Natural History Museum, NYC

John and I love the Natural History Museum, but it's been years since we've visited.

We started on the top floor where we were greeted by this Mastodonsaurus giganteus, a giant relative of our frogs and salamanders.

These visitors seem in awe of this Rauisuclud dinosaur.

For good reason! Yikes!

Much cuter were this Protoceratops couple guarding their nest.

The skeletons were accompanied by small models of what the creature might have looked like. This is of course the fabulous Stegasaurus.

John and another visitor admired the huge skull of a Triceratops.

Another display compared skeletons of Mammoths, Mastodons and modern Elephants.

Another oversized early mammal, the Megaloceros with its impressive antler display.

The huge prehistoric sloth, Lestodon armatus.

This local mother and daughter group probably have museum memberships. Looks like they dropped in during a morning jog in Central Park.

Another family group looks cornered by this juvenile Barosaurus.

John checking out the Barosaurus on the prehistoric timeline display.

The Central Park West entrance features a Barosaurus rearing up in front of a hungry raptor.

One floor down we encountered the dioramas of African mammals.

We love the dioramas in this section. Here ostriches protect their nest from marauding wart-hogs.

Two antelope seem to gossiping about us.

Just what are these hyenas so interested in?

John caught me and a soaring vulture.

Feeding time for birds of prey

and leopards. Yes, that's a peacock they've captured for lunch.

Herons, Ibises and Swans.

Loved this family checking out the owl display together.

We'll end our visit amid the displays of Native American artifacts.

Woodland tribe apparel.

How elegant is this stylish otter decorating a drum.

We'll end with a gorgeous feather headress. There is so much to see in this museum. We must come back more often.