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New & Upcoming Exhibitions
Exhibitions
New: The Sant Ocean Hall Focus Gallery: Deeper Than Light
Upcoming: February 20, 2010 - May 23, 2010
In 2004, curiosity drove a team of scientists on the Norwegian research vessel G.O. Sars to study the vast, unexplored depths of the north Atlantic Ocean to learn about the creatures that live there and answer the following questions: How do they survive? How do they interact? How can we protect them? This exhibition retraces this team of scientists' journey into this relatively undiscovered world using art, images, models, and multimedia.

This traveling exhibition is on loan from the Bergen Museum, University of Bergen, Norway.

New: Nature's Best 2009 Photography Awards: Windland Smith Rice International Awards
November 12, 2009 - May 2, 2010
On view are winners in 19 categories from the 2009 Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards, including the Grand Prize, Conservation Photographer of the Year, Youth Photographer of the Year, and selected Highly Honored images. The annual awards honor the best amateur and professional nature photographers from around the world.

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/natures_best_2009/

New: Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution
September 12, 2009 - July 18, 2010
This exhibition reveals the significant role Darwin's theories have played in explaining and unifying all the biological sciences. Specimens from the museum's diverse collections, along with documentation from its ongoing research, illustrate the importance of evolution as a scientific foundation and how our knowledge of evolution has evolved over the last 150 years. Included in the exhibition is Darwin's groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species, first published November 1859.

Celebrates the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of On the Origin of Species.

See February 2009 Smithsonian magazine, pp. 40-48 and 50-54.

See also related exhibition Cases: Darwin's Legacy

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/darwin/

New: Cases: Darwin's Legacy
September 10, 2009 - September 12, 2010
Charles Darwin served as an unpaid naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle during a scientific expedition around South America and the Galapagos Islands from 1831 to 1836. The studies he performed and the specimens he collected during that voyage served as the basis of his theory of evolution by natural selection, which he expounded in his groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species. These two cases -- on the east and west sides of the lobby -- feature objects and books related to that voyage to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth.

Highlights include:
Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships 'Adventure' and 'Beagle' between the years 1826 and 1836 (4 volumes)
• Beautifully illustrated volumes from the Zoology of the H.M.S. Beagle, edited by Charles Darwin and published 1838-1843
• Galapagos land iguana and mockingbird specimens from the museum's collections
• Charles Darwin's silk neckerchief
• Portrait of Charles Darwin

See also related exhibition Since Darwin: The Evolution of Evolution.

New: Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake
February 7, 2009 - January 6, 2013
This exhibition features archaeological discoveries that reveal the historic importance of Jamestown and its contribution to the American way of life. The exhibition addresses such subjects as life and death in the colonies, activity and physical labor, health and disease, dietary resources, internal strife, and inter-population relationships and includes the stories of all peoples affected by the colonization of North America -- Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans -- and their role in the formation and function of the first permanent settlements and capitals of Maryland and Virginia.

web Web: anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone

African Elephant
- Permanent
The museum's 8-ton, 14-foot-tall African elephant is in a setting that re-creates the Angolan bush. Important ideas in botany, entomology, mineral sciences, and zoology, as well as information on the ancestors of modern-day elephants and the elephants' importance in African cultures, are discussed.
African Voices
- Permanent
This exhibition examines the diversity, dynamism, and global influence of Africa's peoples and cultures over time in the realms of family, work, community, and the natural environment. Included are historical and contemporary objects from the museum's collections, as well as commissioned sculptures, textiles, and pottery. Video interactives and sound stations provide selections from contemporary interviews, literature, proverbs, prayers, folk tales, songs, and oral epics.

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices

Birds of the District of Columbia
- Indefinitely
Year-round and seasonal residents, migrants and vagrants--hundreds of bird species--are displayed. They all live in the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Allegheny Mountains. Learn where and when to look for a snowy owl or ruffed grouse, warbling vireo or orange-crowned warbler, chickadee or indigo bunting.
Blast from the Past (case)
- Indefinitely
This showcase features a 11.5-meter tubular core sample that shows physical and biological effects of Earth's collision with a giant asteroid 65 million years ago, which resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. The sample, taken from 130 meters below the ocean floor east of St. Augustine, Florida, contains the best preserved Cretaceous/Tertiary sequence yet recovered. The exhibition highlights the work of Smithsonian micropaleontologist Brian Huber, who interprets past climate change by studying tiny marine fossils.

