A Monument to Knowledge: The Jefferson Room at the Library of Congress

This is by far the best kept secret of all the amazing cultural attractions on the Washington DC mall. If you appreciate knowledge, Enlightenment values, and science, then you MUST spend an afternoon in this room, appreciating every nook and cranny. America’s Founding Father’s were very wise individuals with a strong appreciation for education and knowledge.

Jefferson Room (Click for Flickr Set) Credit: Moi

There are names of philosophers, naturalists, and scientists everywhere. Proverbs meditating on Deism and knowledge abound. There are cherubs representing the American professions, including one chasing a butterfly with a net, representing entymology. There are paintings of women representing the different types of literature, from history to erotica. There are statues and paintings representing the different nations of the world, and what each contributes to world culture, where America is found contributing science.

My favorite of all these are the murals of women representing the different branches of the sciences. It took me four trips to this room to get photos of these murals, which I have not been able to find anywhere else on the Internet. I’m licensing these Creative Commons, so please reuse and redistribute!

Women of Science Top: Chemistry, Zoology, Astronomy, Geology Bottom: Botany, Physics, Mathematics, Archaeology (Click for Flickr Set) Credit: Moi

I love the fact that Mathematics is pretty much naked. : )

See the complete flickr set here. Very high resolution photos included.