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Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition

May 12, 2006 - September 11, 2006

Museum: Natural History Museum

Location: 1st Floor, Northwest Wing (Hall 11)

Following instructions from President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark became the first Americans to traverse North America to the Pacific. During the expedition, from 1804-1806, they mapped the continent's interior; collected plant, mineral, and animal specimens for science; and developed relationships with diverse tribes of American Indians.

Marking the 200th anniversary of the expedition, the exhibition includes more than 400 artifacts -- together for the first time since 1806 -- that emphasize the cultural encounters of the journey. Highlights include:

• several of the journals kept by Lewis and Clark
• Lewis's telescope and watch
• Clark's rifle and powder horn
• peace medals
• an 1803 pocket compass that Lewis bought from Thomas Whitney
• a rare knife and sheath covered in bird quills
• a painted buffalo robe
• a Lakota grizzly bear headdress
• a Shosone war robe
• a Sioux quiver for holding arrows

Catalogue: $39 (cloth) Other related books and DVDs available in the Main Museum Store

No photography permitted

See August 2002 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 96-107, for article on William Clark

See related article in Smithsonian magazine: August 2003, pp. 98-101; and a monthly column beginning December 2003 to December 2005.

Online Exhibition