Exhibitions Home | Current | Upcoming | Past | Virtual

Whales: From Bone to Book

May 25, 2013 - April 27, 2014 (new closing date)

Museum: Natural History Museum

Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

Location: Ground Floor, Evans Gallery

Natural History is more than just bones, feathers, and fossils in a museum drawer; it is a process of discovering and recovering objects in the natural world and then translating what they mean into scientific knowledge. This exhibition traces the path of knowledge from discovery on the beach or sea cliff to museum drawer to scientific publication. It features scientific illustrations by Sydney Prentice, the fossils that were used to make the illustrations, the printing blocks and resulting books, tools used in collecting specimens, and current research to illustrate the collaborative process that results in these beautiful images.