Smithsonian Folklife Festival
The Festival returns to the National Mall! Join us for performances, craft workshops, kitchen demonstrations, hands-on family activities, and much more.
What’s On
Featured events and exhibitions
As we reopen, we’re putting safety first. Please review our hours and admission information and tips and safety protocols to plan your visit. All Smithsonian museums and the zoo are closed on December 25.
Featured Exhibitions
With over two hundred exhibitions to choose from, we've highlighted select exhibitions from around the Smithsonian—or check out all of our exhibitions.
What's New
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We Belong Here: Marking the 50th Anniversary of Title IX
June 23, 2022 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change
June 22, 2022 – February 20, 2024 American History Museum
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¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States
June 18, 2022 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Designing Peace
June 10, 2022 – September 4, 2023 Cooper Hewitt
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Dave's Dream
May 27, 2022 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Claws and Paws Pathway
May 27, 2022 – Indefinitely National Zoo
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Sam Gilliam: Full Circle
May 25, 2022 – September 11, 2022 Hirshhorn
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Once Upon a Roof: Vanished Korean Architecture
May 21, 2022 – October 30, 2022 Sackler Gallery
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This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022 – April 2, 2023 Renwick Gallery
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Represent: Hip-Hop Photography
May 6, 2022 – September 25, 2022 African American Museum
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Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia's Sacred Mountain
April 30, 2022 – September 18, 2022 Sackler Gallery
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The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today
April 30, 2022 – February 26, 2023 Portrait Gallery
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Baseball: America's Homerun
April 9, 2022 – January 5, 2025 Postal Museum
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Really BIG Money
April 8, 2022 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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One with Eternity: Yayoi Kusama in the Hirshhorn Collection
April 1, 2022 – November 27, 2022 Hirshhorn
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Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue
March 25, 2022 – September 5, 2022 Portrait Gallery
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Underdogs and Antiheroes: Japanese Prints from the Moskowitz Collection
March 19, 2022 – January 29, 2023 Sackler Gallery
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Discovery and Revelation: Religion, Science, and Making Sense of Things
March 18, 2022 – March 1, 2023 American History Museum
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Duro Olowu Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection
March 18, 2022 – August 28, 2022 Cooper Hewitt
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Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe
March 12, 2022 – September 11, 2022 American Indian Museum New York
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Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan
March 5, 2022 – July 24, 2022 Freer Gallery of Art
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The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room
March 5, 2022 – Indefinitely Sackler Gallery
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Iké Udé: Nollywood Portraits
February 5, 2022 – February 28, 2023 African Art Museum
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Sarah and Eleanor Hewitt: Designing a Modern Museum
February 4, 2022 – October 10, 2022 Cooper Hewitt
History and Culture
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Music HerStory: Women and Music of Social Change
June 22, 2022 – February 20, 2024 American History Museum
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Represent: Hip-Hop Photography
May 6, 2022 – September 25, 2022 African American Museum
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Discovery and Revelation: Religion, Science, and Making Sense of Things
March 18, 2022 – March 1, 2023 American History Museum
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Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies
September 24, 2021 – August 21, 2022 African American Museum
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Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
September 10, 2021 – Ongoing African American Museum
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Upending 1620: Where Do We Begin?
