The annual free lights festival twinkles for 36 nights—from Nov. 29 through Jan. 1, 2020 (except Dec. 24, 25 and 31).
Learn More About ZooLightsWhat’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
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Nature by Design: Botanical Expressions
December 7, 2019 – June 14, 2020
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Chiura Obata: American Modern
November 27, 2019 – May 25, 2020
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Dewing's Poetic World
November 27, 2019 – November 2020
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A Perfect Harmony: American Art
November 27, 2019 – Indefinitely
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What Is Feminist Art?
November 26, 2019 – November 29, 2020
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Hokusai: Mad about Painting
November 23, 2019 – November 2020
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Now Showing: Posters from African American Movies
November 22, 2019 – November 1, 2020
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Floral Fashions: From Bouquet to Buttonholes
November 22, 2019 – Permanent
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Heroes: Principles of African Greatness
November 16, 2019 – TBA
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Stretching the Canvas: Eight Decades of Native Painting
November 16, 2019 – Fall 2021
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Nature by Design: Cochineal
November 16, 2019 – January 3, 2020
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Nature by Design: After Icebergs
November 16, 2019 – September 7, 2020
Closing Soon
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Ella's Books: Volumes from the Library of Ella Fitzgerald
January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019
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American Stories
April 12, 2012 – January 1, 2020
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Nature by Design: Cochineal
November 16, 2019 – January 3, 2020
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Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend
August 3, 2017 – January 5, 2020
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Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
March 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020
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Jeffrey Veregge: Of Gods and Heroes
October 6, 2018 – January 5, 2020
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Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination
June 28, 2019 – January 5, 2020
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Michael Sherrill Retrospective
June 28, 2019 – January 5, 2020
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David Best's Temple
March 30, 2018 – January 5, 2020
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Superheroes
November 20, 2018 – January 12, 2020
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Everyday Luxury: Silk Quilts from the National Collection
July 30, 2019 – January 20, 2020
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Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial
May 10, 2019 – January 20, 2020
Kids' Favorites
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The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time
June 8, 2019 – Permanent
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Mega-toothed Shark
May 24, 2019 – Permanent
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Superheroes
November 20, 2018 – January 12, 2020
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The Batmobile
January 12, 2018 – Indefinitely
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Explore! with the National Portrait Gallery
January 28, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
September 24, 2016 – Indefinitely
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Still Life with Spirit and Xitle
August 6, 2016 – Indefinitely
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Wegmans Wonderplace
December 9, 2015 – Indefinitely
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African Elephant
September 4, 2015 – Permanent
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Spark!Lab
July 1, 2015 – Permanent
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Patrick F. Taylor Object Project
July 1, 2015 – Permanent
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Immersion Room
December 12, 2014 – Indefinitely
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Connect with U.S. Stamps
September 22, 2013 – Permanent
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American Trail
September 1, 2012 – Permanent
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As We Grow: Traditions, Toys, Games
August 22, 2012 – Permanent
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Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt
November 17, 2011 – Indefinitely
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Sant Ocean Hall
September 27, 2008 – Permanent
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Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
February 15, 2008 – Permanent
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent
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Human Spaceflight
November 1, 2004 – Permanent
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Our Universes: Traditional Knowledge Shapes Our World
September 21, 2004 – September 2020
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Kids' Farm
June 12, 2004 – Permanent
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America on the Move
November 22, 2003 – Permanent
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Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals
November 15, 2003 – Permanent
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Explore the Universe
September 21, 2001 – Permanent
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Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 1997 – Permanent
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Space Race
May 16, 1997 – Permanent
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How Things Fly
September 20, 1996 – Permanent
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Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
September 10, 1993 – Permanent
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Moving the Mail
July 30, 1993 – Permanent
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Gunboat Philadelphia
July 3, 1965 – Permanent
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The Dolls' House
Opened 1951 – Indefinitely
Featured, Don't Miss
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I Am... Contemporary Women Artists of Africa
June 20, 2019 – July 5, 2020
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Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
March 29, 2019 – Indefinitely
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Ruby Slippers and American Culture Displays
October 19, 2018 – 2020
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Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World
May 18, 2018 – 2021
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Former President Barack Obama by Artist Kehinde Wiley
February 13, 2018 – Indefinitely
