Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

10/14/2026

Don't @ us. We're celebrating by asking ichnologist and invertebrate paleontologist Kat Turk to rank some of the most iconic fossils in our Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Deep Time Fossil Hall.

🐢 Protostega gigas
🌿 likely from the buttercup family Ranunculales
🐟 Xiphactinus audax (plus Thryptodus zitteli)
🦷 Smilodon fatalis
🦖 Tyrannosaurus rex

Tell us your ranking! 👇

10/08/2026

The weather in Washington may be getting cool but the exciting events at the museum are heating up. This October and November, museum visitors of all ages can learn about everything from bison to tuna, ancient proteins to changing coastlines. Click here to learn more:

Learn about the history of humans’ taste for tuna, Yellowstone’s iconic bison and much more at the museum this October and November

10/07/2026

Although it is the official flying mammal of both Oklahoma and Texas, the Mexican (or Brazilian) free-tailed bat is one of the most abundant mammals in North America. It can be found across the southern part of the United States from Florida to California. These small bats are about 3.5 inches (9 cm) long including their tails, which account for about half their length. During the day, they roost in large numbers in caves and under bridges. At night, their large, wide, round ears help them find insect prey via echolocation. Each summer, more than a million bats emerge from Oklahoma’s four known maternity caves at dusk for their nightly feast.

This specimen was collected in 1955 from Major County, Oklahoma.

10/05/2026

Before the 1980s, all freshwater pearls from the United States were natural, but thanks to the efforts of John (1925–2000) and Chessy Latendresse (b. 1943), who started the first freshwater pearl farm in the country, the art of culturing freshwater pearls is alive in Tennessee.

Some freshwater mussels, like the washboard mussel (Megalonaias nervosa), can make pearls (like the ones depicted) to protect their soft tissue from irritants such as sand grains. To create cultured pearls, a small piece of mantle—the organ that creates a mussel’s shell—is implanted in the mantle of another mussel. The host mussel coats this introduced irritant in layers of aragonite, a mineral with an iridescent sheen. Thus, Tennessee’s state gem is created!

These pearls were collected in Tennessee in 1994.

10/04/2026

The museum is open today, Sunday, Oct. 4. We look forward to seeing you on this rainy day. naturalhistory.si.edu

Explore your connection to the natural world. Experience dinosaurs, the Hope Diamond, ocean life, and more. On the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Free.

10/03/2026

Due to an unexpected electrical outage, the Museum is unexpectedly closed today, Saturday, Oct. 3. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. Plan a future visit: naturalhistory.si.edu

Explore your connection to the natural world. Experience dinosaurs, the Hope Diamond, ocean life, and more. On the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Free.

10/01/2026

Today, Kirk Johnson announced that he will be stepping down as the Sant Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History after 14 years in the role, as he prepares to join the Denver Museum of Nature and Science as its next President and Chief Executive Officer.

An advocate for science, nature and the power of museums to influence the future, Johnson has led the efforts to leverage the museum’s collection of more than 148 million objects and specimens to expand our scientific knowledge of the natural world and its cultures and pique the curiosity of millions of visitors about their planet and their own backyards.

At the museum, Johnson has overseen one of the world’s preeminent centers of natural history research, whose scientists published more than 11,000 peer-reviewed papers and named over 4,000 species during his tenure.

Johnson has also placed great emphasis on ensuring a welcoming and meaningful experience for the museum’s 4 million annual visitors. During his tenure, Johnson oversaw the renovation of the Fossil Hall, the construction of the Ocean Terrace Café under the life-size model of an ancient Megalodon shark, and the addition of accessible walkways leading to the museum’s National Mall entrance.

In celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday, Johnson presided over the installation of three, larger-than-life bronze bison flanking the South Entrance. The renovation of the museum’s historic auditorium is now underway.

Johnson has also been a champion of communicating science to a broader audience through popular books, lectures, museum exhibitions, documentaries, and collaborations with artists.

Ensuring the museum’s long-term financial health has been a top priority for Johnson. Since becoming director, he has raised over $300 million for the museum and grown its endowment by 450% percent – from $82.7 million to nearly $380 million.

09/29/2026

Made from an enormous white pine tree (Pinus strobus), this dugout canoe speaks to the Menominee people’s forestry expertise. Dugout canoes, some dating back nearly 5,000 years, were made from a variety of tree species using both fire and shell or stone tools to hollow out the trunk.

For thousands of years, the Menominee have managed forest resources to meet their economic, environmental, and social/cultural needs. In 1848, Chief Oshkosh successfully petitioned the US government for the Tribe to stay in part of their ancestral territory. He counseled his people to harvest trees in cycles, a practice that continues today. Though some timber uses have changed, their “forest-first” philosophy hasn’t. Harvesting strategies that mimic natural processes keep the forest ecologically healthy and economically profitable, making the Menominee reservation a model for sustainable forestry.

This canoe was made c. 1775 and was collected in 1893 from Menominee County, Wisconsin. It can now be seen in "From These Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage" in a display created in collaboration with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin.

09/25/2026

It’s no wonder that bauxite is the state rock of Arkansas, as this state was once the largest source of bauxite ore in the United States. Many states pick their symbolic rocks for their economic value—and bauxite is the primary source of aluminum, a metal with many commercial and industrial uses. Aluminum is one of the least expensive metals to buy and use today, but in the 1800s, it was worth more than gold. In 1886 a reliable, quick, and inexpensive process was invented for extracting aluminum from ores (such as bauxite). Now, aluminum is used in everything from space vehicles to soda cans!

This specimen was collected prior to 1958 from Saline County, Arkansas.

09/23/2026

The American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) looks nothing like how you might picture a typical fish. With a long, flat nose making up much of its up to seven-foot body length, a gaping, gill-filled mouth and a skeleton made of cartilage, the enormous fish is reminiscent of something out of a sci-fi movie. But its unusual anatomy evolved to help it feed and survive, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it — the freshwater fish has hardly changed in the last 125 million years. Read more here: https://s.si.edu/4y7NGS7