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Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington D.C.
We recently took the children on a fun field trip to Washington D.C. As part of our adventures, we took them to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum. We had heard a lot about it and thought it would be a neat experience for them.
The big elephant at the entrance was impressive and they enjoyed all the exhibits of the ocean, mammals, and dinosaurs. But the message that was “blaring” from every exhibit was the message of evolution and that human’s have evolved from monkeys.
One sign was particularly troubling to me that was displayed near the apes, gorillas and orangutans that said, “Your Closest Relatives.” The video presentation talked about a family reunion in which the monkeys and you were both invited.
At first I thought it was just a few exhibits that presented the concept of evolution, which I would have understood that they wanted to present it as an option or a theory to be evaluated . . . but instead, it was the one single message of the entire museum, for all exhibits on all floors—as if it were the absolute truth and there was no other option.
I quickly realized the pattern of misinformation and told our children that the exhibits were very neat and it was fun to see the animals that God created but some of the things they were saying were not true. I told them that the Bible says that God created every bird and every creature after its own kind, and that man was created in the image of God, from the dust of the earth and God breathed the breath of life into man.
Later, I looked up the scriptures to teach them:
“And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good,” Gen. 1:25 (NKJV).
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them,” Gen. 1:27 (NKJV).
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being,” Gen. 2:7 (NJKV).
There was no mention in the entire Smithsonian Natural History Museum in our nation’s capital, that God had any involvement at all in all that has been created. There was no mention that creatures were made after their own kind. Evolution ruled. I asked myself, “Who created what they evolved from?” Evolution was presented as the accurate history. But the writers of Genesis record, “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,” Gen. 2:4 (NJKV).
This experience served as a reminder that Godly parents serve as the primary educators of their children, and that teaching and training children is a way of life, present in every circumstance. 
While we were there I took the awesome opportunity to explain Biblical accounts that happened, like when we saw the exhibit of one of the largest mammals that ever existed, the great right whale. They range from 45-60 feet long, and float when they are killed, because they are mostly blubber. They were called the “right” whale, because it was the “right” one for fisherman to catch since they were easier to transport to shore because they floated. When we saw the life-size model, we realized how realistic it was that Jonah could have easily fallen into the mouth of a whale, because the mouth we saw was about three times a man’s size.
We also saw two lions attacking a buffalo and realized how challenging it must have been for David to wrestle a lion with his bear hands. When we toured the geological exhibit, we saw rubies, emeralds, pearls, onyx, sapphire, diamonds and all kinds of beautiful gemstones. I couldn’t wait to tell the children that these are the stones that are listed in the Bible that were used in the temple, and that will be in the gates of heaven. We marveled at the natural beauty all in one place, it was dazzling and it gave us a new appreciation of God’s marvelous splendor and majesty. We even saw gemstones given as gifts from Napoleon to his wife, and the historic Hope diamond.
Of course our little boys loved the dinosaur exhibit and the gift shop!
I highly recommend the experience of the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum in Washington D.C. and admission is free. . . just be prepared to teach. . . that history is HIS story.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Debbie Reynolds Harper
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