Current Exhibitions

My Visit

Dazzling Diversity

Celebrate the vast and varied insect world through the pages of early natural history books from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives.

September 10, 2024 – December 16, 2025

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Sant Ocean Hall

Dive in with Phoenix—a model of an actual North Atlantic right whale—and discover how the ocean is a global system essential to all life.

September 27, 2008 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Reptile Discovery Center

The Reptile Discovery Center is an interactive exhibition that features some 70 species of reptiles and amphibians.

May 1, 1994 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

Asia Trail

Giant pandas, red pandas, Asian small-clawed otters, clouded leopards, fishing cats, and sloth bears are the residents along Asia Trial.

January 24, 2025 – Indefinitely

National Zoo
My Visit

Butterfly Pavilion

The Butterfly Pavilion is temporarily closed due to unplanned maintenance. This exhibition shows how butterflies have evolved, adapted, and diversified with their plant partners over millions of years. Includes a live butterfly experience (tickets required).

February 15, 2008 – Ongoing

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Common Ground: Our American Garden

This exhibition shares the stories of plants and how they are important to Americans.

June 28, 2017 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

Claws and Paws Pathway

Meet binturongs, bobcats, Pallas' cats, and porcupines.

May 27, 2022 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

Victory Garden

The Victory Garden represents a typical vegetable garden planted during World War II, when growing food for home consumption was an important part of the war effort.

Spring 2001 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

Naked Mole-Rats on the Move

The naked mole-rats at the National Zoo are having a blast in their new, multistory habitat with more than 25 feet of connecting tunnels.

September 1, 2018 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

African Elephant

Our iconic 12-ton, 14-foot-tall African Elephant has undergone a remake! The new setting explores the evolution of elephants from their earliest predecessors to the three modern-day species.

September 4, 2015 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Human/Nature: Why People Are Drawn to Living Things

Bringing plants and other elements from nature into our living spaces can help people stay connected to natural cycles.

September 30, 2023 – Summer 2026

Ripley Center
My Visit

Mary Livingston Ripley Garden

Meander along the unusual curvilinear serpentine walkway in the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden to view more than 200 varieties of plants.

May 25, 1988 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

NASA’s Earth Information Center @ NMNH

Explore high-resolution data visualizations, interactive experiences, and videos that share how scientists collect and interpret data.

October 8, 2024 Through 2028

Natural History Museum
My Visit

American Trail

American Trail is where Zoo visitors can learn about animals native to the U.S. and Canada, many of which have come back from the brink of extinction and are thriving thanks to conservation efforts.

September 1, 2012 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

Bone Hall

Hundreds of skeletons of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians are shown in characteristic poses.

1964 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Added to My Visit Removed from My Visit

The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human? Added

~~The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human?~~ Removed

View My Visit

The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human?

Meet your closest ancestors and relatives in this interactive exploration of human evolution.

March 17, 2010 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Primates

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is home to over a dozen species of primates.

April 15, 1981 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals

Travel to four continents to see some 274 mammals in lifelike poses in their natural habitat.

November 15, 2003 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Elephant Trails

As part of the Zoo's campaign to save Asian elephants, this expanded and transformed home for the Zoo's Asian elephants provides new indoor and outdoor space.

September 3, 2010 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

Pollinator Garden

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

June 30, 1995 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

Our Voices in Saving Species

A gallery of photos and stories from staff spearheading research programs at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia, here at the Zoo in Washington, D.C., and in more than 25 countries across the globe.

January 1, 2016 – Permanent

National Zoo
My Visit

The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time

Learn how life on Earth evolved and see highlights from the museum's unrivaled collection of 46 million fossils.

June 8, 2019 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden

Enjoy roses in a rainbow of colors, along with selected annuals, perennials, and woody plants chosen for year-round interest.

October 7, 1998 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

Bird House

The Bird House and the surrounding bird plateau focuses on the cyclical journeys of migratory songbirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds.

March 13, 2023 – Indefinitely

National Zoo
My Visit

Urban Bird Habitat Garden

This garden is an oasis for many bird species; it provides for their basic needs; food, water, shelter, and a place to raise their young.

July 25, 2012 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens

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