Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

Pomo Indian Basket Weavers: Their Baskets and the Art Market

Trace the history of art basketry & Pomoan participation in the 19th-c. California art market through portrait photographs, historical images, and 125 baskets.

October 16, 1998 – January 18, 1999

Natural History Museum

Natural Selections, Museum Photography by Chip Clark

See 33 large-scale works by staff photographer Chip Clark that reveal scientists at work in the field in tree tops, underwater, and underground and the special skills museum photography demands -- scientific savvy, curiosity, and great patience.

April 30, 1998 – September 7, 1998

Natural History Museum

Volcano Watch: Maurice and Katia Krafft and the Smithsonian

This showcase explores the work of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program and honors the Kraffts, whose efforts to educate the public about the dangers of volcanoes has saved thousands of lives but has cost them their own.

October 31, 1997 – April 30, 1998

Natural History Museum

Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer): The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks

View 150 Yup'ik Eskimo objects from the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and coastal southwestern Alaska. These late 19th- and early 20th-century masks, decorated with feather tufts and wooden appendages, tell stories of ceremonial traditions that remain an important part of Yup'ik culture.

October 24, 1997 – January 4, 1998

Natural History Museum

Amber and Plants

This showcase features the work of Dr. Francis Hueber, NMNH research curator in Paleobiology, and includes an amber specimen encasing a flower from the tree that produced the amber.

July 6, 1997 – October 24, 1997

Natural History Museum

The Move Crew

This showcase explores the process of transporting 2 million objects in the Dept. of Anthropology collections from the museum to the Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland.

July 3, 1997 – October 17, 1997

Natural History Museum

Amber: Window to the Past

Up to 146 fossil amber specimens and 94 decorative objects bring together the worlds of science and art by exploring the various aspects of amber.

June 6, 1997 – September 1, 1997

Natural History Museum

Amber and Insects

This showcase features the work of Dr. Conrad Labandiera, NMNH curator of fossil arthropods, and includes a diorama of a lakeside forest with fossils (in amber, lake shale, and coal shale) placed in their approximate habitat.

June 6, 1997 – September 1, 1997

Natural History Museum

Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast

This hands-on, interactive exhibition explains the effects of greenhouse gases and explores how people can reduce their contributions to the greenhouse effect. "Explainers" are on hand to answer visitors' questions.

May 10, 1997 – August 24, 1997

Natural History Museum

Poles Apart: Parallel Visions of the Arctic and Antarctic

See 30 paired photographs by Galen Rowell that compare the terrains and inhabitants of the North and South Polar regions.

February 1, 1997 – August 4, 1997

Natural History Museum

HoloGlobe

This 7-minute presentation features a rotating, 4-foot, 3-dimensional, and scientifically accurate holographic image of the Earth. It reveals atmospheric, oceanic, biologic, geologic, and human data collected during years of space travel and satellite observation, with narration by James Earl Jones.

August 10, 1996 – August 1, 1997

Natural History Museum

Feather Focus: The History of Feather Research

This exhibition case features the feather research of curator Roxie Laybourne, whose research has helped avoid plane crashes, identify illegally poached birds, solve crimes, and identify feathers found in fossils.

October 25, 1996 – June 20, 1997

Natural History Museum

Mysterious Manatees

Visit 15 black-and-white photographs by Karen Glaser that depict Florida manatees in their underwater habitat.

June 14, 1996 – January 19, 1997

Natural History Museum

Eyes on Science: Illustrating Natural History

Drawings, related specimens, and interpretive text explore 150 years of scientific illustration at the Smithsonian, demonstrate the importance of visual records to scientific research, and challenge visitors to look more closely at the natural world.

July 3, 1996 – January 1, 1997

Natural History Museum

Martian Meteorite

This showcase features a meteorite from Mars containing microscopic structures and traces of organic compounds that suggest microbial life once existed on Mars. Also included is a photograph of the microscopic structure of the rock.

August 9, 1996 – November 13, 1996

Natural History Museum

Flower Watercolors by M. Stodgell

On view are watercolors of flowers by M. Stodgell.

June 30, 1989 – September 29, 1996

Natural History Museum

Butterflies and Their Flowers: Paintings by Biruta Akerbergs Hansen

See 10 acrylic paintings by Baltimore-based natural science illustrator Biruta Akerbergs Hansen, whose art has appeared in Smithsonian and other magazines, books, and museums locally and nationally.

December 8, 1987 – September 29, 1996

Natural History Museum

The Mighty Marlin

On display is a mounted 1,560 pound black marlin that has held the world record since 1953.

June 1, 1996 – September 25, 1996

Natural History Museum

Earth Sense

This photography exhibition focuses on efforts to safeguard our fragile, ever-changing planet.

March 15, 1996 – September 4, 1996

Natural History Museum

Science at Sea

This case explores the 125 years of research collaboration between the Smithsonian and the National Marine Fisheries Commission and features a model of the research vessel Albatross.

February 23, 1996 – September 2, 1996

Natural History Museum

Ocean Planet

This exhibition explores both the majesty, diversity, and bounty of the world's oceans and the threats to the marine ecosystem.

April 22, 1995 – April 30, 1996

Natural History Museum

Landscape Kimonos by Itchiku Kubota

See 45 kimonos by contemporary Japanese textile artist Itchiku Kubota. Thirty of these represent fall and winter landscapes and 15 depict individual themes such as Mt. Fuji, the sun, and wildflowers.

November 16, 1995 – April 14, 1996

Natural History Museum