Mike and I walked through the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. I found out that it opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities.
The museum's collections contain over 126 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts.
It is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists — the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.
We learned more about the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 19 museums and the National Zoo.
The Institution was founded in 1846 with funds from the Englishman James Smithson. He wanted an "establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”
The Hope Diamond is one of the most famous jewels in the world, with ownership records dating back almost four centuries. Its much-admired rare blue color is due to trace amounts of boron atoms. Weighing 45.52 carats, its exceptional size has revealed new findings about the formation of gemstones. The jewel is believed to have originated in India, where the original (larger) stone was purchased in 1666 by French gem merchant Jean-Baptiste Tavernier as the Tavernier Blue. The Tavernier Blue was cut and yielded the French Blue (Le bleu de France), which Tavernier sold to King Louis XIV in 1668.
Stolen in 1791, it was re-cut, with the largest section acquiring its "Hope" name when it appeared in the catalog of a gem collection owned by a London banking family called Hope in 1839.
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