goSmithsonian - February 2008 - (Page 34) IMAX ® “Nature’s Best Photography: the Windland Smith Rice International Awards” (through April 29). The 477-seat Johnson IMAX® Theater, accessed from the first floor, screens two films throughout the day. Check the schedule for special evening and weekend film features. ■ Sea Monsters 3-D: A Prehistoric Adventure Follow a curious and adventurous dolichorhynchops as she traverses the most dangerous oceans in history. Call for current information about special evening films. SCHEDULE: 202-633-4269 (IMAX) www.si.edu/imax Ground Floor BIRDS OF WASHINGTON, D.C. A collection of 500 species of mounted birds found throughout the District of Columbia includes the 3-inch-long golden-crowned kinglet and the 16-inch-tall pileated woodpecker. First Floor At the rotunda’s center is one of the museum’s signature artifacts, the 8-ton, 14-foot-tall African bull elephant, which has been on display since 1959. Today, it can be seen in a setting very much like an African elephant’s native habitat. DISCOVERY ROOM In the newly renovated and popular Discovery Room, located near the “African Voices” exhibition, find fossils, skulls, shells and minerals, as well as hands-on activities especially designed for families with children. Check out the Biodiversity Wall, featuring plants and animals found in the Washington, D.C. area. Regular hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 2:30 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; closed Mondays. Free passes, available at the door, are required on busy days. KENNETH E. BEHRING FAMILY HALL OF MAMMALS Featuring 274 masterfully crafted taxidermic specimens of mammals, nearly a dozen fossils, and several dramatic, interactive displays. This 25,000square-foot exhibition tells the story of the evolution of mammals and how they adapted to different habitats, from the sweltering desert to the bone-chilling north. Join “Harriet, a life-size chimpanzee sculpture in the audience in the ” Evolution Theater. Hang out among the mammals gathered at our African savanna water hole (complete with a dramatic rainstorm re-creation that visitors can see and hear). View the world as a jaguar does hunting at night in a South American jungle. PALEONTOLOGY In the “Dinosaur Hall”, gigantic fossilized bones of the creatures that walked the earth as long as 210 million years ago rate number one with many visitors. At the center of the hall is the largest of the dinosaurs, the 90-foot Diplodocus longus, which was found in Utah in 1923. Don’t miss Tyrannosaurus rex, 40 feet long and still fearsome after 65 million years. www.goSmithsonian.com Stop by the FossiLab near the Ice Age Hall. Smithsonian scientists just may be there at work. 34 http://www.si.edu/imax http://www.goSmithsonian.com
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