November 12, 2009 - May 2, 2010
2nd floor, Northwest Wing, Special Exhibit Gallery (Hall 25)
On view are winners in 19 categories from the 2009 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, including the Grand Prize, Conservation Photographer of the Year, Youth Photographer of the Year, and selected Highly Honored images. The annual awards honor the best amateur and professional nature photographers from around the world.
September 12, 2009 - July 18, 2010
First Floor, West Wing, Special Exhibit Gallery (near Mammals)
This exhibition reveals the significant role Darwin's theories have played in explaining and unifying all the biological sciences. Specimens from the museum's diverse collections, along with documentation from its ongoing research, illustrate the importance of evolution as a scientific foundation and how our knowledge of evolution has evolved over the last 150 years.
Celebrates the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of his groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species.
See February 2009 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 40-48 and 50-54.
See also related exhibition Cases: Darwin's Legacy
September 10, 2009 - September 12, 2010
Ground Floor, Constitution Ave. Lobby, East & West Sides
Charles Darwin served as an unpaid naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle during a scientific expedition around South America and the Galapagos Islands from 1831 to 1836. The studies he performed and the specimens he collected during that voyage served as the basis of his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he expounded in his groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species. These cases feature objects and books related to that voyage to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.
Highlights include:
• On the Origin of Species, published November 1859
• Beautifully illustrated volumes from the Zoology of the H.M.S. Beagle, edited by Charles Darwin and published 1838-1843
• Galapagos land iguana and mockingbird specimens from the museum's collections
• Charles Darwin's silk neckerchief
See also related exhibition Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution.
February 7, 2009 - Jan. 2013
2nd Floor, West, between Reptiles & Western Cultures (new space)
This exhibition features archaeological discoveries that reveal the historic importance of Jamestown and its contribution to the American way of life. The exhibition addresses such subjects as life and death in the colonies, activity and physical labor, health and disease, dietary resources, internal strife, and inter-population relationships and includes the stories of all peoples affected by the colonization of North America -- Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans -- and their role in the formation and function of the first permanent settlements and capitals of Maryland and Virginia.
September 27, 2008 - New Permanent
1st Floor, North Center (Halls 8, 9, & 10)
Covering 71% of the Earth's surface and containing 97% of the planet's water, the ocean is a vast and complex ecosystem; it is intrinsically connected to other global ecosystems and is essential to all life, including our own. In this new hall, the importance and complexity of the ocean is revealed through a cross-disciplinary perspective -- biological, geological, and anthropological. Information on understanding and predicting changes to the Earth's environment and on how to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation's economic, social, and environmental needs is also highlighted.
Highlights include a life-size model of a 45-foot North Atlantic right whale, based on the real female whale named Phoenix, the centerpiece of the exhibition; two giant squids; a set of 7-foot-tall jaws of the extinct great white shark (Carcharodon megalodon), the biggest shark that ever lived; and a 26-foot long Northwest Coast canoe, carved especially for the exhibition by a Tlingit master carver.
July 19, 2008 - January 3, 2010
2nd floor, Northeast Wing, Special Exhibit Gallery (Hall 23)
Through dioramas; cultural artifacts; and soil cross-sections from each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, this exhibition introduces the study of soil science and demonstrates the vital role soil plays in sustaining human welfare, assuring future agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability.
Hands-On Interactive Components
Theater: 10-minute detective story about soil (runs continuously)
Soil Display: On view are 54 soil samples representing each U.S. state and territory and the District of Columbia.
February 15, 2008 - New Permanent
2nd Floor, Southwest Wing, near Insect Zoo (Hall 30)
This exhibition shows how butterflies have evolved, adapted, and diversified with their plant partners over millions of years. Housed within this exhibition is a special Butterfly Pavilion, which looks like a cocoon, where visitors can walk among hundreds of live butterflies and pesticide-free plants to observe butterfly behaviors ranging from flying and sipping nectar at flowers to roosting and emerging from chrysalides. These butterflies will hatch from pupae raised on farms in Africa, Asia, and North and South America.
Note: To maintain an environment conducive for butterflies, the temperature inside the Pavilion will be 80-85 degrees with high humidity.
For ticketing information, visit the Web at www.butterflies.si.edu/tickets
- Permanent
1st Floor, West Wing, Mammals Hall (Halls 14, 15, & 16)
This hall showcases some 274 mammals and explores their diversity and how they originated and adapted to changing landscapes and environments over the last 225 million years -- from polar to desert regions and from dry to humid environments. The exhibition addresses such questions as: What is a mammal? Why do some mammals live in groups while others live alone? How many kinds of mammals are there and what are their habitat preferences? How are mammals related? How and why do scientists study mammals? The exhibition also shares information about the unusual -- the oddest specimens (including egg-laying mammals), the rarest specimens (an okapi from Africa), and the oldest known mammal (Morganucadon) from 210 million years ago.
