Past Exhibitions | Smithsonian Institution

ZooArk

Discover the reasons so many animals are endangered in this 6-part interactive exhibition located at different places throughout the Zoo.

September 1, 1986 – July 1, 1987

National Zoo

Zoo Centennial Historic Photo Exhibition

Visit selection of historic photographs taken during the past 100 years at the Zoo, commemorating both the 100th anniversary of the Zoo and the 150th anniversary of the invention of photography.

June 22, 1989 – October 1, 1991

National Zoo

Wildlife Photography Rotating Display

Visit a rotating display of wildlife photography by Zoo and FONZ Photo Club photographers.

April 9, 2005 – July 24, 2006

National Zoo

Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea

Experience Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea, a larger-than-life exhibit of 17 marine wildlife sculptures—from jellyfish to sharks—made entirely of plastic pollution directly recovered from oceans. The sculptures represent more than 315 billion pounds of plastic in oceans, illustrating the devastating effects of the ocean's deadliest predator—trash.

May 27, 2016 – September 5, 2016

National Zoo

Venezuelan Wildlife Photos

Visit an exhibition of 100 photographs of Venezuelan wildlife.

June 22, 1994 – August 15, 1994

National Zoo

Vanishing Pollinators

View 34 color photographs by biologist and photographer Carll Goodpasture that are used to explore the biological process of pollination.

May 5, 2000 – April 25, 2001

National Zoo

Use of Radio-Telemetry in Wildlife Biology at Front Royal Conservation and Research Center

Learn from a 4-panel exhibition of photographs and graphics illustrating how animals are caught and fitted with miniature radio transmitters so their activities can be monitored by scientists at the Center in Front Royal, Virginia.

February 1, 1982 – December 31, 1982

National Zoo

Tropical Images: The Struggle Between Man and Nature

Explore the problem of deforestation in tropical areas and its threat to the survival of man and the ecosystem in 32 photographs and accompanying text from Dr. Ken Green, NZP research scientist.

August 1, 1982 – August 22, 1982

National Zoo

Tropical Blossoms

See 35 color photos by Dr. Edward Ayensu, Chairman of the Smithsonian's Department of Botany, and Smithsonian photographer Kjell Sandved.

March 16, 1973 – May 15, 1973

National Zoo

The Pelzman Memorial Glockenspiel

Delight in a glockenspiel featuring animated animals and music hourly.

May 16, 1976 – December 31, 1980

National Zoo

The Happy Frog

Say hello to a 200-pound bronze sculptured frog who welcomes visitors from his pedestle in front of the Reptile House.

November 1, 1975 – November 1, 1985

National Zoo

The Fishes of the Mississippi River

Visit the fishes of the Mississippi River - paddlefish, bowfin, short-nosed gar, shovel-nose sturgeon, large-mouth bass, sunfish, flat-head catfish, and others.

June 1, 1987 – August 30, 1988

National Zoo

The Animal in Art

See the work of local artists, involved in assisting with the three Sunday "Sketch-Ins" at the zoo.

November 20, 1977 – October 31, 1978

National Zoo

Smokey Bear's New Honey Tree

Marvel at an automated honey- and berry-dispensing tree constructed to mark the 40th anniversary of Smokey's becoming the symbol for prevention of forest fires.

August 1, 1984 – August 31, 1984

National Zoo

Seals

Visit with gray seals and California sea lions.

October 1, 1978 – November 30, 2009

National Zoo

Reptiles from India

See the Tokay gecko, gharial, king cobra, Indian pond turtle, Indian rat snake, purple-spotted pit viper, leopard gecko, star tortoise, Indian python, sand boas, and Indian cobras.

July 1, 1985 – August 31, 1985

National Zoo

Quetzalcoatlus northropi (QN)

Marvel at a life-size, radio-controlled replica of a large prehistoric "creature," a pterodactyl-like craft resembling the Quetzalcoatlus northropi, whose 35-foot-plus fossil remains were found in Texas in the early 1970s.

September 16, 1988 – December 31, 1990

National Zoo

Preview of Permanent Invertebrate Exhibition

Visit 7 displays, each featuring a different type of creature.

May 23, 1985 – October 30, 1985

National Zoo

Pollinarium

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

April 19, 1996 – June 21, 2014

National Zoo

Plant Portraits

Enjoy 50 botanical watercolors of pharmaceutical plants, combining great accuracy with sensitive insight, painted by the late Ida Hrubesky Pemberton.

October 16, 1974 – December 31, 1974

National Zoo

Paintings by Chuck Baird

See 8 wildlife paintings by Chuck Baird, resident artist at Gallaudet University, that incorporate American Sign Language for the names of the animals.

June 8, 2002 – July 31, 2002

National Zoo

On A Wing and A Prayer: Migratory Birds of the Americas

Investigate 64 photographs of American migratory birds by Arthur Morris that reveal the variety of species that migrate throughout the Americas,

April 26, 2001 – April 30, 2002

National Zoo

Nuestros Bosques, Nuestra Herencia (Forests, Our Heritage)

Reflect on the concerns of people living in countries with neotropical forests in this 40-panel display of photographs and a miniature diorama of Yanomami Indians.

April 8, 1993 – December 16, 1993

National Zoo

North American Mammal Exhibit

Visit the new quarters for jaguars, pumas, bobcats, fishers, prairie dogs, raccoons, and Kit foxes in 3 moated enclosures and 8-cable suspension cages, with wolverines and porcupines to come.

May 1, 1980 – December 31, 1990

National Zoo

Monkey Island

Visit Monkey Island - home for a small colony of Barbary macaques (monkeys of Gibraltar and North Africa).

April 1, 1983 – February 1, 2001

National Zoo