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Current Exhibitions

Ground Floor:

The Art of African Exploration

Location: Ground Floor, Constitution Avenue Lobby Cases
Exhibit: December 9, 2008 – August 16, 2009 

Two new exhibit cases offer a unique glimpse into African exploration as seen through the eyes of Westerners, and told through the experiences of artists, travelers and scientists who explored the continent in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Highlighting the imagery that emerged during that time, the display paints a spirited picture of African exploration. The public was enthralled by exciting adventure stories, unfamiliar landscapes, and the stark challenges of travel in unknown lands, while scientists discovered, observed and described a wealth of previously unknown species.

Birds of D.C.

Exhibit: Permanent

Brandishing their fine plumage, the birds in these cases have helped generations of visitors identify local species. Year-round and seasonal residents, migrants and vagrants--hundreds of species in all--are displayed here. Yellow Warbler

Coastal America Ocean Art Contest

Location: Ground Floor
Exhibit: December 8, 2008 - March 29, 2009

To celebrate the opening of the Sant Ocean Hall, the Museum will be displaying the winners of the “Ocean Art Contest,” sponsored by Coastal America. The contest, conducted by Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers throughout the United States and in Mexico, drew hundreds of entries—paintings, drawings, photographs and collages—from kindergarteners through college students. Each original work of art was accompanied by an essay on one of seven essential principles of ocean literacy. Winners were selected based on the visual impact, communication of the principle, and artistic merit of their work.

The Evolution Trail

Location: Throughout the Museum
Exhibit: December 2008 - Permanent

Why are dinosaurs extinct? Why do giraffes have long necks? Why do flowers come in many colors? Follow Iggy the Iguana on the Evolution Trail throughout the Museum and find the answers to these and other questions. Explore the exhibits to discover how environmental changes, natural selection, extinction, and other factors play a part in the ongoing process of evolution. Iggy the Iguana marks stops on the Evolution Trail

First Floor:

African Elephant

Exhibit: Permanent

His trunk raised in alert, this male African elephant seems to sense your presence. Like humans, elephants have complex social systems. They live in extended family groups led by mature females, who teach and nurture the young. So, if you meet your family "by the elephant," remember that they also meet, grow, learn, and cooperate in groups.

African Voices

Exhibit: Permanent

Examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa's peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment.

The Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals

Exhibit: Permanent

Invites visitors to explore the incredible diversity of mammals, including humans, and the processes by which they arose and continue to adapt. Features 274 exciting mammals and dozens of fossils in a variety of environments.

Discovery Room

Educational Facility: Permanent

The Discovery Room is a unique educational facility for families and students. The room features activities using real Museum objects and interactive, hands-on experiences that allow visitors to explore the natural world at their own pace, guided by their own interests and sense of wonder.

Dinosaurs/Hall of Paleobiology

Exhibit: Permanent

How did life and all its wondrous forms come about? The story begins almost 3.5 billion years ago and unfolds in this exhibit. Exhibit includes Dinosaurs, Life in the Ancient Seas, Fossil Mammals and Fossil Plants

FossiLab

Exhibit: Permanent

This glass enclosed lab allows visitors to watch museum paleontologists and trained volunteers extract fossils from rock and construct fossil casts and molds.

Discovering Rastafari!

Exhibit: November 2, 2007 - Indefinite

Using artifacts, rare photographs, and ephemera to explore the origins and religious practices of the movement in Jamaica, this exhibition takes viewers beyond the popular Jamaican music known as reggae to the deeper roots of the Rastafari culture. Video footage featuring first-person testimony from male and female Rastafari of different ages, nationalities, and racial and class backgrounds speak to Rastafari of unity and to the spread of the movement across the Caribbean and beyond over the past three decades.

Going to Sea

Location: The Sant Ocean Hall Changing Exhibit Gallery
Exhibit: September 2008 - September 2009

What compels us to go to sea? Some would say adventure, recreation, or even inspiration. But for many cultures, the ocean is a necessity—an essential resource that provides both jobs and food. Going to Sea, the debut exhibit in the Sant Ocean Hall's changing exhibit gallery, explores how and why people venture into the sea. The exhibit contrasts early ocean exploration and navigation techniques with the cutting edge modern science, and examines the connections between human culture and the sea including literature, art, and mythology.

