National Geographic Museum Blog

Join us on March 13th @ 7pm for an amazing special exhibition.

The late environmental, social, and political activist Wangari Maathai earned a Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the Green Belt Movement. She founded this Kenyan organization in 1977 to encourage the planting of trees to protect the soil and provide women with wood for cooking and building. Join her daughter Wanjira Maathai, documentary filmmakers Lisa Merton and Alan Dater, and Green Belt’s U.S. director Stephen Mills for a special tribute to an environmental hero of our time. A reception will follow this event.

Co-presented with the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital.

What would you do if you encountered this cute seal in the freezing waters off Canada? If you are Brian Skerry, you’d snap this photo. Here more about the image, in Brian’s own words here:

I found that living with harp seals around the clock in full immersion was inspiring and addictive in a way that few wildlife experiences have been. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see, and as each roll of film was wound up, I wanted to shoot another. I also loved being far away from everything else. We had a radio on the boat and a satellite phone that I used occasionally, but for the most part it was just the ice, the seals, and me.

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/ocean-soul/#/harp-seal-ocean-soul-skerry_43465_600x450.jpg

Historian Guy Halsall has estimated the value of the hoard’s gold in its day as equivalent to 800 solidi, about 80 horses’ worth. Modern valuation of the find has been set at £3,285,000, or just under $5.3 million. In its own time, however, the hoard’s worth was surely calibrated by other considerations. The gold dazzles, but from a practical point of view the most valuable part of the weaponry—”the long, sharp, pointy bit you killed people with,” as Halsall notes dryly—is not present in the hoard, and it is possible that the sword blades were cannily retained for reuse.

In the ongoing exhibit Ocean Soul, Brian Skerry shares photographs from underwater. His collection is the result of spending more than 10,000 hours beneath the surface. In regards to this this image, Moray Eel, Japa, Skerry writes:

Washed by a mix of nutrient-rich currents, the temperate waters of central Japan hold a stunning array of wildlife. Swimming over the volcanic sands of Suruga Bay is like entering a fairy tale, with characters to be found around every turn and each dive like another chapter.

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/ocean-soul/#/moray-eel-japan-ocean-soul-skerry_43466_600x450.jpg

Join us tomorrow for this great workshop!

Brian Skerry shares the challenges and rewards in creating a unique underwater image of a giant leatherback turtle. Click here to watch the video: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/video/player#/?titleID=skerry-leatherback-turtle-underwater&catID=7

The photographer behind Ocean’s Soul is who. An award-winning photojournalist specializing in marine subjects, Brian Skerry has logged more than 10,000 hours underwater. Traveling up to eight months each year, he visits warm tropical reefs, cool waters blooming with life, and beneath the polar ice. In celebrating the beauty of the sea’s natural moments, Skerry crafts images with an artist’s deft touch. Creatures from the sea floor fill the lens in an abstraction of shape and color. A fish appears for a close-up in a blur of motion and subtle hues.

Beyond their artistic value, these photographs also tell an important story. In his coverage for National Geographic and other publications, Skerry pursues subjects that increase awareness of the plight of the world’s oceans. Treading softly beside nesting endangered leatherbacks and crisscrossing the seas covering the global fish crisis, he seeks to make photography a powerful instrument for change.

Featuring 50 photographs, this exhibition is based on a new National Geographic book, now available for sale, Ocean Soul (National Geographic Books, 2011; $50 hardcover).

The Gloucestershire Wassail dates back to the middle ages and was a popular Christmas carol. Find all the words below:
Wassail! wassail! all over the town,
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing bowl , we’ll drink to thee.

Here’s to our horse, and to his right ear,
God send our master a happy new year:
A happy new year as e’er he did see,
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.

So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek
Pray God send our master a good piece of beef
And a good piece of beef that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

Here’s to our mare, and to her right eye,
God send our mistress a good Christmas pie;
A good Christmas pie as e’er I did see,
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee.

So here is to Broad Mary and to her broad horn
May God send our master a good crop of corn
And a good crop of corn that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

And here is to Fillpail and to her left ear
Pray God send our master a happy New Year
And a happy New Year as e’er he did see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

Here’s to our cow , and to her long tail,
God send our master us never may fail
Of a cup of good beer : I pray you draw near,
And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear.

Come butler, come fill us a bowl of the best
Then we hope that your soul in heaven may rest
But if you do draw us a bowl of the small
Then down shall go butler, bowl and all.

Be here any maids? I suppose here be some;
Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone!
Sing hey O, maids! come trole back the pin,
And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.

Then here’s to the maid in the lily white smock
Who tripped to the door and slipped back the lock
Who tripped to the door and pulled back the pin
For to let these jolly wassailers in.

Together with Imagination Stage, National Geographic is having fun with all things animal this season. Alan Parente, the Museum’s Art Director, saw “Dr. Dolittle” this weekend with his family. Check out his review of the production below. Stay tuned for a review of the exhibition Animal Grossology from a member of Imagination Stage.

“On December the 3^rd, I had the pleasure of visiting our partner Imagination Stage and experiencing their production of Dr. Dolittle with my wife and two boys (ages 7 and 3). For the younger, it was a first interaction with live theater.

To start, I’ll address a parent’s main concern by saying it was a beautiful, friendly facility in the heart of Bethesda, situated conveniently next to free, easy parking. Within minutes we were inside, settled and ready for the show to begin. Staff members filled the wait with some audience participation that kept the little one engaged, while actors milled around the stage in advance of the start to provide something for the elder to focus on.

The set was filled with interesting props, nooks and crannies that were well crafted and played a big part in the costuming and flow of the show. I was particularly curious as to how the animals would be portrayed – the clever use of props from around the set to create ears, tails and wings provided easy changes for the versatile cast to portray monkeys, dogs, lions, and more without full costumes. Despite the light costuming, the actors’ skills ensured even the younger guests were able to follow the animal identities without confusion.

While the entire cast was excellent, the expressive Ricardo Frederick Evans as the King and the manic energy of Christopher Mueller as Chi-Chi the monkey provided great laughs and excitement across our row. The 3-year-old continually demanded (loudly) “Where Chi-Chi is going?” every time he left the stage.

All in all it was a tremendously easy and enjoyable afternoon with the family. The suggested age for kids was 5+, but the youngest was kept entertained by the lively and frequent musical numbers that seemed to come on cue just as he was getting wiggly.

My biggest issue was whether to enjoy watching the story unfold on stage or to gaze at the boys, leaned forward, eyes wide, mouth agape, totally engrossed in the show.

This was our first visit but won’t be the last, we’re already planning to return for The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in June.”

- Alan Parente, Art Director

 Dr. Dolittle continues at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland through January 8, 2012.  In a special offer for National Geographic fans, get 20% off tickets. Use the code “Natgeo” online or through the box office (301-280-1660). Offer subject to availability, Not valid with other offers or on previous purchases.

Photo: Scott Suchman