August 6, 2021 – July 2022 American History Museum
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¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues: En los barrios y las grandes ligas
July 2, 2021 – Ongoing American History Museum
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Picturing Women Inventors
May 21, 2021 – Ongoing American History Museum
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The Only One in the Room: Women Achievers in Business and the Cost of Success
November 20, 2020 – TBA American History Museum
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The Muppets Take American History
November 12, 2020 – Rotating Selection American History Museum
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Girlhood (It's Complicated)
October 9, 2020 – January 2023 American History Museum
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My Computing Device
August 28, 2019 – Ongoing American History Museum
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75th Anniversary of D-Day
June 6, 2019 – TBD American History Museum
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More Doctors Smoke Camels: A Close Reading of Historical Advertising
April 5, 2019 – TBD American History Museum
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Art in Industry
March 22, 2018 – TBA American History Museum
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American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
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Many Voices, One Nation
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
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Wallace H. Coulter Unity Square
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
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Sounding American Music
June 21, 2017 – TBD American History Museum
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Giving in America
November 29, 2016 – Permanent American History Museum
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Slavery and Freedom
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-1968
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Power of Place
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Making a Way Out of No Way
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Cultural Expressions
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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A Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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American Enterprise
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
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The Value of Money
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
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Patrick F. Taylor Object Project
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
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Nation to Nation: Treaties between the United States and American Indian Nations
September 21, 2014 – January 25, 2025 American Indian Museum
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As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Permanent American Indian Museum
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On the Water: Stories from Maritime America
May 22, 2009 – Permanent American History Museum
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The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem
November 21, 2008 – Permanent American History Museum
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Landmark Objects
November 21, 2008 – Permanent American History Museum
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The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
November 11, 2004 – Permanent American History Museum
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Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World
September 21, 2004 – Spring 2022 American Indian Museum
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Window on Collections
September 21, 2004 – Permanent American Indian Museum
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America on the Move
November 22, 2003 – Permanent American History Museum
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Within These Walls
May 16, 2001 – Permanent American History Museum
Science and Nature
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The Electric Dr. Franklin
November 20, 2021 – TBA American History Museum
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Unforgettable Behavior: Wildlife Photographer of the Year
November 3, 2021 – September 2022 Natural History Museum
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Genome: Unlocking Life's Code
October 21, 2021 – Summer 2022 Natural History Museum
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Critical Distance
September 29, 2021 – Summer 2022 Natural History Museum
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Documenting Diversity: How Anthropologists Record Human Life
June 18, 2021 – October 18, 2022 Natural History Museum
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Unsettled Nature: Artists Reflect on the Age of Humans
June 18, 2021 – March 2022 Natural History Museum
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The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time
June 8, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Mega-toothed Shark
May 24, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Celebrate Smokey: 75 Years of Fighting Wildfires
May 23, 2019 – TBD National Zoo
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Sea Monsters Unearthed, Life in Angola's Ancient Seas
November 9, 2018 – TBA Natural History Museum
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Naked Mole-Rats on the Move
September 1, 2018 – Permanent National Zoo
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Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World
May 18, 2018 – October 2022 Natural History Museum
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Electric Fishes Demonstration Lab
October 6, 2017 – Permanent National Zoo
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Objects of Wonder
March 10, 2017 – Closing in 2025 Natural History Museum
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African Elephant
September 4, 2015 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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American Bison
August 30, 2014 – Permanent National Zoo
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Elephant Trails
September 3, 2010 – Permanent National Zoo
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The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human?
March 17, 2010 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Sant Ocean Hall
September 27, 2008 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
Natural History Museum
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
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Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals
November 15, 2003 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Great Cats
October 1, 1998 – Permanent National Zoo
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Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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FossiLab
1995 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Reptile Discovery Center
May 1, 1994 – Permanent National Zoo
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Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
September 10, 1993 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Amazonia
November 18, 1992 – Permanent National Zoo
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Cheetah Conservation Station
August 19, 1992 – Permanent National Zoo
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Small Mammal House
April 1, 1983 – Permanent National Zoo
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Primates
April 15, 1981 – Permanent National Zoo
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Lighting a Revolution
October 9, 1979 – Permanent American History Museum
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Birds of the District of Columbia
August 24, 1979 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Bone Hall
1964 – Permanent Natural History Museum
Don't Miss
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Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World
May 18, 2018 – October 2022 Natural History Museum
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Americans
January 18, 2018 – Indefinitely American Indian Museum
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America's Presidents
