This exhibition examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa's peoples and cultures.

The Reptile Discovery Center is an interactive exhibition that features some 70 species of reptiles and amphibians -- from snakes to frogs to turtles to lizards to crocodiles to Komodo dragons.

See The Gathering by Brad Walker, the Taft Bridge Lions by Roland Perry, and Uncle Beazley by Louis Paul Jonas in various locations.

The final resting place of the Institution's benefactor, James Smithson (1765-1829), is a small chapel-like room located at the north entrance to the Castle.

Dominating the rotunda, in a setting that re-creates the Angolan bush, is the museum's 8-ton, 14-foot-tall African elephant.

The Folger Rose Garden features a bed of roses in a rainbow of colors, along with selected annuals, perennials, and woody plants chosen for year-round interest.

See living, breathing, roaring Sumatran tigers and African lions and learn more about these endangered animals.

The works on view here represent the three principal media for artistic expression in the Islamic world: architecture, the arts of the book, and the arts of the object.

Drawn from the museum's extensive collection of ceramic works, 14 vessels represent various regions of the African continent.

The National Zoo is home to hundreds of birds from all over the world.

This hall features 2,500 minerals and gems, including the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald Brooch, and Star of Asia sapphire. It also explores the birth and evolution of the solar system and the earth's changing surface through computer interactives and video presentations.

This exhibition traces the competition in space between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union from its origins in the 1950s to the recent international cooperation.

This interactive gallery explains the basic principles of air and space flight through hands-on activities.

 Living plants, butterflies, and bees are used to explore pollination.

This exhibition explores the biology and evolution of animal thinking, focusing on primates

Stroll along the walkways in the Butterfly Habitat Garden to see four habitats of native plants that attract a variety of colorful butterflies spring through fall. 

The Insect Zoo focuses on live insects and their relationships with plants, animals, and humans.

This gallery provides an overview of mail service in America from colonial times through the 19th century, stressing the importance of written communication in the young nation.

This gallery focuses on the modern changes in mail service introduced at the turn of the 20th century.

Faced with the challenge of moving the mail quickly, the postal service looked to trains, automobiles, airplanes, and buses to deliver the mail.