Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Meet Pachycephalosaurus!

See a rare and nearly complete skull of Pachycephalosaurus, a dinosaur famed for its domed head.

December 22, 2025 – December 28, 2025

Natural History Museum

Our Places: Connecting People and Nature

Our Places explores how peoples’ experiences with nature inspire them to connect, care, and act.

July 1, 2022 – March 28, 2025

Natural History Museum

Objects of Wonder

Explore the breadth, scope, and splendor of the world’s most extensive natural history research collection—more than 145 million artifacts and specimens.

March 10, 2017 – September 8, 2024

Natural History Museum

Sea Monsters Unearthed, Life in Angola's Ancient Seas

This exhibition explores how these marine reptiles livedin the Cretaceous Period, and immerses visitors in an ancient ocean ecosystem.

November 9, 2018 – September 3, 2024

Natural History Museum

Nature of the Book

Nature of the Book explores books of the hand-press era from the use of moveable type in Europe in about 1450 to the rise of mechanization in the 19th century.

November 11, 2022 – September 3, 2024

Natural History Museum

Outbreak DIY: Epidemics in a Connected World

Join epidemiologists, veterinarians, public health workers, and citizens as they rush to identify and respond to infectious diseases.

November 3, 2022 – June 4, 2023

Natural History Museum

Genome: Unlocking Life's Code

With engaging interactives, 3D models, custom animation and videos of real-life stories, this exhibition examines the benefits and the challenges that genomics presents to modern society.

October 21, 2021 – November 28, 2022

Natural History Museum

Documenting Diversity: How Anthropologists Record Human Life

Examine the ways anthropologists have recorded and shared their field observations using the technologies of their time.

June 18, 2021 – October 18, 2022

Natural History Museum

Unforgettable Behavior: Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Unforgettable Behavior brings together exceptional images recognized in past years of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is owned and run by the Natural History Museum, London.

November 3, 2021 – September 30, 2022

Natural History Museum

Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World

Outbreak invites visitors to join epidemiologists, veterinarians, public health workers, and citizens of all ages and origins as they rush to identify and contain infectious disease outbreaks.

May 18, 2018 – September 30, 2022

Natural History Museum

Unsettled Nature: Artists Reflect on the Age of Humans

Unsettled Nature offers visitors the opportunity to explore the unparalleled, ubiquitous and still-growing mark that humanity is making on the world through 16 works of art.

June 18, 2021 – March 7, 2022

Natural History Museum

Challenging the Face of Science: The Bearded Lady Project

This project brings into being the missing legacy of female paleontologists to overcome societal stereotypes concerning gender and professional roles.

November 14, 2019 – September 26, 2021

Natural History Museum

Turtle Ocean

An art installation composed entirely of recycled plastic trash and marine debris, Turtle Ocean depicts an entangled Hawksbill turtle swimming in an environment of water bottle sea jellies and beached flip flop anemones along with marine debris seaweed and coral made of old buoys, crates, and buckets.

June 8, 2016 – March 13, 2020

Natural History Museum

Beauty Rich and Rare

An immersive sound and light experience recreates the wonder experienced by Joseph Banks and the botanists, scientists, and illustrators who traveled on the HMS Endeavour.

January 9, 2020 – March 13, 2020

Natural History Museum

The Birds of America: from Original Drawings

The museum displays volume four in the Duke of Portland set of John James Audubon’s The Birds of America: from Original Drawings.

March 21, 2019 – March 13, 2020

Natural History Museum

Game Change: Elephants Prey to Preservation

Traces the shift in public attitudes about elephants from the late 19th century, an era when big game hunting was prevalent, to the critical conservation concerns of today.

October 4, 2018 – March 5, 2020

Natural History Museum

The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World

How do we learn about dinosaurs and their ecosystems? Come see some of their fossils and find out!

November 25, 2014 – September 29, 2019

Natural History Museum

23rd Annual Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

Named for nature photographer and conservationist Windland Smith Rice, Nature’s Best presents breathtaking fine art prints and short videos that highlight the best of nature photography—and our spectacular planet.

October 29, 2018 – September 3, 2019

Natural History Museum

Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend

Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend showcases what is known about how narwhals sense their environment, and explores exciting new scientific discoveries about these animals in the context of a changing arctic climate.

August 3, 2017 – January 6, 2019

Natural History Museum

Dazzling Diversity

What is the most diverse group of animals on the planet? Insects! They constitute more than two-thirds of all described animal species—and there are more waiting to be discovered!

August 8, 2017 – September 30, 2018

Natural History Museum

22nd Annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards

Selected from more than 26,000 submitted entries, see 60 extraordinary images that capture the beauty and diversity of the natural world.

October 24, 2017 – September 3, 2018

Natural History Museum

Life in One Cubic Foot

What can we discover in just a cubic foot of ocean? Enter the small worlds of marine biocubes to find out!

March 4, 2016 – July 8, 2018

Natural History Museum

21st Annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards

Named for nature photographer and conservationist, Windland Smith Rice, the 21st annual Nature’s Best Photography Awards exhibition presents a collection of 83 fine art prints accompanied by an HD video.

October 19, 2016 – September 5, 2017

Natural History Museum

100 Years of America's National Park Service: Preserve, Enjoy, Inspire

The National Park Service turns 100 this year! To celebrate, the National Park Service has teamed up with the National Museum of Natural History to present over 50 images by award-winning photographers, showcasing America's national parks.

August 4, 2016 – August 14, 2017

Natural History Museum

Korea Gallery

On view are some 85 objects, including Korean ceramics, wooden furniture, stone and wooden sculptures, paintings, and textiles.

June 8, 2007 – July 5, 2017

Natural History Museum