"Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution." This free exhibition examines the symbiotic relationship between insects and plants. Entrance fees for the Live Butterfly Pavilion are: $6 for adults: $5 for children ages 2 to 12; $5.50 for seniors, age 60 and above. Free admission will be offered on Tuesdays.Tickets may be purchased two weeks in advance, call 202 633-4629 locally, or 1-877-932-4629. Discounts apply for groups of 10 or more. Strollers are not permitted in the Pavilion.
"Discovering Rastafari," open through Nov. 7, includes photographs, video footage, artifacts and ephemera focusing on the origins and practices of the Rastafari religion. The exhibition also traces the religion’s spread throughout the world.
"Nature’s Best Photography: the Windland Smith Rice International Awards" (through April 29).
Birds of Washington, D.C.
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-tall pileated woodpecker.
At the rotunda's center is one of our signature artifacts, the 8-ton, 14-foot-tall African bull elephant, which has been on display since 1959. Today, our elephant can be seen in a setting very much like an African elephant's native habitat.
In the newly renovated and 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 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; closed Mondays. Free passes, available at the door, are required on busy days.
Featuring 274 masterfully crafted taxidermic specimens of mammals, nearly a dozen fossils, 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 north.
Join "Harriet," our life-size chimpanzee sculpture in the audience in the Evolution Theater. Hang out among the mammals gathered at our African savanna water hole (complete with a dramatic rainstorm re-creation 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 rate number one with many visitors. At the center of the hall is the largest of the dinosaurs, 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 saber-toothed cats, woolly mammoths and mastodons. Check out the nearby FossiLab, where our 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, which examines the diversity and dynamism of this huge continent. At sound stations, hear interviews, folk tales, songs and oral epics.
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 our two beautiful new gemstones in the New Acquisitions Case: the unusual purple 40.10-carat elbaite, a member of the tourmaline mineral family, and the 15.93-carat grossular garnet that displays an exceptional blue-green color.
Gaze into our crystal ball. Why is everything you see on the other side upside down?
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 our best-known artifact, the 45.52 carat deep-blue Hope Diamond, the world’s largest stone of its kind.
Did you know that the museum houses the world’s largest 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 our 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 20,000 years ago to about A.D. 800. See 3,000-year-old Egyptian coffins and 3,500-year-old death masks.
A group of primate skeletons greets visitors to the Osteology Hall of Bones. (Only one creature walks on two feet—the human.) 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 its body. A Komodo dragon looks like a monster from the past. (See a live Komodo dragon at the 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 or other live insect.
Nearby, discover how butterflies evolved, adapted and diversified in the new exhibition opening February 15, "Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution." The Live Butterfly Pavilion houses hundreds of butterflies from around the world.
This new long-term exhibition features cultural objects and artifacts from the Smithsonian and other collections. Here, ceramics, paintings, textiles and sculptures—ranging from the 6th century B.C. to the 21st century—represent more than two millennia of Korea's history and its distinctive culture.
In our 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 multi-colored 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 our Hall of Mammals is the Mammals Museum Store, where you can pick up an adorable stuffed tiger, giraffe or other wild thing. Choose from toys, crafts, posters, jewelry, apparel and books on mammals.
Just outside the building, 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.
Join us for a family butterfly event on May 10th from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.
Purchase tickets >>
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.
Let the Johnson IMAX® Theater take you on an incredible adventure back through time to the days of pre-historic aquatic Sea Monsters.
Evening feature-length films often available.
Click here to view the full film schedule!
