Results tagged “National Geographic Museum” from Intelligent Travel Blog

In anticipation of the arrival of the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at National Geographic headquarters, Destination DC is offering a Weekend Warriors Package from mid-November to the end of March.

The Terra Cotta Warriors, the guardians of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, will be on display at the National Geographic Museum in D.C. from November 19 through March 31. Since their discovery in 1974 by farmers digging a well, over 1,000 life-size terra cotta soldiers, wearing full armor, have been unearthed and an estimated 7,000 additional warriors remain, waiting to be exhumed. Each warrior is unique, with his own hairstyle, facial features and expression. Since the discovery of the first warriors, life-size chariots and horses, servants, musicians, acrobats and animals have also been uncovered. It is believed that the warriors were made in order to protect the emperor during the afterlife, one example of his obsessive quest for immortality.

A new exhibit opened today in the National Geographic Museum here in DC at the National Geographic Society headquarters. It's called "Kodachrome Culture: The American Tourist in Europe" and it features wonderfully retro travel images from the pages National Geographic magazine. Here's one of my favorites, a photo of people lounging on the rocky beach at Etretat, France, with the Notre Dame de la Garde chapel atop the chalk cliffs in the background.

From the exhibit:

National Geographic pioneered the use of Kodachrome film in the late 1930s and was among the first to recognize its advantages. The film produced a dye image without the grain found in other color processes, and the photographs could be enlarged without loss of detail. The film was also faster. Instead of requiring a tripod, color shots taken with a compact 35mm camera could be spontaneously composed. By the time American tourism was taking off in the 1950s, National Geographic photographers were adept at using Kodachrome. The images helped National Geographic stand out from other magazines still publishing in black-and-white.
Eventually Kodachrome became the most widely used color film in the United States.

Fast Facts:

The National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., is open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For information on the "Kodachrome Culture" exhibit, call (202) 857-7588 or visit www.ngmuseum.org.

Read More:

Senior Photo Editor Dan Westergren discussed the story of how National Geographic Explorers came to name Kodachrome Flat in Bryce Caynon, Utah. And check out a gallery of classic Kodachrome images from the National Geographic archives here.

Photo by Howell Walker, from "Normandy Blossoms Anew," National Geographic magazine, May 1959, p. 629

Need another reason to come visit us here at National Geographic? Well here's one more: tickets are now on sale for the upcoming Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. The exhibit will open in November, and it's expected to be a tremendous hit. Here are the details from the museum:

Soldiers. Charioteers. Archers. Musicians. Generals. Acrobats. Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. Their discovery outside the city of Xi'an in 1974 is one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century.

Now, you can stand face-to-face with these terra cotta warriors. In November 2009, National Geographic Museum will host Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China's First Emperor, an exhibition featuring treasures from the tomb complex including 15 life-size figures, weapons, armor, coins, and more. Don't miss this chance to see the largest collection of significant artifacts from China ever to travel to the United States.

Today there's an event going on in our courtyard to announce the opening, and one man, Chi Chang, will be dressed as a warrior and making appearances throughout D.C. over the next few days. Here's the schedule of where you can find him, (just so you have a little warning, as Jeannette just saw him on her way through the basement, and was a bit freaked out). For more on the warriors visit www.warriorsdc.org.

Update: Above is a photo from today's press event, featuring local schoolchildren, the majority of whom sported warrior masks. By Kate Baylor.