Join us in celebrating our nation's rich cultural heritage and history with vibrant performances, lectures, and family activities in honor of federally recognized heritage and history months.
Learn More About History and Heritage Month EventsWhat’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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Celebrate Smokey: 75 Years of Fighting Wildfires
Opened May 23, 2019
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Whistler in Watercolor
Opened May 18, 2019
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The Peacock Room in Blue and White
Opened May 18, 2019
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Rirkrit Tiravanija: Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Green
Opened May 17, 2019
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In Memoriam: I. M. Pei
Opened May 17, 2019
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Forgotten Workers: Chinese Migrants and the Building of the Transcontinental Railroad
Opened May 10, 2019
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Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial
Opened May 10, 2019
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Habitat
Opened May 10, 2019
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Ancestral Connections
Opened May 4, 2019
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In Mid-Sentence
Opened May 3, 2019
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Portrait of Julie Packard by Hope Gangloff
Opened April 23, 2019
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Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths
Opened April 17, 2019
Closing Soon
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Gen. John J. Pershing and World War I, 1917-1918
Closes May 27, 2019
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Moustiers Ceramics: Gifts from the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Collection
Closes May 27, 2019
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Postmen of the Skies
Closes May 27, 2019
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Daguerreotypes: Five Decades of Collecting
Closes June 2, 2019
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Rebeca Méndez Selects
Closes June 16, 2019
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In Memoriam: I. M. Pei
Closes June 16, 2019
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Empresses of China's Forbidden City, 1644-1912
Closes June 23, 2019
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Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture
Closes June 30, 2019
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John Lennon: The Green Album
Closes July 7, 2019
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The American Revolution: A World War
Closes July 9, 2019
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Beautiful Blooms: Flowering Plants on Stamps
Closes July 14, 2019
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Rirkrit Tiravanija: Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow, and Green
Closes July 24, 2019
Kids' Favorites
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Superheroes
November 20, 2018 – September 2, 2019
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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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Pumpkin
December 10, 2016 – 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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The Last American Dinosaurs: Discovering a Lost World
November 25, 2014 – October 2019
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Connect with U.S. Stamps
September 22, 2013 – Permanent
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Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There
April 12, 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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American Stories
April 12, 2012 – January 2020
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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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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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Taking America to Lunch
April 13, 2004 – Indefinitely
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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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The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden
November 15, 2000 – Permanent
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Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals
September 20, 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
Featured, Don't Miss
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23rd Annual Nature's Best Photography: Windland Smith Rice International Awards
October 29, 2018 – September 2019
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Good as Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women
October 24, 2018 – September 29, 2019
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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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Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts
November 4, 2017 – Permanent
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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
July 1, 2016 – Permanent
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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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Behind the Badge
June 27, 2014 – Indefinitely
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Gems of American Philately
September 22, 2013 – Permanent
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The Price of Freedom: Americans at War
November 11, 2004 – Permanent
Smithsonian Year of Music
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T.C. Cannon: At the Edge of America
April 6, 2019 – September 16, 2019
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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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John Lennon: The Green Album
September 7, 2018 – July 7, 2019
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Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – mid-2020
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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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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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Tiffany Chung: Vietnam, Past is Prologue
March 15, 2019 – September 2, 2019
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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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Portraits of the World: Korea
December 14, 2018 – November 17, 2019
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The Case of Luisa Moreno
July 20, 2018 – Spring 2019
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Special Olympics at 50
July 10, 2018 – January 2020
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Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture
June 8, 2018 – June 30, 2019
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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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In Memoriam: I. M. Pei
May 17, 2019 – June 16, 2019
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Empresses of China's Forbidden City, 1644-1912
March 30, 2019 – June 23, 2019
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Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975
March 15, 2019 – August 18, 2019
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Tiffany Chung: Vietnam, Past is Prologue
March 15, 2019 – September 2, 2019
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Portraits of the World: Korea
December 14, 2018 – November 17, 2019
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Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia
October 14, 2017 – November 29, 2020
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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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Righting a Wrong: Japanese Americans and World War II
February 17, 2017 – TBD
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Objects of Wonder
March 10, 2017 – TBD 2021
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Tracing American Journeys
May 12, 2017 – TBD
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Resound: Bells of Ancient China
October 14, 2017 – mid-2020
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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
