Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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New Exhibitions

A Rare Encounter: The Hope and Wittelsbach-Graff Diamonds
A Rare Encounter - on public exhibition for the first time in more than 50 years, the Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond will join the Hope Diamond in the Harry S. Winston Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History. Open January 29 through August 1, 2010.
Cougar, Winner, Zoos and Aquariums
Nature's Best Photography Show 2009 - view the winners from the 2009 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards. The annual awards honor the best amateur and professional nature photographers from around the world. Open through May 2, 2010.
Darwin's Hawaiian Honeycreepers. Photo by John Steiner (c) Smithsonian Institution
Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution - celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.  The exhibit marks this anniversary by exploring the theory of Evolution and how it continues to affect science today. Open through July 18, 2010.
The Sant Ocean Hall: fish in jar
The Sant Ocean Hall is our largest permanent exhibition. It explores the ancient, diverse, and constantly changing nature of the ocean, the historical connections humans have had with it, and ways in which we are impacting the ocean today.

Web Highlight

UNESCO Recognizes the John Marshall Film and Video Collection
UNESCO Recognizes the John Marshall Film and Video Collection - the John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, held in the Anthropology Department's Human Studies Film Archives, has been added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.

New Websites

Sphenotrochus gardineri. This Hexacoral was collected in Tierra del Fuego in 1964. For more information go to http://antiz.redmon.com/taxon_view.cfm?taxon=1691
Antarctic Marine Invertebrates - Bundle up to explore the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. Meet the clawed, tentacled, spiky, gelatinous, many-legged, shelled and shell-less residents. Follow the missions of Antarctic research ships from the 1800s to the present day.
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Located at 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, in Washington, D.C. 20560 [MAPS]

Free admission. No tickets are required for entrance. For more call 202-633-1000.

Open every day except Dec. 25.

Regular hours are 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM. Please check our hours calendar for special early closings.

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Journey to Mecca

Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta - this panoramic IMAX film recreates the journey of Ibn Battuta, one of the greatest travelers in history, on his epic pilgrimage from Tangier to Mecca in 1325.