Rainy Day Nature: Planetariums in the DC Area

Some friends of ours are making an effort to learn a little astronomy, since their four year old seems to be taking a natural interest in the stars and planets (hi Solomon!). But it's awfully chilly to be outside at night right now, even if the darkness does start nice and early. Which led us to say, hey, aren't there a couple of planetariums around DC? Turns out, there's more than a couple.

We've been to the one in the Rock Creek Nature Center (5200 Glover Road, NW; 202-895-6070). It's a small 75-seat space but the rangers do a nice job of putting together a variety of programs. In general, they have the following schedule of 45-60 minute, age-rated shows (check this week's exact topics here):

• Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00: ages 5+
• Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00: ages 7+
• Wednesday afternoons at 4:00: ages 4+

Tickets to Rock Creek Planetarium shows are free and can be picked up at the information desk in the Nature Center a half hour before the show.

There's also the Einstein Planetarium at the Air and Space Museum (1-877-932-4629). With a 70-foot dome and 233 seats, it's a totally different experience from the planetarium at Rock Creek Park. Their website touts that "you'll feel the sensation of zooming through the cosmos, enveloped in color saturated moving images and spine-tingling sound." They offer 25 minute shows every half hour, from 11:00 to 5:00.  Tickets for these shows are $8.75 for adults, $7.25 for youth. But there are also FREE shows at 10:30 AM on selected days, including Saturdays (see schedule).

In addition to the two planetariums we knew about, we were surprised to discover that several local school systems have planetariums. These are used primarily for school groups, but also offer programs for the public. 

Prince George's Howard B. Owens Science Center in Lanham (9601 Greenbelt Road; 301-918-8750) has a 55-foot dome with 174 seats -- the largest planetarium in Maryland. Public programs are on the first Friday of every month during the school year. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students and seniors. (Power Point slide of this spring's programs here.)

Arlington's 70-seat David M. Brown Planetarium (1426 N. Quincy St.) offers a kid-oriented public program on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons during the school year (it appears to be the same show every time; see schedule).  They also hold a program on the first Monday of the month that focuses on the current night sky and includes an interactive talk with the planetarium director, followed by the opportunity to use outdoor telescopes if weather permits. Tickets for all events are $3 for adults, $2 for children and seniors.

At 24 feet wide and just 42 seats, the Montgomery College planetarium (about 7651 Fenton Street; see directions) is pretty tiny. But it was an exciting find, since it's right down the street from us! It's open to the public for free shows once a month or so during the academic year, on Saturday nights at 7:00 (see schedule). Compared to several other planetariums, the show topics appear to be more adult-oriented (Space-Time Invariance and Quantum Gravity, anyone?). Shows are followed by the opportunity to use telescopes outdoors, weather permitting.

Even smaller, the Alexandria planetarium at TC Williams High School (3330 King St., 703-824-6805) has just 35 seats available, so they require advance registration for their monthly hour-long shows (see schedule).

Have you been to any of the shows at these planetariums? Leave a review in the comments section -- it'll take us a while before we make it to all of them!

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Rainy Day Nature: the National Aquarium in DC

Did you know there's an aquarium just off the mall, on 14th St.? Sure, it's nothing near the size of the Baltimore Aquarium. But it's closer, cheaper, and much less crowded.

The 250+ species at the National Aquarium are organized by ecosystem, highlighting the National Marine Sanctuaries of the US, major freshwater rivers, and the Amazon River. Highlights include alligators, beautiful tropical fish, pirahnas, some small sharks, poison dart frogs, and an invasive snakehead. Feedings are at 2:00 every day.

The National Aquarium started in 1878 in some lakes by the Washington Monument. It moved around the Mall a few times until landing in the basement of the Commerce Building (then home of the Bureau of Fisheries) in 1932. In 1982, they lost their federal funding, and there have been some lean years. But in 2003, the aquarium affiliated with the Baltimore Aquarium, and they've since undergone a multi-million-dollar face-lift. It's definitely an improvement. So if you haven't been in a while, it might be worth another visit.


Hours: daily 9 AM to 5 PM (last admission at 4:30), except Christmas and Thanksgiving Day

Admission:
$7 for ages 11 and up
$3 ages 2-10
$6 seniors and military

Public Transportation: Federal Triangle is the closest metro station.

National Aquarium
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230

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Rainy Day Nature: The Conservatory of the US Botanic Garden

When I worked on the Mall, the Conservatory of the US Botanic Garden was a key part of my winter survival strategy. If you need a fix of green growing things, or of warm, steamy air, this is your place.

At any given time, there are about 4,000 plants on display in these Botanic Garden greenhouses. A major highlight for me is the orchid room.  Hundreds of orchids are on display at any given time, rotated in and out according to what's blooming. (The USBG's entire collection includes about 5,000 orchids.) What an amazing display of the wonders of evolution. Be sure to smell as well as look -- the white orchids are more likely to have stronger fragrance.


In the center of the Botanic Garden, under a 93 foot dome, is a display in which jungle plants are "overtaking an abandoned plantation." You can walk through the ground floor, or climb up to a balcony that views the canopy of these plants. Keep an eye out for bananas!

Other sections of the greenhouses reconstruct other environments. One room contains a reconstructed Jurassic landscape of ferns and other ancient plants. Another highlights cacti, succulents, and other flora from deserts around the world. A Hawaii room shows off plants from that tropical paradise. (Do you see why I find this place restorative in the winter?)


