History: It's Natural!

Emily needed to score some extra credit points in Science and one of the methods available to her was a trip to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman. Sounds like fun! Rachel tagged along with us so it turned into a real family outing, a rarity these days, and something you'd better grab while you can.

We haven't been to the SNOMNH since it opened and we got in for free. At that time, the exhibits were a little limited - what do you want for free? - but now the museum thrives with a lot of interesting exhibits. The big draw now is the exhibit on Charles Darwin, about as comprehensive exhibit on the man as you'll likely see anywhere. Fascinating of course but what I liked most was seeing some of his actual correspondence and other handwriting samples. See, his handwriting is a illegible as mine? My favorite visitor comment submitted on an index card? "You won't go to heaven if you believe this evolution." Scrawled in a child's hand. We start 'em young here.

The other exhibits were interesting enough but what really drew me in was the exhibit about the early Oklahomans. Amazing how the different native tribes adapted to the landscape in similar and unique ways. Imagine: this pieces of flint had been handled by humans thousands of years ago.

I could've spent the entire day there but for our purposes all we needed was a few hours. Emily had her notes, a map, and a receipt for proof of entry so we were done. Pictures? There's only one real picture you have to take when you go to the museum and that's this one:

The dramatic staging of an encounter between a hunter and mammoth rendered flat and uninteresting by an iPhone camera and a talentless photographer.

But amazing as the museum is, the time spent there was made more amazing by spending it with loved ones. And isn't that the case, always?