web Web: paleobiology.si.edu/blastPast/

Dinosaurs: Reptiles: Masters of Land
- Permanent
All of the old favorites are on view in the exhibition hall, including the gigantic 90-foot-long Diplodocus, horned Triceratops, and the Stegosaurus model. Other attractions include Quetzalcoatlus, a huge toothless pterosaur with a 40-foot wingspan, posed in flight; a nest of dinosaur eggs; and the meat-eating Allosaurus -- 8 feet tall and 20 feet long -- challenging newly re-mounted Stegosaurus.
Fossil Mammals: Mammals in the Limelight
- Permanent
This exhibition focuses on the spectacular evolution of mammals as the dominant class of vertebrates following the extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago.
Fossil Plants and Animals: The Conquest of Land
- Permanent
This exhibition focuses on the earliest plants and animals to evolve the complex adaptations needed to live on land. In an animated video, evoking television coverage of the first lunar landing, characters Frank Anchorfish and Arthur Pod explain the characteristics plants and animals needed to pioneer the harsh, dry terrestrial environment. Just beyond an arbor formed by a diorama of the first forests are still more fossils: specimens of a 16-foot fossil of an early tree, Callixyon; other fossil trees and smaller plants from the ancient coal forests of North America.
Garden: Butterfly Habitat Garden (outside, seasonal)
- Permanent
The Garden has signs that identify four habitats: wetland, meadow, wood's edge, and urban backyard. The signage discusses the connections between plants and butterflies and explains butterfly behaviors. As many as 30 species of butterflies may be attracted to the native plants in the Garden. The Garden is a joint project of the Horticultural Services Division and NMNH, with partial funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

web Web: www.nmnh.si.edu/VirtualTour/Tour/Second/Butterfly

Geology, Gems, and Minerals, Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of
- Permanent
This hall features 2,500 minerals and gems, including the Hope Diamond, Hooker Emerald Brooch, and Star of Asia sapphire. It also explores the birth and evolution of the solar system and the earth's changing surface through computer interactives and video presentations

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/earth

Insect Zoo, O. Orkin
- Permanent
The Insect Zoo focuses on insects and their relationships with plants, animals, and humans. The exhibition contains a section about the evolution of insects and showcases live insects and their environments, including:

• The Termites' Turf
• Water-loving Bugs
• Familiar Insects
• The Bee Hive
• Desert Dwellers
• Rain Forests--Home to Millions

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/education/exhibitions/insectzoo/

Life in the Ancient Seas
- Permanent
Fantastic marine fossils tell the story of evolution and extinction in the seas in three acts: the Paleozoic Era (540 to 250 million years ago), when odd prehistoric creatures such as trilobites abounded; the Mesozoic Era (250 to 65 million years ago), when marine reptiles such as mososaurs appeared; and the Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to today), when the numbers and kinds of shelled animals increased, and when the primitive whale took to the seas.
Mammals, Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of
- Permanent
This hall showcases some 274 mammals and explores their diversity and how they originated and adapted to changing landscapes and environments over the last 225 million years -- from polar to desert regions and from dry to humid environments. The exhibition addresses such questions as: What is a mammal? Why do some mammals live in groups while others live alone? How many kinds of mammals are there and what are their habitat preferences? How are mammals related? How and why do scientists study mammals? The exhibition also shares information about the unusual -- the oddest specimens (including egg-laying mammals), the rarest specimens (an okapi from Africa), and the oldest known mammal (Morganucadon) from 210 million years ago.

web Web: www.mnh.si.edu/mammals

Osteology: Hall of Bones
- Permanent
Hundreds of skeletons of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes -- ranging from the gigantic extinct Steller sea cow to the tiny pocket mouse -- are shown in characteristic poses and grouped by order to illustrate their relationships. Exhibits show how bone structures evolved in adaptation to environment.
Reptiles
- Permanent
Life-size displays illustrate the eating habits, defenses, and locomotion of a variety of snakes and amphibians. Reptiles on view include a preserved king cobra, reticulated python, and boa constrictors from the Malayan and Amazonian jungles; sea turtles; crocodiles; and lizards.
Western Cultures Hall: Origins of Western Culture
- Permanent
The institutions, traditions and ideals of North American cultures are deeply rooted in those of western Asia, northern Africa, and Europe. This hall explores some examples from various cultures in the western world including northern Iraq, ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome and the recent discovery of the Iceman, a Copper Age mummy found in an Italian glacier.

Last update: January 29, 2010, 13:24

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