The museum was opened in 1937, and has been a popular place for young and old, for decades. Native Parisians and visitors have long happily relished items like shrunken heads and ethnic costumes that are to be found in the Museum’s halls. Currently undergoing a massive renovation, as well as the portioning off of some of its permanent collection to the forthcoming Musée des Arts Premiers on the nearby Quai Branly, the Musée de l’Homme isn’t quite what it used to be. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a lot of fun.

Through a pair of enormous, heavy glass doors, visitors arrive in the somewhat barren lobby. But just up the stairs, visitors will find an interesting permanent exhibition on mankind’s common ancestry, and another on birth and death statistics. While this latter exhibition may sound dry and number-filled, in fact, it includes some interesting displays (listen to kids get grossed out by a replica of a human fetus in a jar) and facts that will liven up any conversation! Did you know that every second, 5 people are born, and 2 die? Or that every day, 800,000 human ovules are fertilized?

Meanwhile, another permanent exhibit is the short, but artifact- and model-filled, hallway presenting the evolution of man. There’s a lot to see here, from various species of stuffed monkeys, to skulls and other remains of ancestors of us homo sapiens. The skeleton of Lucy, a famous 3-million- year-old Australopithecus aphaeresis young lady, is amazing for a number of reasons. For one thing, the fact that so much of Lucy’s remains were recovered intact, or the fact that these bones are older than most people’s minds can truly conceive. Not to mention that having the skeleton right in front of you really makes it hit home how small our predecessors were.

Another highlight of the evolution section are the small display cases full of Bronze Age tools and artifacts from around the world, including bones found in China with early writing on them. Opposite these cases, scale-models of our prehistoric relatives’ evolutionary march towards their present form plays out behind skulls and bones from each stage. With all this, as well as exciting and extensive temporary exhibitions, and film and lecture series, the Musée de l’Homme may not be only the place to go to see some shrunken heads. Definitely, it's really a neat place for homo sapiens to visit.