The Sant Ocean Hall

Location: First Floor
Exhibit: Permanent

A one-of-a-kind interpretive exhibit, extraordinary in scale, the Sant Ocean Hall presents the global ocean from a cross-disciplinary perspective, highlighting the biological, geological, and anthropological expertise and unparalleled scientific collections of the Museum, as well as ongoing research in marine science. The ocean is intrinsically connected to other global systems and to our daily lives. Artist rendering of the Sant Ocean Hall

Second Floor:

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil

Exhibit: July 19, 2008 – January 2010

Visitors to the Museum will journey into the skin of the earth and explore the amazing world of soils in Dig It! The Secrets of Soil. Completely familiar yet largely unknown, soils help sustain virtually every form of life on Earth. Dig It! will transport visitors to the world of fungi, bacteria, worms, and countless other organisms. Visitors will discover the amazing connections between soils and everyday life and think about this hidden world in a whole new way.

Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution

Exhibit: Permanent

This immersive exhibit explores the processes and patterns of evolution, and provides our visitors with an exciting new kind of experience in the Museum of Natural History - a walk-through living butterfly house. We will invite visitors to observe the many ways in which butterflies and other animals have evolved, adapted, and diversified together with their plant partners over tens of millions of years.Artist rendering of Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution

The Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals

Exhibit: Permanent

Explore the museum's unparalleled specimens of gems, minerals, rocks and meteorites. Highlights include the Hope Diamond, the National Gem Collection, the Mine and Rocks Galleries, the Plate Tectonics Gallery and the Moon, Meteorites and the Solar System Gallery.

The Carmen Lúcia Ruby

Exhibit: Permanent

This spectacular 23.1 carat Burmese ruby was recently donated to the Museum by Peter Buck in memory of his late wife, Carmen Lúcia Buck. Mined from the fabled Mogok region of Burma, the ruby possesses a richly saturated homogenous red color combined with an exceptional degree of transparency.

Nature's Best Photography 2008 Awards Exhibit

Location: Second Floor
Exhibit: November 8, 2008 – May 3, 2009

Wildlife, up close and personal! Meet rare endangered species, and see indigenous cultures living in some of the harshest climates on Earth. The Nature’s Best Photography 2008 Windland Smith Rice International Awards exhibit features 45 photographs that bring nature to life. These stunning portraits of plants, animals, and people celebrate the beauty of nature while recognizing the importance of environmental stewardship. 

Western Cultures Hall

Exhibit: Permanent

The institutions, traditions and ideals of North American cultures are deeply rooted in those of western Asia, northern Africa, and Europe. This hall explores some examples from various cultures in the western world including northern Iraq, ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and the recent discovery of the Iceman, a Copper Age mummy found in an Italian glacier.

Korea Gallery

Exhibit: Permanent

This new exhibition presents Korea's millennia of history and its distinctive culture through ceramics, paintings, textiles and sculptures, ranging from the 6th century B.C. to the 21st century. Thematic areas of the exhibit include: Korean ceramics, Honoring family, The Korean wedding, Hangeul (the Korean writing system), Korea's natural and built landscapes, Koreans overseas, and Korea's visual arts today.Tiger, magpie, pine, and sacred fungus. Late 19th century.

Osteology: Hall of Bones

Exhibit: Permanent

Who has bones? Fishes, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals do. In our Osteology Hall you can observe a variety of vertebrate skeletons grouped by their evolutionary relationships. You can compare a human and gorilla, bone for bone. Count the number of neck vertebrae in a human and a giraffe. Observe skeletal features that are unique to reptiles or to fish.

Insect Zoo

Educational Facility: Permanent

Visitors can observe live insects and other arthropods at the O. Orkin Insect Zoo. Volunteers conduct tarantula feeding demonstrations, work with live insects, and answer questions about the many-legged creatures that live in the Insect Zoo.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Exhibit: Permanent

Preserved reptiles and amphibians await you around every corner in this hall. Learn about their eating habits, defenses, and locomotion. Reptiles on display include Galapagos marine iguanas, sea turtles, snakes, crocodiles, and lizards.

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