Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Join us as we explore the natural world and our place in it. Legal: http://s.si.edu/legal Welcome to our page!

Please feel free to share thoughts about our posts, ask us questions, or tell us about your visit. We hope you’ll contribute to this interactive forum and to our ongoing conversation about the work we do to further the Smithsonian's mission to increase and diffuse knowledge. While on-topic discussion is encouraged, we ask that you express yourself in a civil manner and treat other users with respe

ct. The Smithsonian also monitors and may remove posts consistent with its terms of use, as described at http://si.edu/Termsofuse -gen. For our Privacy Policy: http://www.si.edu/Privacy

Though today its winters are cold and snowy, millions of years ago Wyoming had a subtropical climate with warm temperatu...
08/28/2026

Though today its winters are cold and snowy, millions of years ago Wyoming had a subtropical climate with warm temperatures and large lakes that were perfect for crocodiles. Wyoming's Bridger Formation has plenty of fossil crocodilian bones but very few fossil croc eggshells. Eggs rarely fossilize because of their extremely thin shells. This one is only 0.03 inches (0.7mm) thick. Microscopic structures in this eggshell confirm it was laid by a crocodilian, but it never hatched. Instead, mineral-rich water seeped into the egg and deposited sediment. Later, silica crystals formed, creating a sparkling quartz geode.

A slab of ancient amphibian fossils. A glittering gemstone rarer than gold. A baby bison standing on a makeshift floor c...
08/27/2026

A slab of ancient amphibian fossils. A glittering gemstone rarer than gold. A baby bison standing on a makeshift floor covered in printer paper. How do you photograph more than 600 objects like these in less than a year?

For the museum’s photography team, the answer involved months of coordination, thousands of image files, countless lighting tests and a willingness to solve some unusual problems along the way. Click the link to take a behind-the-scenes look at how the museum’s photographers brought a new exhibit into focus: https://s.si.edu/4y9Uf6y

Known as siapo in American Samoa and kapa in Hawai‘i, Pacific Island bark cloth has always been made to be used. Traditi...
08/25/2026

Known as siapo in American Samoa and kapa in Hawai‘i, Pacific Island bark cloth has always been made to be used. Traditionally, it could be found in ceremonial and everyday dress, uniforms, shrouds, and room dividers. Both the historic rectangular cloth and the contemporary circular cloth were painted freehand in the siapo mamanu tradition, featuring traditional motifs integral to Samoan culture. The techniques and patterns of siapo would have been lost without the commitment of artists keeping the practice alive. Today, siapo is worn in formal and casual clothing; decorates the home; and adorns purses, hats, and jewelry.

The historic siapo in Image 2 was acquired in 1890 in Pago Pago.

The contemporary siapo in Image 1 was made in 2014 by Su‘a Uilisone Fitiao.

As Dolly Parton sang in her 1974 hit, "Love is like a butterfly." 🦋 A philanthropist and country music superstar, Parton...
08/25/2026

As Dolly Parton sang in her 1974 hit, "Love is like a butterfly." 🦋

A philanthropist and country music superstar, Parton's love of butterflies and rhinestones was well-known throughout her life and career.

We mark her passing today by sharing a piece from the museum's Butterfly Collection. This collection, designed by Elvis Gray and Bernadine Johnson, was created to show off a variety of rare colored stones.

The wings of this benitoite butterfly hold 28.71 carats of benitoites with the color graduating from darker to lighter, displaying perhaps the most complete suite of blues that benitoites come in.

The state shell of South Carolina, the lettered olive is a predatory sea snail that lives along the Atlantic coast from ...
08/21/2026

The state shell of South Carolina, the lettered olive is a predatory sea snail that lives along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida and along the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. A relatively fast mover along the sandy bottom of shallow and intertidal waters, this sea snail captures bivalves and small crustaceans and drags them under the sand’s surface to eat. Like many other sea snails, lettered olives create a whorled shell, usually about 2.25 inches (6 cm) long, to protect their soft bodies. The intricate markings resemble smudged handwriting or hieroglyphs, giving this species its name.

This specimen was collected in 1938 from Charleston County, South Carolina.

Planning to visit the museum this weekend? Here's what you should know.On Friday, August 21st, the museum will be open t...
08/20/2026

Planning to visit the museum this weekend? Here's what you should know.

On Friday, August 21st, the museum will be open to the public. Museum guests will be required to go through a Grand Prix security screening at one of three gates surrounding the National Mall.

On Saturday, August 22nd and Sunday, August 23rd, the museum will be accessible ONLY to Grand Prix passholders due to our location within the Stars General Access perimeter.

Find more information here: https://www.freedom250gp.com/

08/19/2026

Our photographers did a color hunt around the museum! 📸 Let us know in the comments who you think did the best!

The mineral fluorite naturally occurs in deposits in many states, including New Hampshire. In its pure form, this minera...
08/17/2026

The mineral fluorite naturally occurs in deposits in many states, including New Hampshire. In its pure form, this mineral is colorless and transparent, but it is often found in a wide range of colors including shades of green, purple, and yellow. Copper impurities likely give this specimen its bright green color. Under ultraviolet light many specimens of this mineral exhibit fluorescence—a phenomenon that got its name from fluorite.

This specimen was collected from Cheshire County, New Hampshire and acquired by the museum in 2019.

A trek through Danum Valley on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia means navigating through twisted and mossy vines a...
08/14/2026

A trek through Danum Valley on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia means navigating through twisted and mossy vines and a dense canopy close to the trail. The tropical forest is full of highly protected biodiversity, and its rich vegetation conceals a mysterious tree-dwelling rodent.

Just larger than a field mouse and weighing less than a tennis ball, the Emmons’s tree rat (Pithecheirops otion) is a rare species documented by only three photographed sightings and one preserved specimen, which is housed in the museum’s collection.

Click to read more: https://s.si.edu/4wtHRwX

The official mammal of the United States, bison once roamed North America in the millions, shaping grassland ecosystems ...
08/13/2026

The official mammal of the United States, bison once roamed North America in the millions, shaping grassland ecosystems and sustaining Indigenous communities.

By the 1880s, only a few hundred remained, driven to near-extinction by an intentional effort to undermine Native American populations and the westward expansion of American settlers.

Seeing that bison were disappearing due to slaughter, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) established a free-ranging herd in the 1870s. This plains bison calf (Bison bison bison) from Montana is a descendant of the six bison that began the CSKT herd. Restoration initiatives led by Indigenous communities and conservationists throughout the 20th century have helped reestablish bison populations. Today, many herds thrive, shaping ecosystems, dispersing seeds and preserving cultural traditions.

Address

10th St. & Constitution Avenue NW
Washington D.C., DC
20560

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 5:30pm
Thursday 10am - 5:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10am - 5:30pm
Sunday 10am - 5:30pm

Telephone

(202) 633-1000

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History:

Shortcuts

Share

Category