Early Oklahoma Oil: A Photographic History, 1859-1936 - Kenny Arthur Franks - Hardcover - 1s... Book

I have a whole new appreciation for the museum now. First of all, they is so much more there than I ever realized. There are 2 million butterflies, the skeletons of 100 elephants, 60,000 fish in jars of alcohol, a grasshopper found on the observation deck of the Empire State building, 4,000 Asian shadow puppets, 8 million anthropological artifacts, and the list goes on and on. A tiny fraction of all that's housed in the museum is out on display, which is shocking considering how much is on display.

Not only is there an overwhelming amount of items at the museum, but I had no idea just how much work and devotion went into the collections. The dirt on the ground of any one of the many stuffed animal displays is the *actual* dirt from where than animal was collected. The entire scene is an exact replication, down to the way the tree branch is bent and the way the smoke from the volcano is billowing in the background.

I had also always assumed that the museum just gather up collections from other people. I didn't realize just how much of the collection was gathered by the museum itself. The first half of the book is filled with tales of adventure from museum sponsored expeditions.

In short, this is a fun read with lots of random tidbits. If you've been too, or plan to visit the American Natural History Museum, it's well worth a read.