Current Exhibitions

My Visit

Aerospace and Our Changing Environment

Learn how aerospace innovations contribute to understanding, monitoring, and mitigating climate change.

July 28, 2025 – Ongoing

Air and Space Museum
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

Amazonia

Venture to Amazonia and get up close to the animals that thrive along the Amazon River—the largest river basin in the world.

November 18, 1992 – Permanent

National Zoo
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

Applications Satellites

See how applications satellites have become an integral part of contemporary life.

November 1, 2004 – Permanent

Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
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

Barro Colorado Island 100 Years of Discoveries and Wonder

Celebrate the 100th Birthday of Barro Colorado Island Research Station by immersing yourself in a Panamanian jungle!

November 18, 2022 Through 2025

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Berns Quartz

At seven feet tall and more than 8,000 pounds in weight, the Berns Quartz is among the largest examples of quartz specimens on display in any museum in America.

October 27, 2021 – Indefinitely

Natural History Museum
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

Birds of the District of Columbia

Year-round and seasonal residents, migrants and vagrants—hundreds of bird species—are displayed.

August 24, 1979 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Bone Hall

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

1964 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
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

Cellphone: Unseen Connections

Through authentic artifacts, immersive and digital experiences, and data visualization, Unseen Connections illuminates the world of cell phones.

June 23, 2023 Through 2026

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Claws and Paws Pathway

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

May 27, 2022 – Permanent

National Zoo
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

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

Destination Moon

The gallery shows how an extraordinary combination of things made it possible for humans to walk on the Moon—and how we are going back.

October 14, 2022 – Indefinitely

Air and Space 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

Enid A. Haupt Garden

A 4.2-acre rooftop park, named for its donor, features an embroidered parterre in a geometric design of plants and flowers rotated seasonally.

May 22, 1987 – Permanent

Smithsonian Gardens
My Visit

FossiLab

Watch museum paleontologists and trained volunteers extract fossils from rock and construct fossil casts and molds.

1995 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Great Cats

Some of the top predators on the planet live at the Great Cats exhibit—African lions and Sumatran tigers.

October 1, 1998 – Permanent

National Zoo
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

Insect Zoo, O. Orkin

The Insect Zoo features many species of live insects, a "nursery" room where visitors can peek at insect larvae and pupae.

September 10, 1993 – Permanent

Natural History Museum
My Visit

Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals

This hall features 2,500 minerals and gems, including the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald Brooch, and a sample from the Bennu asteroid.

September 20, 1997 – 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

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