Jeannie's Travel Addiction

Cast  Collection in Hall of Architecture

October 20, 2019

Another one of my  explorations in Pittsburgh was at the Carnegie Natural History and Art Museum.  What a great museum!!  Here are just a few samplings of what can be enjoyed.

The museum’s  Hall of Architecture  opened in 1907 with 140 plaster casts of architectural masterpieces.  In the USA, it is the only remaining collection of its kind.  Today few casts are being made, due to the fragility of the originals and also the attitude of copying works  from the past.

Even though these are casts of the original, they were incredible to see, both in size and of  the great detail.

Conch Pearls ( the pink ones)  from  Mexico in the Hall of  Minerals and Gems.  Queen conch pearls are amount the rarest and most expensive pearls in the world.  The chances for finding a conch pearl is  1/15,000.  Even then, most are not of gem quality.

In the Hall of Mineral and Gems there are 1300 specimens from all over the world plus 500 gems, crystals and jewelry pieces.  This was my favorite part of the museum, though Bird Hall came in with a close 2nd.

From the museums’s insect collection – this monster can be found in the Philippines.  My finger is there to help give you an idea just how huge this creature is.

These Scarab beetles and a lot more assorted insects, moths and butterflies  can be found in the museum.

They  were spectacular to see up close, yet also a  little creepy.

The  leading museum’s entomologist has a mantra “there’s  never enough bugs”.   There are 30,000 drawers filled with millions of butterflies and moths alone and  approximately 11 million insects in their collection.

The museum ‘s Bird Hall features 300 taxidermy mounts  from hummingbirds to eagles.  This is an Elf Owl  which can be found in the southwestern region of the USA and in Mexico.  It is the world’s smallest owl and mostly eats insects.  The museum has a whopping  190,000 bird  specimens in its collection.

Replica of the extinct  Dodo  bird which was flightless and endemic to the island of Mauritius.

This is a Marabou, a stork that resides in Africa.

The  humorous side of the museum also has a display  of birds that went on to become famously portrayed on television, such as the cartoon character Tweety Bird,  who was a canary.

The Roadrunner  also reached stardom in  the cartoon  ” The Roadrunner” show.

A moose resides in the Hall of North American Wildlife along with 22 more dioramas depicting different  wildlife  in their natural habitat.

Zebras and more  reside in the African Wildlife section of the museum , in another 11 dioramas.

Striped deer can originally  be found in Africa.

This guy  was soooo lifelike,  my spine tingled  as I walked past. .

On the artsy side of the museum…..

“Bathers with Crab” by  Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1899

I failed to get the name of this piece but it was my favorite so included it anyway.

Ending  on  a work  of art guaranteed to make you smile, is  this contemporary  piece of  a  giant frog relaxing on carpet,  who, by the way,  occupied an entire room to himself.

There was much more to be seen at the museum but I simply ran out of time before I could see it all.

In memory of all the creatures that passed so that we could  continue to observe and learn…..

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’”    Hunter S. Thompson

Hope you enjoyed!!!

Thanks for reading!