The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

Museum: /myo͞oˈzēəm/ noun
a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.

In my visit to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, I finally understood the complete concept of a museum; while I've been to mummy museums and art museums, the natural history museum was an aesthetic treat, an informative afternoon, and a glimpse into the scientific work that lends to our understanding of the world.

At the foyer of the museum, right after the ticketing office, there is a huge skeleton of a dinosaur, which is pictured (with me) below. While it's bones were carefully studied, assessed and organized in a logical manner, giving archaeologists more collective knowledge about the various dinosaur species of the past, the structure itself is beautifully dark and intriguing.

While this intrigue is initially assumed to be due to the general aesthetic quality of the varying exhibit, it is additionally the research and informative aspects, I believe, that make us find these exhibits so intriguing.  Another very easy example of this was in the North American Mammals exhibit.  Filled with various posed taxidermic animals, the rather gruesome showcase gives an opportunity to our very urban population to see various species that they might never run into, and additionally read some interesting facts.  This mixture of learning and seeing is what the interface of science and art are all about; by lending a media to publicly display scientific/artistic work, the public gets an education about the material centered in the work.  Again, in the North American Mammals exhibit featured below, both appreciate the novel experience of seeing caribou in their wild habitat which is conducive towards public awareness about the urban ailing of this wildlife.