Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

1982 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See 50 photographs--winners and other entries in the annual competition sponsored by the Friends of the National Zoo.

April 1, 1982 – April 30, 1982

1982 Zoo Employee Art Show

Enjoy animal-oriented works in a variety of media--from pottery to pencil through photography--submitted by Zoo and FONZ personnel and volunteers.

March 1, 1982 – March 31, 1982

National Zoo

1983 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See 34 photos of scenes shot at the Zoo in the FONZ annual competition.

March 2, 1984 – March 30, 1984

National Zoo

1983 Zoo Employee Art Show

Animal-oriented art in various media is on display in this annual exhibition of works created by Zoo and FONZ employees.

February 1, 1983 – February 28, 1983

National Zoo

1984 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See some 30 photographs by the winners of the Friends of the National Zoo1984 contest.

November 1, 1984 – November 30, 1984

National Zoo

1989 Friends of the National Zoo Photography Contest

See amateur photographs taken at the National Zoo.

October 16, 1989 – November 26, 1989

National Zoo

A Country of Three Seas

Investigate 43 poster-size color photos by Diego Samper that explore 3 regions of Colombia -- the Caribbean, the Pacific Coast, and the Amazon basin.

June 16, 1998 – July 15, 1998

National Zoo

A Magic Web: The Tropical Forest of Barro Colorado Island

See 40 photographs taken by ecologist Christian Ziegler at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Panama's Barro Colorado Island.

November 3, 2003 – June 6, 2004

National Zoo

Africa Trail

Cheetahs, ostrich, addaxes, kudus, and a Hartmann’s mountain zebra all reside on Africa Trail.

August 19, 1992 – September 16, 2024

National Zoo

American Bison

See American bison—the animal that inspired the founding of the National Zoo.

August 30, 2014 – September 13, 2024

National Zoo

American Bison

For the first time in nearly 20 years, the National Zoo again has an exhibition of American plains bison - two 1,500-pound females, aged 13 and 18 years.

December 1, 1984 – October 31, 2004

National Zoo

American Prairie

Learn about the prairie's story from biological, environmental, and cultural perspectives on the Prairie Plant Discovery Trail.

July 8, 1999 – April 26, 2005

National Zoo

Animal Extinctions

Learn from 10 posters that deal with endangered species or extinct species from various sources.

August 1, 1982 – September 13, 1982

National Zoo

See animals from India throughout the zoo: Indian sarus, Indian elephant, Bengal tigers, leopards, Indian spot-bill duck, red (lesser) pandas, bintarong, sloth bears, lion-tailed macaque, Eld's deer, and hoopoe bird.

June 1, 1985 – August 31, 1985

National Zoo

Australia Pavilion

Visit 2 great grey kangaroos and 3 dama wallabies, and also view a barrier reef aquatic exhibit.

September 15, 1989 – July 5, 2002

National Zoo

Australia/Asia Exhibit

Visit tree kangaroos, rat kangaroos, echidnas, and Prevost's squirrels, whose native habitat is Australia, New Zealand, and neighboring islands in the South Pacific.

May 1, 1984 – October 1, 2006

National Zoo

Bats on Exhibit

Hang out with some 15 bats of 3 species -- Big Fruit, Short-tailed, and Hammerhead -- in this recently opened exhibit.

October 1, 1984 – December 31, 2009

National Zoo

Bird House

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

1928 – January 2, 2017

National Zoo

California Condor Sculptures

See 3 life-size figures of the endangered California Condor, created by Erwin Hauer.

August 1, 1981 – August 28, 1981

National Zoo

Celebrate Smokey: 75 Years of Fighting Wildfires

A new Smokey Bear outdoor exhibit at Smithsonian’s National Zoo invites visitors to look back at the legacy of one of the most famous residents in the Zoo’s 130-year history.

May 23, 2019 – July 31, 2022

National Zoo

Colombia: A Botanical Expedition

Visit 54 reproductions of original botanical illustrations produced between 1782-1816 under the direction of Jose Celestino Mutis, leader of Spain's Royal Botanical Expedition in Colombia.

June 16, 1998 – September 23, 1998

National Zoo

Curators and Keepers: The Unseen Mammals at the National Zoo

View a collection of watercolor portraits by local artist Ina Schechter.

October 11, 1991 – January 31, 1992

National Zoo

Electric Fishes Demonstration Lab

This multisensory lab is home to a 5-foot-long electric eel, capable of generating up to 800 volts of electricity.

October 6, 2017 – Moved to part of Amazonia

National Zoo

FONZ Photo Contest Winners

See about 50 photographs, including winning prints in a Friends of the National Zoo contest. Zoo subjects are shown in black and white as well as in color.

April 1, 1979 – April 30, 1979

National Zoo

Giant Panda House - Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing

Meet Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing (pronounced shing-shing), gifts to the United States from the People's Republic of China.

April 16, 1972 – November 28, 1999

National Zoo