Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Sikhs: Legacy of the Punjab

Explore the history, culture, and beliefs of the Sikh people, who originally lived in the Punjab.

July 25, 2004 – September 18, 2007

Natural History Museum

Transitions: Photographs by Robert Creamer

On view are some 30 of Robert Creamer's high-resolution images of plants and animals that show the effects of time.

October 26, 2006 – June 24, 2007

Natural History Museum

Visual Griots of Mali: Empowering Youth Through Photography

On view are 49 black-and-white photographs that depict everyday life in an African village taken by Malian youths, ages 12-17.

October 2, 2006 – April 29, 2007

Natural History Museum

Orchids: Take a Walk on the Wild Side

This exhibition takes visitors on a walk on the wild side -- from the forest floor up into the tree canopy -- to discover and explore the place of orchids in the world.

January 27, 2007 – April 22, 2007

Natural History Museum

Nature's Best Photography Awards: 2004 & 2005

View 10 photographs from the Nature's Best International Photography Awards: the 2004 grand-prize winner and the 2005 grand-prize and category winners.

April 1, 2006 – March 13, 2007

Natural History Museum

Science in the News: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

A presumably extinct bird, the ivory-billed woodpecker, Campephilus principalis, was reportedly rediscovered in 2004.

April 10, 2006 – January 31, 2007

Natural History Museum

Greenland Research: Rasmussen's Circumpolar Research

See objects from the museum's collection dealing with the fifth expedition Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) took from Thule, in northern Greenland, to Alaska (1921-1924). Objects include snow goggles, handmade dolls by indigenous peoples, and miniature models of wooden sleds.

May 20, 2005 – December 14, 2006

Natural History Museum

Carmen Lucia Ruby

See the 23.1-carat Carmen Lucia ruby, one of the largest faceted Burmese rubies known to exist.

October 16, 2004 – November 20, 2006

Natural History Museum

Forces of Change: The Arctic: A Friend Acting Strangely

Explore the Arctic’s changing climate. Discover what these changes mean for the Arctic, its wildlife, its people—and the rest of the planet.

April 15, 2006 – November 12, 2006

Natural History Museum

Forces of Change: Atmosphere: Change is in the Air

This exhibition explains the important role the atmosphere plays in our lives and in the environment by examining its evolution and properties and its effects on plants, animals, and people.

April 15, 2006 – November 12, 2006

Natural History Museum

Vanished Kingdoms: The Wulsin Photographs of Tibet, China, & Mongolia 1921-1925

Janet Elliott Wulsin's photographs of the region's tribes, people, and landscapes; reproductions of hand-painted lantern slides; and excerpts from her personal letters.

May 22, 2006 – October 9, 2006

Natural History Museum

Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition

Marking the 200th anniversary of the expedition, the exhibition includes more than 400 artifacts that emphasize the cultural encounters of the journey.

May 12, 2006 – September 11, 2006

Natural History Museum

Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey

See 50 color and black-and-white photographs of the Antarctic landscape by award-winning photographer Joan Myers. Large panoramas of Antarctica's beauty and desolation are juxtaposed with scenes of wildlife, people, and abandoned historic huts of early explorers.

May 18, 2006 – September 4, 2006

Natural History Museum

Frost: Life and Culture of the Sami Reindeer People of Norway

View 39 photographs that document the lives of the Sami -- indigenous people living today in northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia.

October 19, 2005 – July 3, 2006

Natural History Museum

The Spirit of Ancient Colombian Gold

On view are over 280 gold items dating between 500 B.C. and 1600 A.D. that reflect the diverse regional and cultural traditions of the indigenous people of the area that is now Colombia.

November 9, 2005 – April 9, 2006

Natural History Museum

Nature's Best Photography Awards

View photographs from the Nature's Best International Photography Awards over the years. The annual awards honor the best amateur and professional photographers from around the world.

November 23, 2005 – March 27, 2006

Natural History Museum

Cleaning Up America's Hazardous Waste: The Superfund Program

Over the past 25 years, the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program has cleaned up 966 hazardous waste sites across the United States.

December 9, 2005 – January 29, 2006

Natural History Museum

Alaska Native Art and Culture

See some 33 objects from the Alaska Native Arts Foundation and 20 photographs depicting Alaskan Native craftspeople and life in rural Alaska by Carrie Anvil-Kiana, Ryan Olson, and Holly Nordlum.

November 4, 2005 – November 6, 2005

Natural History Museum

The Allure of Pearls

On view in a case in the Winston Gallery are 12 extraordinary pearls that represent the breadth in color, shape, size, and luster of these natural gems.

March 18, 2005 – September 5, 2005

Natural History Museum

The Aurora Butterfly of Peace

See 240 natural colored diamonds -- one of the most comprehensive collections of natural colored diamonds in the world -- loosely arranged to form the shape of a butterfly.

November 23, 2004 – July 25, 2005

Natural History Museum

Greenland

The museum explores the history and culture of Greenland through several exhibitions and display cases -- featuring artifacts, photographs, and contemporary art -- on view in various locations throughout the building.

May 20, 2005 – July 17, 2005

Natural History Museum

Smithsonian Institution Libraries in the Service of Science

See a life-size, color illustration of a green-backed golden pheasant, found in the library-bound A Monograph of the Phasianidae or Family of the Pheasants (1872).

November 22, 2002 – June 3, 2005

Natural History Museum

Hawaiian Treasures

To complement the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, this exhibition celebrates the indigenous peoples of Hawai'i.

September 22, 2004 – May 30, 2005

Natural History Museum

El Nino

This case explores the El Nino weather phenomenon and discusses how it affects life around the world. An interactive computer provides information from NASA.

October 1, 2004 – May 9, 2005

Natural History Museum

In Search of Giant Squid

Two preserved giant squids are on view. The rare Taningia danae is often referred to as the world's largest flasher because of its ability to flash brilliant blue-green light in the ocean depths. Architeuthis dux, displayed in the museum since 1983, is the world's largest invertebrate.

April 1, 2000 – May 6, 2005

Natural History Museum