Orchids through Darwin’s Eyes

Location: First Floor
Exhibit: January 24, 2009 – April 26, 2009

Charles Darwin used orchids to help prove his theories of natural selection and evolution. Scientists today follow in Darwin’s footsteps and use orchids to learn more about how plants have evolved and adapted to live in almost every type of environment around the world. Come explore the alluring world of orchids through the eyes of Darwin and the naturalists, horticulturists, and scientists he influenced. Discover new insights and curious surprises about these captivating plants, including the only orchid fossil ever discovered!

Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake

Location: Second Floor
Exhibit: February 7, 2009 – February 6, 2011

Forensic anthropology, modern technology and archaeology converge to provide intriguing information on people and events of America's past. This exhibition explores history anew through 17th-century bone biographies – real life stories compiled from skeletal and burial investigations of early European and African immigrants to the Chesapeake Bay area. Scientists reveal how studies of human bones, found in sites ranging from Jamestown, Virginia to St. Mary’s City, Maryland, provide new information about the past, as well as who we are today.

Ants!

Location: Second Floor
Exhibit: May 30, 2009 – October 10, 2009

Did you know that some ants grow their own food, just like farmers? Or that other ants build highways that can be seen from the air? Or that large ant colonies go to war with each other? Get a look at life from an ant’s point of view with large-format photographs of ants going about their daily business, a cast of an underground ant city, and a live ant colony.

Charles Darwin and the Evolution of Evolution

Location: First Floor
Exhibit: September 10, 2009 – July 18, 2010

Celebrate with us the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his groundbreaking On the Origin of Species.  This exhibition focuses on the significant role that Darwin’s theories have played in explaining and unifying all the biological sciences.  Specimens from the Museum’s diverse collections, along with documentation from our ongoing research, illustrate the importance of evolution as a scientific foundation, and how our knowledge of evolution has evolved over the last 150 years.

Revealing 100 Years: Scientific Photography at the National Museum of Natural History

Location: Second Floor
Exhibit: May 29, 2010 – October 17, 2010

The Museum marks its 100th birthday with a special exhibition highlighting the behind-the-scenes research that furthers scientific knowledge and informs our public educational programs.  Over the last century, scientists have used technological advances in photography to see farther, deeper, and in more detail than ever before.  Photographs both old and new demonstrate how these researchers have relied on photography to document their findings and to reveal the natural world that lies hidden to the naked eye.