When you travel to New York, restaurants and pubs, theater and musicals, outdoor symphonies and museums fill the day with many options. This city is one that truly never sleeps, and heading through the middle of Times Square, on any give day and night, you will become aware of just that. No matter what time of year you decide to make the trip, there will be something to do, something happening and fun, entertaining and/or educational. Such is the case always, at the American Museum of Natural History .
One of the exhibits that is up right now at the Museum and continues through the beginning of January, 2010, is the Extreme Mammal Show. This is a collaborative exhibit, along with the Museum in New York, others involve the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the California Academy of Sciences . This begs the question then…just what is an extreme mammal? Well, it is any aspect of the various species that seems out of the ordinary, something very large, or something very small.
The first mammal to evolve out of the age of the dinosaurs, is the Uintatherium…and this large animal had many features that are found in mammals of today. But, the poor beast was too big for its small brain, and the spiny horns are considered extreme, it sort of resembles the rhinoceros of today. We as humans, are even considered extreme, for as opposed to the Uintatherium, our brains are large for our bodies, we have no visible signs of a tail, and we are relatively hairless when compared to the other species.
And we walk on two legs, the only other mammal to move in this way is the kangaroo. But what is more extreme are those that have teeth larger than us, or a bat that is the size of bumble bee. This is what is drawing many visitors to the museum throughout the fall, and it is one of the many exhibits that are just too good to miss at New York’s Natural History museum, perfect for a day out with the children, and perfect for science buffs of all ages.