Past Exhibitions

2003 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Exhibition

The 52 winning entries to the 2003 Federal Junior Duck Stamp state competitions are on view.

July 1, 2003 – August 3, 2003

2011 Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

On view are winners in various categories from the 2011 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

March 30, 2012 – April 7, 2013

2012 Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

On view are winners in various categories from the 2012 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

June 7, 2013 – March 3, 2014

2012 US Presidential Scholars

See works by eight young artists chosen as 2012 US Presidential Scholars.

June 16, 2012 – July 4, 2012

Portrait Gallery

2013 Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

Witness nature and wildlife through the eyes of some of the most talented amateur and professional photographers in the world.

October 24, 2014 – April 20, 2015

20th-century Dinosaurs

Marvel at 24 large, colorful, welded sculptures of dinosaurs by Jim Gary, made out of automobile and truck parts.

April 12, 1990 – August 10, 1990

A Child's World: Sears, Roebuck and Company Collection of American Toys, 1890-1960

Enjoy over 500 cast iron and tinplate toys.

January 1, 1972 – January 1, 1974

American History Museum

Above and Beyond

Packed with interactive challenges this exhibition invites you to experience what it takes to make impossible dreams take flight.

August 1, 2015 – January 3, 2016

Air and Space Museum

Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life

Explore the life and legacy of our 16th president through objects from the museum's collection.

January 16, 2009 – May 30, 2011

American History Museum

All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak

Notable African American writers tell stories, including Valerie Boyd, Octavia E. Butler, Kenny Carroll, Edwidge Danticat, Samuel R. Delany, Eloise Greenfield, Charles Johnson, Delores Kendrick, and Walter Dean Myers.

June 7, 2004 – December 31, 2004

Alphabetilately: An Alphabet of Philately

This exhibition presents an alphabet of philately through 26 topics, in which each letter stands for some aspect of stamp collecting or the sending of mail.

September 26, 2008 – October 12, 2015

Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts

Explore the history of African American quiltmaking from the late eighteenth century to the present. Organized by the Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc. of Louisville, KY, with additional materials supplied by the Anacostia Museum.

July 18, 1993 – October 17, 1993

America's Smithsonian

An abbreviated version of the traveling exhibition America's Smithsonian returns home to Washington, D.C., ending its 2-year, 9-city tour with some 80 of the Smithsonian's most popular artifacts.

March 1, 1998 – April 12, 1998

Ripley Center

America's Space Truck: The Space Shuttle

Trace the history of the space shuttle program's 24 missions through photographs and models.

July 2, 1987 – May 15, 1997

Air and Space Museum

Anacostia Today: The Evolution of a Community, Part 2: Continued

Originally shown in 1972 as part of Museum’s fifth anniversary, this exhibit continues its focus on five major topics of deep concern to the residents of Anacostia, a neighborhood in southeast Washington, DC.

March 1, 1973 – July 31, 1973

Anacostia: Not the Same Old Story

Through an ongoing partnership between Lucy Ellen Moten Elementary School and the Anacostia Museum, students collect and prepare objects for display at the museum.

June 17, 1995 – August 27, 1995

Anna J. Cooper: A Voice from the South

Dr. Anna J. Cooper (1858-1964) was a pathbreaking educator, scholar, writer, community organizer, and civil rights activist in Washington, DC. Photographs, artifacts, and recreated home and classroom settings document her life and achievements.

February 1, 1981 – September 30, 1982

Apollo to the Moon

This gallery traces NASA's manned space program beginning with Project Mercury's Freedom 7 (5/5/61); then the Gemini Project (1965-66); followed by the Apollo Program (1967-1972), with Apollo 17 as the last manned exploration of the moon.

July 1, 1976 – December 2, 2018

Air and Space Museum

Art of the Stamp

See 100 original drawings and artworks that were used to create postage stamps, including entries for the famous Elvis stamp design competition.

July 30, 2003 – February 26, 2004

Art of the Stamp: Owney the Postal Dog

See Bill Bond's original painting used to create the Owney stamp.

July 20, 2011 – August 5, 2012

Artful Animals

Explore how African artists create striking works of art, using images from an array of domestic and untamed animals, in this exhibition dedicated to young audiences.

July 1, 2009 – July 25, 2010

African Art Museum

As Precious as Gold

A 42-ounce gold nugget, mining tools, maps, personal items, photographs, and a dog sled used to deliver the mail illustrate the story of the 1897–98 rush for gold in Alaska and the Klondike.

October 7, 1998 – September 9, 2002

Banding Together: School Bands as Instruments of Opportunity

March along with school bands to explore the legacy of instrumental music education in Washington, DC public schools from 1880 to 2006.

September 10, 2006 – May 14, 2007