Washington Post - Picking your way through this vastSmithsonian museum devoted to nothing less thanthe Earth and its 4.6-billion-year history maysound just as daunting. But in the spirit of exploration, we offer this tour of the highlights, which should take about two hours. That's just 575 million years every 15 minutes.

The Smithsonian Natural History Web is an internet resource compiled and maintained by the staff of the National Museum of Natural History. Here you willfind documents and data about Museum research and the national collections, which comprise more than 120 million scientific specimens and cultural artifacts fromaround the world.