you can try on.

The enamelling on the egg is amazing. I don't know if you can see it, but all the edges are done with a millegrain technique. Very impressive. 

Isn't the bird delightful? The choice of stone with the natural blush falling in exactly the right places on the head and wings. I love how the bird's claws aren't exactly even on the ring, but slightly lopsided, just like a live bird.   

After oohing and ahhing over all the pretty things, I went to see the museum's new wing: The Morian Hall of Palentology.

Wow! Just wow! It's an amazing display. It's arranged so that the visitor goes through time, from the earliest, simple, uni-cellular organisms all the way to mastadons and modern humans. There is even a side section, devoted to fossilized trees called "Jurrasic Bark". (really) Who says museum curators don't have a sense of humor?

 

Stromatolite colony

This one is called "Happy Puppy" and is a coal age frog-oid. One of the highlights of the exhibit is how they tried to make the exhibits as dynamic as possible. The skeletons appear to swim, run and attack each other. Like I said earlier: Wow!

Before this exhibit, I didn't know that trilobites rolled up when attacked, like armadillos or doodlebugs.












I forget what these are, but they make great patterns on the rock.













Tails of a couple of dinosaurs.  Me trying to be artistic.

Don't forget to look up!  Some amazing things are suspended from the ceiling. This turtle is the size of my car.

Fossilized wood. To me the pattern looks like a reclining woman, with her arms stretched out. What do you see?















Museums have the best gift shops. 

Bees!

We have chosen to fill our hives with honey and wax, thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light. - Jonathan Swift

One of the highlights of the Houston Museum of Natural Science is the Cockrell Butterfly Center.  It's not just a hall full of bugs, but a simulated rain forest with rare orchids, a waterfall, etc. It's part of the Brown Hall of Entymology which has hissing cockroaches and all kinds of neat insects.  It's a lovely experience because it's always full of flowers and butterflies, but for my money (and HMNS is not a cheap visit) the best thing is the beehive.

The bees are not actually allowed in the butterfly center, as there would be panic and small children screaming and running into the ornamental waterfall. The bees are all nicely sealed off in clear plastic so vistors can see the bees at work and nobody can possibly be stung.  But if you feel daring, go outside the building (free!) and look carefully; you can find the tube that lets the bees out into the world.

But what does the museum do with the honey?