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Upcoming: September 27, 2008 - New Permanent
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Covering 71% of the Earth's surface and containing 97% of the planet's water, the ocean is a vast and complex ecosystem; it is intrinsically connected to other global ecosystems and is essential to all life, including our own. In this new hall, the importance and complexity of the ocean is revealed through a cross-disciplinary perspective -- biological, geological, and anthropological. Information on understanding and predicting changes to the Earth's environment and on how to conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation's economic, social, and environmental needs is also highlighted. Highlights include a life-size model of a 45-foot North Atlantic right whale, based on the real female whale named Phoenix, the centerpiece of the exhibition; two giant squids; a set of 7-foot-tall jaws of the extinct great white shark (Carcharodon megalodon), the biggest shark that ever lived; and a 26-foot long Northwest Coast canoe, carved especially for the exhibition by a Tlingit master carver.
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New: Dig It! The Secrets of Soil
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July 19, 2008 - January 3, 2010
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Through dioramas; cultural artifacts; and soil cross-sections from each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, this exhibition introduces the study of soil science and demonstrates the vital role soil plays in sustaining human welfare, assuring future agricultural productivity, and environmental sustainability. Hands-On Interactive Components Theater: 10-minute detective story about soil (runs continuously) See August 2008 Smithsonian magazine, p. 30 Related publication: $40 (cloth)
Web: forces.si.edu/soils
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New: Butterflies + Plants: Partners in Evolution
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February 15, 2008 - New Permanent
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This exhibition shows how butterflies have evolved, adapted, and diversified with their plant partners over millions of years. Housed within this exhibition is a special Butterfly Pavilion, which looks like a cocoon, where visitors can walk among hundreds of live butterflies and pesticide-free plants to observe butterfly behaviors ranging from flying and sipping nectar at flowers to roosting and emerging from chrysalides. These butterflies will hatch from pupae raised on farms in Africa, Asia, and North and South America.
Note: To maintain an environment conducive for butterflies, the temperature inside the Pavilion will be 80-85 degrees with high humidity.Butterfly Pavilion Ticketing:
To cover operating costs and for crowd control, timed tickets for admission will be required daily. Timed tickets for entry on Tuesdays are free; see below for details.
• Butterfly Pavilion Summer Hours: Through Sun., Aug. 10:
First timed ticket entry at 10:15 AM; last timed ticket at 7 PM, except when the museum closes at 5:30 PM, last entry at 5 PM. • Butterfly Pavilion Regular Hours: Starting Mon., Aug. 11:
First timed ticket entry at 10:15 AM; last timed ticket at 5 PM. On heavy visitation days, line forms within the exhibition.
• Free Tuesdays:
Free, timed, same-day tickets required for individuals and groups and are distributed beginning at 10 AM on the day of visit only at the special Box Office within the exhibition. There is no limit to the number of tickets requested, but only 40 tickets are distributed for each 15-minute time slot. There must be one adult for every 10 children or students. • Individual tickets available as follows:
-- $6.00 Adults
-- $5.00 Youths (ages 2-12)
-- $5.50 Seniors (60+)
-- $5.00 Members: National, Resident, Contributing, Air and Space/Society members "in person" with valid membership card (limit 4 tickets per person)
-- $5.00 Add-an-IMAX Show (when purchasing a Butterfly ticket at full price) • Group tickets available by phone only: 202-633-4629 (IMAX) or 1-877-932-4629 (IMAX) (toll-free) (10 AM-5 PM)
-- $5.00 Groups of 10 or more, no complimentary tickets
-- $4.50 Groups of 10 or more with advance reservations (1 complimentary ticket allowed per 20 paid)
• Payment Options:
Cash, personal checks with proper I.D., travelers checks, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card, JCB, and VISA. • Ticket Sales (Same Day and Advance):
Tickets can be purchased same day and up to 2 weeks in advance (except Tuesdays, see above) as follows:
-- In Person: At any Smithsonian IMAX Box Office and special Box Office within the exhibition
-- By Phone: Call 202-633-4629 (IMAX) or 1-877-932-4629 (IMAX) (toll-free) (10 AM-5 PM). A small handling fee applies.
-- By Web: At butterflies.si.edu/tickets. A small handling fee applies
• Pickup of Pre-Paid Tickets at Box Office:
Note: No tickets will be mailed, but can be picked up as follows:
-- Pre-paid tickets (same day or advance) for individuals or groups can be picked up at any Smithsonian IMAX Box Office or special Box Office within the exhibition
See Smithsonian magazine, Dec. 2007, "From the Secretary" (p. 28) and Feb. 2006 (p. 10) Photography permitted
Wheelchairs permitted in Pavilion, but no strollers allowed
Web: www.butterflies.si.edu
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June 8, 2007 - Indefinitely
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To celebrate the country's distinctive art, culture, and 2,000-year history, on view are some 85 objects, including Korean ceramics, wooden furniture, stone and wooden sculptures, paintings, and textiles.
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- Permanent
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The museum's 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.
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- Permanent
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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: www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices
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Birds of the District of Columbia
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- Indefinitely
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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.
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Dinosaurs: Reptiles: Masters of Land
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- Permanent
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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.
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Fossil Mammals: Mammals in the Limelight
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- Permanent
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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.
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Fossil Plants and Animals: The Conquest of Land
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- Permanent
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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.
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- Permanent
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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.
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- Permanent
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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.
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- Permanent
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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.
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Western Cultures Hall: Origins of Western Culture
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- Permanent
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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.
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Last update: August 4, 2008, 13:38
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