Explore the world's natural and cultural wonders beneath the dome of this 1910 Beaux Arts building. The museum's 18 exhibition halls contain tens of thousands of artifacts and specimens that together tell the story of the earth and its evolution into the planet of today.
"Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution" (opens Sept. 12). Celebrating the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of his groundbreaking book, On the Origin of Species, this exhibition illustrates the importance of evolution as a scientific foundation.
A collection of 500 species of mounted birds found throughout the District of Columbia includes the 3-inch-long golden-crowned kinglet and the 16-inch pileated woodpecker.
At the rotunda's center is the museum's eight-ton, 13-foot-tall African bush elephant, which has been on display since 1959. Today, it can be seen in a setting similar to its native habitat.
All life—including yours—depends on the ocean. The vast ocean covers more than two-thirds of the planet. Beneath its waves lies an amazing diversity of habitats, from coral reefs to polar seas. Among the many fascinating exhibits within the hall are a full-scale model of a North Atlantic right whale named Phoenix, a 1,500- gallon aquarium featuring a live Indo-Pacific coral reef ecosystem, a 26- foot-long Northwest Coast canoe and two giant squid specimens.
In the popular Discovery Room, located near the "African Voices" exhibition, find fossils, skulls, shells and minerals, as well as hands-on activities especially designed for families with children. Check out the "Biodiversity Wall," featuring plants and animals found in the Washington, D.C. area. Regular hours: Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 2:30; Friday, 10:30 to 2:30; Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 to 3:30; closed Mondays. Free timed-entry passes, available at the door, are distributed on busy days.
Featuring 274 masterfully crafted taxidermic specimens, nearly a dozen fossil casts and several dramatic interactive displays, this 25,000-square-foot exhibition tells the story of the evolution of mammals and how they adapted to different habitats, from the sweltering desert to the bone-chilling poles.
Join Harriet, a life-size chimpanzee sculpture, in the Evolution Theater. Hang out among the mammals gathered at the African savanna water hole, but don't get wet during the dramatic rainstorm recreation that visitors can see and hear. View the world as a jaguar does, hunting at night in a South American jungle.
In the "Dinosaur Hall," gigantic fossilized bones of the creatures that walked the earth as long as 210 million years ago are number one with many visitors. At the center of the hall is the 90-foot Diplodocus longus, which was found in Utah in 1923. Don't miss Tyrannosaurus rex, 40 feet long and still fearsome after 65 million years.
The adjacent hall, "Life in the Ancient Seas," encompasses 542 million years of marine evolution. See fossils of ancient creatures like the ichthyosaur, which lived at the time of the dinosaurs; the ancient whale Zygorhiza kochii, which lived about 38 million years ago; and the Squalicorax, a relative of today's great white shark.
In the "Early Life Hall," there's a meteorite that is 4.6 billion years old. Scientists study meteorites like this one because they contain amino acids, which are the cell's essential building blocks and may have been the source for the organic compounds that kick-started life on our planet.
Moving into the "Fossil Plants Hall," see how the evolution of the first seeds 300 million to 350 million years ago changed life on earth.
In the "Ice Age Hall," learn how scientists think our human ancestors lived 35,000 years ago. View fossilized skeletons of ancient mammals, including a saber-toothed cat, a woolly mammoth and a mastodon. Check out the nearby FossiLab, where scientists may be at work studying fossils.
Examine an aqal, a contemporary, portable Somali house, and an early 20th-century carved door from Zanzibar. African cultures come alive in this exhibition.
Formed long ago by heat and pressure deep within the earth, minerals and gemstones delight us with their distinctive shapes and brilliant colors. Check out the three stones in the new acquisitions case: the unusual purple 40.10-carat elbaite, a member of the tourmaline mineral family; the 15.93-carat grossular garnet that displays an exceptional blue-green color; and the 161.08-carat gorgeous green hydroxyl-herderite.
Choose from two approaches to view the artifacts in these galleries. Science buffs may like the slow, studied route with opportunities to see, for example, a model of the 3-D molecular structure of NaCl— sodium chloride, or ordinary table salt. The fast route takes visitors directly to the museum's best-known artifact, the 45.52 carat deep-blue Hope Diamond, the world's largest stone of its kind.
The museum houses the world's most extensive meteorite collection. Some 20,000 of these space travelers are here, including many that you can touch. Don't forget to visit the "Plate Tectonics Gallery" and use the interactive seismograph to create your own earthquake.