- Permanent
1st Floor, Northeast Wing, African Cultures Hall (Hall 7)
This exhibition 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. Included are historical and contemporary objects from the museum's collections, as well as commissioned sculptures, textiles, and pottery. Video interactives and sound stations provide selections from contemporary interviews, literature, proverbs, prayers, folk tales, songs, and oral epics.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, East Wing (Halls 18, 19, & 20)
This hall features 2,500 minerals and gems, including the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald Brooch, and Star of Asia sapphire. It also explores the birth and evolution of the solar system and the earth's changing surface through computer interactives and video presentations
- Indefinitely
1st Floor, Dinosaurs Hall (Hall 2), south side of FossiLab
This showcase features a 11.5-meter tubular core sample that shows physical and biological effects of Earth's collision with a giant asteroid 65 million years ago, which resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The sample, taken from 130 meters below the ocean floor east of St. Augustine, Florida, contains the best preserved Cretaceous/Tertiary sequence yet recovered. The exhibition highlights the work of Smithsonian micropaleontologist Brian Huber, who interprets past climate change by studying tiny marine fossils.
- Permanent
Outside along 9th Street between Madison Dr. & Constitution Ave.
The Garden has signs that identify four habitats: wetland, meadow, wood's edge, and urban backyard. The signage discusses the connections between plants and butterflies and explains butterfly behaviors. As many as 30 species of butterflies may be attracted to the native plants in the Garden. The Garden is a joint project of the Horticultural Services Division and NMNH, with partial funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, West Wing, near Reptiles
The Insect Zoo focuses on insects and their relationships with plants, animals, and humans. The exhibition contains a section about the evolution of insects and showcases live insects and their environments, including:
• The Termites' Turf
• Water-loving Bugs
• Familiar Insects
• The Bee Hive
• Desert Dwellers
• Rain Forests--Home to Millions
- Permanent
1st Floor, East Wing (Hall 5), near Dinosaurs Hall
Fantastic marine fossils tell the story of evolution and extinction in the seas in three acts: the Paleozoic Era (540 to 250 million years ago), when odd prehistoric creatures such as trilobites abounded; the Mesozoic Era (250 to 65 million years ago), when marine reptiles such as mososaurs appeared; and the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to today), when the numbers and kinds of shelled animals increased, and when the primitive whale took to the seas.
- Permanent
1st Floor, East Wing (Hall 3), behind Dinosaurs Hall
This exhibition focuses on the spectacular evolution of mammals as the dominant class of vertebrates following the extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.
- Permanent
1st Floor, East Wing (Hall 2)
All of the old favorites are on view in the exhibition hall, including the gigantic 90-foot-long Diplodocus, horned Triceratops, and the Stegosaurus model. Other attractions include Quetzalcoatlus, a huge toothless pterosaur with a 40-foot wingspan, posed in flight; a nest of dinosaur eggs; and the meat-eating Allosaurus -- 8 feet tall and 20 feet long -- challenging newly re-mounted Stegosaurus.
- Permanent
1st Floor, East Wing, (2nd half of Hall 4), near Dinosaurs Hall
This exhibition focuses on the earliest plants and animals to evolve the complex adaptations needed to live on land. In an animated video, evoking television coverage of the first lunar landing, characters Frank Anchorfish and Arthur Pod explain the characteristics plants and animals needed to pioneer the harsh, dry terrestrial environment. Just beyond an arbor formed by a diorama of the first forests are still more fossils: specimens of a 16-foot fossil of an early tree, Callixyon; other fossil trees and smaller plants from the ancient coal forests of North America.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, West Wing (Hall 26)
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.
- Indefinitely
Ground Floor, East Ambulatory
Year-round and seasonal residents, migrants and vagrants--hundreds of bird species--are displayed. They all live in the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Allegheny Mountains. Learn where and when to look for a snowy owl or ruffed grouse, warbling vireo or orange-crowned warbler, chickadee or indigo bunting.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, West Wing (Hall 28)
Hundreds of skeletons of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes -- ranging from the gigantic extinct Steller sea cow to the tiny pocket mouse -- are shown in characteristic poses and grouped by order to illustrate their relationships. Exhibits show how bone structures evolved in adaptation to environment.
- Permanent
2nd Floor, West Wing (Hall 29)
Life-size displays illustrate the eating habits, defenses, and locomotion of a variety of snakes and amphibians. Reptiles on view include a preserved king cobra, reticulated python, and boa constrictors from the Malayan and Amazonian jungles; sea turtles; crocodiles; and lizards.
- Permanent
1st Floor, Kenneth E. Behring Family Rotunda & 2nd Floor Balcony
The museum's 8-ton, 14-foot-tall African elephant is in a setting that re-creates the Angolan bush. Important ideas in botany, entomology, mineral sciences, and zoology, as well as information on the ancestors of modern-day elephants and the elephants' importance in African cultures, are discussed.
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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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