Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

The Art of African Exploration

In these cases are books, periodicals, sketchbooks, and journals featuring artists's vivid illustrations of the astonishing landscapes, exotic animals, and unfamiliar peoples of 19th-century Africa.

December 9, 2008 – August 16, 2009

Natural History Museum

From Earth to the Universe

Visit a bilingual (English and Spanish) exhibition that features some 50 large-scale images of a variety of astronomical objects -- from Earth to the farthest corners of the universe.

July 6, 2009 – July 27, 2009

Air and Space Museum

Spectacular Saturn: Images from the Cassini-Huygens Mission

Marvel at 60 images of the amazing Saturn system, taken by the Cassini-Huygens mission.

February 2, 2009 – May 15, 2009

Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian Science in the News: Investigating the "Miracle on the Hudson"

This small exhibition case explains how museum scientists worked with transportation safety experts in this modern aviation mystery.

February 23, 2009 – May 3, 2009

Natural History Museum

2008 Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

On view are 45 winners in 19 categories from the 2008 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

November 8, 2008 – May 3, 2009

Natural History Museum

Orchids through Darwin's Eyes: 15th Annual Orchid Show

To mark Darwin's 200th birthday, the exhibit explores the incredibly diverse world of orchids through his eyes and examines the ways in which he influenced today's naturalists, horticulturists, and scientists who study these intriguing plants.

January 24, 2009 – April 26, 2009

Natural History Museum

Space: A Journey to Our Future

See artifacts, along with mechanical and computer interactives, that highlight current projects in space exploration.

June 14, 2008 – January 12, 2009

Air and Space Museum

In Plane View: Abstractions of Flight

Discern the details of the often overlooked "simple beauty" of aircraft and spacecraft design in 56 color photographs by museum photographer Carolyn Russo.

March 21, 2008 – January 2, 2009

Air and Space Museum

Botanica Magnifica

On view in this research case is a single image of wild ginger (Hedychium longicornutum) from the five-volume work Botanica Magnifica, a collection that includes photographs of specimens in the Smithsonian's living plant collections taken by Jonathan Singer.

April 18, 2008 – November 4, 2008

Natural History Museum

The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Legendary Botanist Richard Evans Schultes

Black-and-white photographs of the Amazon River and adjacent regions -- including portraits of people, landscapes, and plants.

April 17, 2008 – November 2, 2008

Natural History Museum

Science in the News: The Truth about Crystal Skulls

On view for the first time is the Smithsonian's own crystal skull.

July 10, 2008 – September 1, 2008

Natural History Museum

Cases: Special Gems Highlighted

This case displays gemstones acquired by the newly established Tiffany & Co. Foundation Endowment.

April 11, 2007 – May 14, 2008

Natural History Museum

Research Case: Extinction of the Hawaiian Honeycreeper

Habitat changes have led to the decline of Hawaiian native birds; at least 55 species have gone extinct since the arrival of humans. The Hawaiian honeycreepers exemplify this decline.

January 15, 2008 – April 17, 2008

Natural History Museum

Wine, Worship and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani

See more than 100 objects that provide a rich archaeological view of the ancient Asian country Colchis—land of the Golden Fleece.

December 1, 2007 – February 24, 2008

Asian Art Museum Sackler Gallery

Rocketry and Space Flight

Explore two key technologies that have made spaceflight possible: rockets and space suits.

July 1, 1976 – February 16, 2008

Air and Space Museum

The Lost World of James Smithson

View parts of James Smithson's book collection and some of his mineralogical notes that survived a fire that destroyed the top floor of the Smithsonian Castle building in 1865.

April 16, 2007 – February 6, 2008

Smithsonian Castle

Research Case: One Museum, Two Collections: Ethnobotany in the American Southwest and Mexico

See several cultural artifacts and botanical specimens acquired in the 19th century that helped to define the new field of ethnobotany, the study of the complex interconnections between humans and plants.

December 15, 2006 – January 29, 2008

Natural History Museum

Research Case: The Great Auk

Now extinct, the great auk (Pinguinus impennis), a flightless bird, once inhabited the shores of the North Atlantic by the millions.

August 24, 2007 – January 14, 2008

Natural History Museum

A Tribute to Carl Linnaeus, 1707-1778

Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist Carl Linnaeus (May 23, 1707-Jan. 10, 1778) is known as the father of modern taxonomy.

November 13, 2007 – November 14, 2007

Natural History Museum

2006 Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards

View the winners in 15 categories from the 2006 Nature's Best International Windland Smith Rice Awards, and the winners in 9 categories from the National Wildlife Photography Awards.

November 10, 2006 – October 9, 2007

Natural History Museum

Design for the Other 90%

Focus on the growing need to create affordable, sustainable means for survival for the 90% of the world's population who lack the means to purchase even the most basic goods.

May 4, 2007 – September 23, 2007

Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

Missouri's Stately Ground

See a cross-section of Menfro soil, which covers more than a million acres in central and eastern Missouri, to explore what soils tell us about history and biology.

February 18, 2005 – September 18, 2007

Natural History Museum