National Museum of Natural History

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
(7:30 p.m. during extended hours)
Closed December 25
Admission is free
About
The world's most popular natural history museum is dedicated to understanding the natural world and our place in it. Delve into the fascinating story of our planet, from its fiery beginnings through billions of years of transformation, and explore life on Earth through exhibitions and activities, collection objects and research that happens in the lab and in the field. The museum is larger than 18 football fields and is home to the largest natural history collection in the world.
Highlights
Q?rius, where teens, tweens and their families connect science with everyday experiences; Q?rius jr, a discovery room for families with young children; Hall of Human Origins; The Last American Dinosaurs; mammals; Ocean Hall; the Hope Diamond; Egyptian mummies; Daily tarantula feedings in the O. Orkin Insect Zoo; Butterfly Pavilion ($).
Getting Here
Parking is limited to street parking and commercial lots and garages. See map.
Metro Station: Smithsonian (Mall exit) or Federal Triangle
-
The Garden Lounge
-
22nd Annual Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards
-
Dazzling Diversity
-
Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend
-
Objects of Wonder
-
Turtle Ocean
-
Life in One Cubic Foot
-
African Elephant
-
The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World
-
FossiLab
-
Mud Masons of Mali
-
Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt
-
The David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human?
-
The Sant Ocean Hall
-
Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
-
Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals
-
African Voices
-
Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
-
Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
-
Birds of the District of Columbia
-
Osteology: Hall of Bones