For those looking for a human connection, other displays highlight the uses of specific plants: as medicines, and as fibers, food, cosmetics, and other economic goods. And there is an exhibit on the role of plants in culture.

The human history of the garden itself is also interesting. Apparently, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison all participated in calls to have a national botanic garden. One was established on the Mall in 1820, and this one has been in  continuous operation since 1850. The current structure dates to 1933, and is under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol -- making the Botanic Garden part of the Legislative Branch.


Admission to all public areas of the U.S. Botanic Garden is free. The Conservatory is open 10 AM to 5 PM daily, including weekends and holidays, with free tours on Mondays and Thursdays at noon. The closest metro is Federal Center SW.

US Botanic Garden
100 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20001

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More Butterflies: Wings of Fancy

Wings of Fancy is a walk-through exhibit at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, that allows you to be surrounded by hundreds of North American, Costa Rican and Asian butterflies flying freely inside a greenhouse. "Come witness the butterfly life cycle," says their website, "as tiny eggs hatch into crawling, chewing caterpillars, which then encase themselves in jewel-like chrysalides and emerge as sipping, flying adult butterflies." It's a great spot to try your hand at close-up photography, or just to sit and be delighted by the colorful creatures flitting by. You can also learn quite a bit about local butterflies, including the host plants that DC-area caterpillars rely on.

It's best to visit in the morning. Wings of Fancy is in a greenhouse, which is usually ten degrees warmer than the outside temperature, and more humid. The exhibit may close during extreme heat advisories or during emergencies. A telephone hotline (301-962-1453) and the web site are updated frequently in the event of a temporary closure.

Open: Saturday, May 2 through Sunday, September 20, 2009; 10 AM to 4 PM daily.

Admission: $6 adults; $4 ages 3-12. Children 2 and under are admitted free, but strollers are not allowed. Tickets are good for re-entry all day.

Location: Brookside Gardens South Conservatory
1500 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, MD 20902

The closest Metro station is Glenmont, which is about 1.3 miles away; the C8 bus runs between Glenmont and College Park stations, and stops about a half mile away at Randolph and Heurich. (From there, you'll go south on Heurich and east (left) on Glenallan to the park entrance.

More info: Wings of Fancy
"Butterfly Hotline": 301-962-1453
Brookside Gardens General Information: 301-962-1400

Rainy Day Nature: Museum of Natural History

Sometimes, it's just not a good day to go for a walk. So we thought we'd do some posts on things to do when it's raining -- or just too hot to be outdoors all day.

The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History dates back to 1910. With 325,000 square feet of exhibition and public space, and more than 126 million specimens and cultural artifacts in the collection, you're sure to find something of interest. Our strategy is usually to pick two or so exhibits that we want to focus on; more than that, and our eyes start to glaze over.

Permanent Exhibits

The new Ocean Hall is now the museum's largest permanent exhibition. It includes many specimens of ocean creatures, videos, and a tropical fish tank that gets all the toddlers screaming "NEMO!!!". The sit-down movie on deep sea exploration is a nice way to rest your feet. And in one of the display cases on diversity, there's a video on squid camouflage that's pretty incredible. This place is full of sensory overload; you'll probably stumble upon other things that we missed entirely.

The Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals is home to the Hope Diamond as well as 3,500 other specimens including gems, minerals, rocks, and meteorites. We often think of nature as living creatures, but there's just as much of interest in the geological world, and the highlights are concentrated here.

The Insect Zoo is one of the things I still clearly remember from my trip to the museum when I was in second grade. This is indeed a zoo -- all the insects are alive, including pupating butterflies, honeybees coming and going through the wall of the museum into their enclosed hive, and tarantulas, which get fed three times a day. As you emerge from the insect zoo, there is a small butterfly enclosure that you can pay to walk through. It's free on Tuesdays. (There are also a few interesting displays on how butterflies and plants have co-evolved, which you don't have to pay for.)

Birds of D.C. is a permanent exhibit of stuffed birds whose living counterparts may be seen in DC. It's an opportunity to bone up on your bird ID and get a good look at some of the birds that are trickier to spot.

The Discovery Room has hands-on exhibits of fossils, skulls, shells, minerals, and microscope specimens, open for you to put your paws on from 10:30 to 3:30 daily except Mondays.

The Hall of Mammals includes stuffed specimens, skeletons, fossils, and an educational video about evolution under the somewhat corny, but kid-friendly premise of a "mammal family reunion." The animals come from all over the world, and give a sense of species diversity, but aren't as helpful for trying to learn about our local fauna. Similarly, there's a Hall of Reptiles.

Of course, the Hall of Paleontology is even less helpful in learning about modern, local animals. But it's still pretty cool.

Current Special Exhibits:

Farmers, Warriors, Builders: The Hidden Life of Ants is primarily an exhibit of really large photographs of ants. But not just any ants: ants that are fighting, farming, and dramatically affecting the environment they live in. There's a small colony of leafcutter ants set up in a contraption of gerbil tubes. More interesting, to me, was a metal casting of a fire ant colony, which at first we thought was just abstract art. Through October 10, 2009.

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil - We haven't made it to this exhibit yet, but it claims to be a "journey into the skin of the earth" in which you will "discover the amazing connections between soils and everyday life, and think about this hidden world in a whole new way." Cool. Through Jan. 2010.