The "Hall of Western Cultures" features 2,500 artifacts depicting the rich traditions and multiple influences of societies that thrived around the Mediterranean Sea from 8,000 B.C. to about A.D. 500. See several 3,000-year-old Egyptian coffins and 3,500-year-old death masks.
"Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake" (closes Feb. 6, 2011). Human anatomy and forensic investigation provide intriguing information on people and events of America's past. This exhibition examines history through 17th-century bone biographies, including those of colonists teetering on the edge of survival at Jamestown, Virginia, and those of wealthy and well-established individuals of St. Mary's City, Maryland.
A group of primate skeletons greets visitors to the Bones Hall. Notice the shrew's ribs, so tiny they look like bits of white thread. Can you spot the zebra's broken rib? A Gila monster's tail looks too big—it's only slightly smaller than the body. A Komodo dragon looks like a monster from the past. (See a live Komodo dragon at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.)
In the "O. Orkin Insect Zoo," watch as volunteers feed a tarantula. Or hold in your hand a Madagascar hissing cockroach, lubber grasshopper, tomato hornworm caterpillar and other live insects.
Discover how butterflies evolved, adapted and diversified in the exhibition, "Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution." In "The Live Butterfly Pavilion" walk among hundreds of butterflies from around the world.
This exhibition features cultural objects and artifacts from the Smithsonian and other collections. Ceramics, paintings, textiles and sculptures—from the 6th century B.C. to the 21st century—represent more than two millennia of Korea's history and distinctive culture.
In the two ground-floor stores, find unique items, fine and costume jewelry, home accents, toys, clothing and accessories for everyone on your gift list. Don't miss the wonderful selection of multicolored amber necklaces. (Buyer beware: the bear skeleton and the cutlass fish are not for sale!) The Gem Store is on the second floor near the exit of the IMAX® theater. Hobbyists and jewelry lovers will find all that glitters gathered together. Outside the "Hall of Mammals" is the Mammals Museum Store, where you can pick up a stuffed tiger, giraffe or other wild thing. Choose from toys, crafts, posters, jewelry, apparel and books.
Just outside the building on Madison Drive, flanking the National Mall entrance steps, are three natural wonders that have stood the test of time: two 220-million-year-old petrified logs from Arizona and a 2.25-billion-year-old boulder of banded iron ore from Michigan.
The Family Learning Center in Leesburg, Virginia, designed especially for budding scientists, is a "hands-on, minds-on" study center with activities for ages 10 and older.
The Main Study Gallery boasts a "library" of 36,000 natural history specimens to examine in detail. Find books and scientific tools, plus a trained staff to help. "Museum Mysteries" will test your detective skills.
Address: 741 Miller Drive, Suite G2, Leesburg, Virginia 20175.
Parking is free. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 to 4. Closed holidays. Call 703-779-9712 for more information.
Most simply, evolution is a change in groups of living things over time, a process that connects all forms of life to one another. The evolution of living things has been occurring for billions of years and is responsible for the dazzling diversity of life on Earth. That is a fact.
Follow the EVOLUTION TRAIL with Iggy the iguana.
1 Environmental Change
Ice Age Hall, 1st Floor
How do species change with climate?
2 Natural Selection
Butterflies and Plants Hall, 2nd Floor
Why are orchids and insects partners in evolution?
3 Adaptation
Hall of Mammals, 1st Floor
What do animals in the desert or ocean need to survive?
4 Innovation
Fossil Mammals Hall, 1st Floor
How did the amniotic egg change natural history?
5 Diversification
Hall of Mammals, 1st Floor
What do mice, rats and shrews have in common?
6 Extinction
FossiLab, 1st Floor
Are we in the middle of a mass extinction?
Support the Natural History Museum.
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Natural History's Evolution Trail
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The Museum of Natural History store offers costume jewelry, home accents, tabletop items, toys, clothing, accessories, gems and evolutionary treasures. Don't miss the wonderful selection of multi-colored amber necklaces; some amber is 40 million years old.
Museum of Natural History cafes:
Add an IMAX® adventure to your museum experience.
Enhance your visit to the museum with an adventure in the Johnson IMAX® Theater.
Travel to far-off seas or go back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. The museum’s giant screen adventures are the perfect complement to its exhibits
Hollywood films are frequently featured in the evenings. Call 202 633-4629 or visit www.si.edu/imax for information and showtimes.
Discounts available for Smithsonian members and groups of ten or more.
Click here to view the full film schedule!
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