September 22, 2017 – Permanent Portrait Gallery
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American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
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Greensboro Lunch Counter
June 28, 2017 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Slavery and Freedom
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
September 24, 2016 – Indefinitely African American Museum
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Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
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Places of Invention
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
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The Star-Spangled Banner: The Flag that Inspired the National Anthem
November 21, 2008 – Permanent American History Museum
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Sant Ocean Hall
September 27, 2008 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
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Luce Foundation Center for American Art
July 1, 2006 – Permanent American Art Museum
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World War II Aviation
December 15, 2003 – Permanent Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
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Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent Natural History Museum
Asia Meets America
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Elephant Trails
September 3, 2010 – Permanent National Zoo
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
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Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Sackler Gallery
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Many Voices, One Nation
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
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Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Engaging the Senses: Arts of the Islamic World
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Promise of Paradise: Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Rediscovering Korea's Past: Korean Ceramics
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song Dynasty
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Center of the World: China and the Silk Road
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Art and Industry: China's Ancient Houma Foundry: Chinese Bronzes
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
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Dewing's Poetic World
November 27, 2019 – Indefintely Freer Gallery of Art
Closing Soon
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FUTURES
November 20, 2021 – July 6, 2022 Arts and Industries Building
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Falcons: The Art of the Hunt
January 15, 2022 – July 17, 2022 Freer Gallery of Art
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Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan
March 5, 2022 – July 24, 2022 Freer Gallery of Art
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Sophia Crownfield: Drawn from Nature
February 4, 2022 – July 31, 2022 Cooper Hewitt
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Laurie Anderson: The Weather
September 24, 2021 – August 7, 2022 Hirshhorn
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Make Good the Promises: Reconstruction and Its Legacies
September 24, 2021 – August 21, 2022 African American Museum
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Duro Olowu Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection
March 18, 2022 – August 28, 2022 Cooper Hewitt
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Watergate: Portraiture and Intrigue
March 25, 2022 – September 5, 2022 Portrait Gallery
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Dakota Modern: The Art of Oscar Howe
March 12, 2022 – September 11, 2022 American Indian Museum New York
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Sam Gilliam: Full Circle
May 25, 2022 – September 11, 2022 Hirshhorn
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Food for the People: Eating and Activism in Greater Washington
April 17, 2021 – September 17, 2022 Anacostia Community Museum
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Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia's Sacred Mountain
April 30, 2022 – September 18, 2022 Sackler Gallery
Kids' Favorites
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Really BIG Money
April 8, 2022 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Girlhood (It's Complicated)
October 9, 2020 – January 2023 American History Museum
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The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time
June 8, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Mega-toothed Shark
May 24, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
September 24, 2016 – Indefinitely African American Museum
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African Elephant
September 4, 2015 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Spark!Lab
July 1, 2015 – Indefinitely American History Museum
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Patrick F. Taylor Object Project
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
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American Trail
September 1, 2012 – Permanent National Zoo
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As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Permanent American Indian Museum
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Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt
November 17, 2011 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Sant Ocean Hall
September 27, 2008 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
Natural History Museum
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
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Airmail in America
February 22, 2006 – Permanent Postal Museum
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Human Spaceflight
November 1, 2004 – Permanent Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
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Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World
September 21, 2004 – Spring 2022 American Indian Museum
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Kids' Farm
June 12, 2004 – Permanent National Zoo
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America on the Move
November 22, 2003 – Permanent American History Museum
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Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals
November 15, 2003 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
September 10, 1993 – Permanent Natural History Museum
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Moving the Mail
July 30, 1993 – Permanent Postal Museum
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The Dolls' House
Opened 1951 – Indefinitely American History Museum
Gardens and Outdoor Exhibitions
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Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom
October 15, 2021 Extended through summer 2022 Hirshhorn
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Nicolas Party: Draw the Curtain
September 18, 2021 – Summer 2022 Hirshhorn
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Food for the People: Eating and Activism in Greater Washington
April 17, 2021 – September 17, 2022 Anacostia Community Museum
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Habitat
May 10, 2019 – December 2021 Smithsonian Gardens
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Common Ground: Our American Garden
June 28, 2017 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Urban Bird Habitat Garden
July 25, 2012 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Native American Landscape
September 21, 2004 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Victory Garden
Spring 2001 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Kathrine Dulin Folger Rose Garden
October 7, 1998 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Pollinator Garden
June 30, 1995 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Mary Livingston Ripley Garden
May 25, 1988 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Enid A. Haupt Garden
May 22, 1987 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
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Sculpture Garden
October 4, 1974 – Indefinitely Hirshhorn
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Freer Gallery of Art: Courtyard Garden
May 9, 1923 – Permanent Smithsonian Gardens
