The Conservatory, United States Botanic Gardens, Washington D.C.
*Special note to the Professor: This is a make-up blog as I had military duty during the week that the class toured the Sebo Center.
I a few weeks ago I was able to visit Washington D.C. and while I was there I toured several of our national museums. Although the Botanic Gardens didn’t immediately appeal to me, we happened to be right next to it at about the time when everything else was closing. We went in on a whim, but I’m I couldn’t be happier that we did. It ended up being one of my favorite places in the entire country.
Exterior of the Conservatory with the Capital in the background
The United States Botanic Gardens hosts two large outdoor gardens and the main building, called the Conservatory, pictured here at the left. The building was originally constructed in 1933 and a four year major renovation was completed in 2001. The facility allows thousands of visitors a day to tour several ecosystems in natural lighting, rain or shine. There are several permanent exhibits, most of them with a dedicated room custom built for them. For example, the desert room has very dry air and a high temperature to make it feel like your actually there. My favorite, however, was the Jungle Room. It features a 93 foot tall dome with trees nearly reaching the ceiling and a two tier catwalk that allows guests to travel high up into them. The room is amazing decorated with federal architecture elements scattered throughout the large room. It gives the appearance of a Washington DC in ruins, but somehow in a harmonious way.
The Jungle Room viewed from the second tier catwalk
Map of the Conservatory
I think the conservatory is a great tool to teach large groups of people about the diversity of plants. The Jungle Room in particular is a marvelous showcase to educate and excite children.The layout of the building was thoughtfully laid out to provide a nice flow throughout the different themed rooms. One can walk from the Jurassic themed room to the medicinal plants room with ease. By clicking on the image to the right, you can see a larger map showing the layout of the conservatory. My favorite aspect of the facility is how it can be used as an active place to learn, or as a relaxing place to sit down and relax in the busy city. The designers did a great job at making the paths wind through the plants so that you can feel secluded if you want to. I was also glad to see that the staff followed a “green” theme throughout the building. Even the hands-free faucets were solar powered with little signs explaining how much energy they save. In short, the Botanical Gardens were successful at make plants interesting to everybody.