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Americans
January 18, 2018 Through 2022
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Mark Bradford: Pickett's Charge
November 8, 2017 – 2021
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America's Presidents
September 22, 2017 – Permanent
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American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
June 28, 2017 – Permanent
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Greensboro Lunch Counter
June 28, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Objects of Wonder
March 10, 2017 – TBD 2021
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Slavery and Freedom
September 24, 2016 – Permanent
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Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent
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Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall
Opened July 1, 2016
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The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire
June 26, 2015 – June 1, 2020
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Experience America
August 14, 2014 – Permanent
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Gems of American Philately
September 22, 2013 – Permanent
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Barbara Kruger: Belief + Doubt
August 20, 2012 – TBA
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The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
November 11, 2004 – Permanent
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World War II Aviation
December 15, 2003 – Permanent
Smithsonian Year of Music
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One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020
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Ella's Books: Volumes from the Library of Ella Fitzgerald
January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019
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America's Listening
October 19, 2018 – Indefinitely
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Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – July 5, 2021
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Sounding American Music
June 21, 2017 – TBD
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Musical Crossroads
September 24, 2016 – Permanent
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Places of Invention
July 1, 2015 – Indefinitely
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Big Band
March 31, 2015 – Indefinitely
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Grand Piano made by Bluthner, Leipzig, Germany, 1900
August 13, 2014 – Indefinitely
American Women's History
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What Is Feminist Art?
November 26, 2019 – November 29, 2020
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Challenging the Face of Science: The Bearded Lady Project
November 14, 2019 – TBA
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One Life: Marian Anderson
June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020
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Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits
June 14, 2019 – May 31, 2020
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Storied Women of the Civil War Era
May 24, 2019 – May 8, 2022
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Portrait of Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff
April 23, 2019 – August 16, 2020
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Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence
March 29, 2019 – January 5, 2020
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All Work and No Pay: A History of Women's Invisible Labor
March 4, 2019 – February 2020
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Ella's Books: Volumes from the Library of Ella Fitzgerald
January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019
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Special Olympics at 50
July 10, 2018 – January 2020
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Former First Lady, Michelle Obama by Artist Amy Sherald
February 13, 2018 – Indefinitely
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The Four Justices
October 28, 2013 – Indefinitely
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The First Ladies
November 19, 2011 – Indefinitely
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The Struggle for Justice
February 12, 2010 – Permanent
Asia Meets America
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My Iran: Six Women Photographers
August 10, 2019 – February 9, 2020
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Chiura Obata: American Modern
November 27, 2019 – May 25, 2020
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Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia
October 14, 2017 – November 29, 2020
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Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – July 5, 2021
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Elephant Trails
September 3, 2010 – Permanent
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Asia Trail
October 17, 2006 – Permanent
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Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Many Voices, One Nation
June 28, 2017 – Permanent
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Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Engaging the Senses: Arts of the Islamic World
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Promise of Paradise: Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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The Beginnings of Buddhism in Japan: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Imperfectly Beautiful: Inventing Japanese Ceramic Style
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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The Power of Words in an Age of Crisis: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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In the Shadow of an Apocalypse: Buddhist Art in Japan
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Rediscovering Korea's Past: Korean Ceramics
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Setting the Bar: Arts of the Song Dynasty
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Center of the World: China and the Silk Road
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Art and Industry: China's Ancient Houma Foundry: Chinese Bronzes
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Afterlife: Ancient Chinese Jades
October 14, 2017 – Indefinitely
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Power in Southeast Asia
October 21, 2017 – TBA
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Forgotten Workers: Chinese Migrants and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
May 10, 2019 – Spring 2020
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The Peacock Room in Blue and White
May 18, 2019 – Indefinitely
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Hokusai: Mad about Painting
November 23, 2019 – November 2020
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Dewing's Poetic World
November 27, 2019 – November 2020
