Join us in celebrating our nation's rich cultural heritage with vibrant performances, lectures, and family activities.
Learn More About African American History MonthWhat’s On
Featured events and exhibitions
With over two hundred exhibitions to choose from, we've highlighted select exhibitions—or see them all. Looking for tours, lectures, films, performances? See our Event Calendar.
Just Opened
-
John Singer Sargent: Charcoal Drawings
February 28, 2020 – May 31, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Contemporary Muslim Fashions
February 28, 2020 – August 23, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
Uncle Tom's Cabin: Early and Notable Editions
February 28, 2020 – May 6, 2021 African American Museum
-
Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
February 21, 2020 – May 17, 2020 Renwick Gallery
-
In Memoriam: Kobe Bryant
January 27, 2020 – March 2, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Age Old Cities: A Virtual Journey from Palmyra to Mosul
January 25, 2020 – October 25, 2020 Sackler Gallery
-
Beauty Rich and Rare
January 9, 2020 – July 5, 2020 Natural History Museum
-
Portraits of the World: Denmark
December 13, 2019 – October 12, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
We Return Fighting: The African American Experience in World War I
December 13, 2019 – June 14, 2020 African American Museum
-
Nature by Design: Botanical Expressions
December 7, 2019 – January 10, 2021 Cooper Hewitt
-
Chiura Obata: American Modern
November 27, 2019 – May 25, 2020 American Art Museum
-
Dewing's Poetic World
November 27, 2019 – November 2020 Freer Gallery of Art
Closing Soon
-
In Memoriam: Kobe Bryant
January 27, 2020 – March 2, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Wyss Institute Selects
July 12, 2019 – March 8, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece
September 21, 2019 – March 22, 2020 Sackler Gallery
-
In Mid-Sentence
May 3, 2019 – March 29, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Herbert Bayer: Bauhaus Master
November 16, 2019 – April 5, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
Manifesto: Art x Agency
June 15, 2019 – April 6, 2020 Hirshhorn
-
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists
October 11, 2019 – April 12, 2020 American Art Museum
-
A Right to the City
April 21, 2018 – April 20, 2020 Anacostia Community Museum
-
Nature by Design: After Icebergs
November 16, 2019 – April 27, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
Nature by Design: Bathing Beautiful
June 8, 2019 – May 3, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
Nature by Design: Plastics
June 8, 2019 – May 3, 2020 Cooper Hewitt
-
One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020 Portrait Gallery
Kids' Favorites
-
The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time
June 8, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Mega-toothed Shark
May 24, 2019 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
The Batmobile
January 12, 2018 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
Explore! with the National Portrait Gallery
January 28, 2017 – Indefinitely Portrait Gallery
-
Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
September 24, 2016 – Indefinitely African American Museum
-
Still Life with Spirit and Xitle
August 6, 2016 – Indefinitely Hirshhorn
-
Wegmans Wonderplace
December 9, 2015 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
African Elephant
September 4, 2015 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Spark!Lab
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
-
Patrick F. Taylor Object Project
July 1, 2015 – Permanent American History Museum
-
Immersion Room
December 12, 2014 – Indefinitely Cooper Hewitt
-
Connect with U.S. Stamps
September 22, 2013 – Permanent Postal Museum
-
American Trail
September 1, 2012 – Permanent National Zoo
-
As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Permanent American Indian Museum
-
Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt
November 17, 2011 – Indefinitely Natural History Museum
-
Sant Ocean Hall
September 27, 2008 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
February 15, 2008 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
-
Airmail in America
February 22, 2006 – Permanent Postal Museum
-
Human Spaceflight
November 1, 2004 – Permanent Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
-
Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World
September 21, 2004 – September 2020 American Indian Museum
-
Kids' Farm
June 12, 2004 – Permanent National Zoo
-
America on the Move
November 22, 2003 – Permanent American History Museum
-
Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals
November 15, 2003 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Explore the Universe
September 21, 2001 – Permanent Air and Space Museum
-
Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Space Race
May 16, 1997 – Permanent Air and Space Museum
-
How Things Fly
September 20, 1996 – Permanent Air and Space Museum
-
Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
September 10, 1993 – Permanent Natural History Museum
-
Moving the Mail
July 30, 1993 – Permanent Postal Museum
-
Gunboat Philadelphia
July 3, 1965 – Permanent American History Museum
-
The Dolls' House
Opened 1951 – Indefinitely American History Museum
Featured, Don't Miss
-
I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa
June 20, 2019 – July 5, 2020 African Art Museum
-
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
March 29, 2019 – Indefinitely Renwick Gallery
-
Ruby Slippers and American Culture Displays
October 19, 2018 – 2020 American History Museum
-
Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World
May 18, 2018 – Fall 2021 Natural History Museum
-
Former President Barack Obama by Artist Kehinde Wiley
February 13, 2018 – mid-May 2021 Portrait Gallery
-
Americans
January 18, 2018 Through 2022 American Indian Museum
-
Mark Bradford: Pickett's Charge
November 8, 2017 – 2021 Hirshhorn
-
America's Presidents
September 22, 2017 – Permanent Portrait Gallery
-
American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
-
Greensboro Lunch Counter
June 28, 2017 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
Objects of Wonder
March 10, 2017 – TBD 2021 Natural History Museum
-
Slavery and Freedom
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
-
Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
-
Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall
Air and Space Museum
-
The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire
June 26, 2015 – June 1, 2020 American Indian Museum
-
Experience America
August 14, 2014 – Permanent American Art Museum
-
Gems of American Philately
September 22, 2013 – Permanent Postal Museum
-
Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt
August 20, 2012 – TBA Hirshhorn
-
The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
November 11, 2004 – Permanent American History Museum
-
World War II Aviation
December 15, 2003 – Permanent Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center
American Women's History
-
Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists
February 21, 2020 – May 17, 2020 Renwick Gallery
-
What Is Feminist Art?
November 26, 2019 – November 29, 2020 Archives of American Art
-
Challenging the Face of Science: The Bearded Lady Project
November 14, 2019 – April 2020 Natural History Museum
-
One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits
June 14, 2019 – May 31, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
Storied Women of the Civil War Era
May 24, 2019 – May 8, 2022 Portrait Gallery
-
All Work and No Pay: A History of Women's Invisible Labor
March 4, 2019 – February 2020 American History Museum
-
Special Olympics at 50
July 10, 2018 – January 2020 American History Museum
-
Former First Lady, Michelle Obama by Artist Amy Sherald
February 13, 2018 – mid-May 2021 Portrait Gallery
-
The Four Justices
October 28, 2013 – Indefinitely Portrait Gallery
-
The First Ladies
November 19, 2011 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
The Struggle for Justice
February 12, 2010 – Permanent Portrait Gallery
Smithsonian Music
-
One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020 Portrait Gallery
-
America's Listening
October 19, 2018 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – July 5, 2021 Sackler Gallery
-
Sounding American Music
June 21, 2017 – TBD American History Museum
-
Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent African American Museum
-
Places of Invention
July 1, 2015 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
Big Band
March 31, 2015 – Indefinitely American History Museum
-
Grand Piano made by Bluthner, Leipzig, Germany, 1900
August 13, 2014 – Indefinitely American History Museum
Asia Meets America
-
Chiura Obata: American Modern
November 27, 2019 – May 25, 2020 American Art Museum
-
Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia
October 14, 2017 – November 29, 2020 Sackler Gallery
-
Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – July 5, 2021 Sackler Gallery
-
Elephant Trails
September 3, 2010 – Permanent National Zoo
-
Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent National Zoo
-
Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Sackler Gallery
-
Many Voices, One Nation
June 28, 2017 – Permanent American History Museum
-
Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Engaging the Senses: Arts of the Islamic World
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Promise of Paradise: Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
The Beginnings of Buddhism in Japan: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Imperfectly Beautiful: Inventing Japanese Ceramic Style
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
The Power of Words in an Age of Crisis: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
In the Shadow of an Apocalypse: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Rediscovering Korea's Past: Korean Ceramics
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song Dynasty
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Center of the World: China and the Silk Road
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Art and Industry: China's Ancient Houma Foundry: Chinese Bronzes
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Power in Southeast Asia
October 21, 2017 – TBA Sackler Gallery
-
Forgotten Workers: Chinese Migrants and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
May 10, 2019 – Spring 2020 American History Museum
-
The Peacock Room in Blue and White
May 18, 2019 – Indefinitely Freer Gallery of Art
-
Hokusai: Mad about Painting
November 23, 2019 – November 2020 Freer Gallery of Art
-
Dewing's Poetic World
November 27, 2019 – November 2020 Freer Gallery of Art
