CANCELLED - The Ocean Around Us Tour
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR 9/4/25.
Explore the Sant Ocean Hall to learn about some of the exciting animals and habitats featured and how they are connected to your everyday life no matter where you live. This is a 30-minute interactive walking tour where you can meet a North Atlantic Right Whale, find out what is the most productive marine ecosystem, touch coral, and so much more.
Registration is required for this small group tour of up to 10 people. Each visitor may bring up to 3 guests, but the total number of visitors on the tour will be capped at 10.
Photo by Phillip R. Lee, Smithsonian Institution.
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, The Sant Ocean Hall, Under the Large Jellyfish. Cost: Free. Registration is required. Categories: Gallery Talks & Tours. Related Exhibition: The Sant Ocean Hall. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Thursday, September 4, 2025, 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM.
Story Time with Author: "The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide to Inventing the World"
Join us for a special Story Time with guest author, Jennifer Swanson!
Jennifer Swanson will be here to share about her newest book, "The Atlas Obscura Explorer's Guide to Inventing the World". Come early to explore unique Smithsonian connections to the inventions in here book through play and artmaking. Families will also be invited to explore invention-related play with our friends from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden inside our Hall of Mammals.
Following each book sharing time, Jennifer Swanson will be available for *book signing in the Explorer Theater.
*Please note that books will be available for purchase and are not included with attendance to the program.
Schedule of Story Times: 10:30 - 10:40 , 11:00 - 11:10 , 11:30 - 11:40, Location: This program is held in the Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall. Ocean Hall is on the 1st floor. More play and activities will be held inside the theater space in the Hall of Mammals.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Explorer Theater in Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Shopping/Book Signing. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Friday, September 5, 2025, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Little Beasts at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden
The World & Me team is traveling outside of Natural History this month!
Pack a picnic blanket and snacks for activities in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden! Educators from the National Museum of Natural History will be in the garden in celebration of the National Gallery of Art's monthly family program, First Saturdays (held concurrently in the East Building Atrium of the National Gallery of Art from 10am - 3pm). Come explore artful connections with the flora and fauna around you, paint your own little beast, make observations of specimens from the National Museum of Natural History's education collection, and more!
Extend the fun and explore the exhibition Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World in the National Gallery of Art’s West Building. This exhibit features specimens from the National Museum of Natural History’s collection and artworks from the National Gallery of Art. Interested in exploring more “Little Beasts” in Natural History’s collections? Head on over to the Natural…
Event Location: National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Saturday, September 6, 2025, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
Play Date at NMNH: Volcanic Explorations
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
This Tuesday is all about exploring volcanoes! Families will learn about different types of lava flow, create their own lava-flow inspired volcano artwork, and look up close at Igneous rock specimen (rocks that are formed when magma or lava cools and solidifies) from the museum’s collection.
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5), their caregivers, and families.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available with advanced notice. However, accommodations may not be possible with less than two-weeks advanced notice.…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Play Date at NMNH: Investigating Insects
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
This Tuesday is all about insects! Families can make close observations of select pieces from our insect collection, learn about what makes an insect an insect, and create their own take-home craft to help them remember key physical traits of insects!
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5) and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, on the Ground Floor of the museum. Please enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance. Q?rius is located on the right as you enter the museum. Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available with advanced notice. However, accommodations may not be possible…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center (Ground Floor). Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, September 16, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
A Twist on Ancient Technology: Fiber, String, and More
The early archaeological record consists primarily of two things- stones and bones. And yet, we know that the material culture of the past had to be predominantly organic in nature. Plants, particularly those that produce long thin fibers, would have been invaluable. And once our ancestors figured out that a twisted fiber was even better, a revolutionary technology was born. But when did this occur? And how do we find evidence for a technology that is made from perishable materials?
Bruce Hardy, Professor of Anthropology at Kenyon College, will examine the evidence, direct and indirect, for the emergence of fiber technology in the Paleolithic and explore the implications of this often neglected but transformative skill.
Moderator: Briana Pobiner, paleoanthropologist and educator at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
This program is part of the ongoing HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic series and will be presented as a Zoom video webinar. A link will be emailed to all registrants.
Photo…
Event Location: Online; Internet connection required. Cost: Free; Registration Required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/72885666/a-twist-on-ancient-technologyfiberstringand-more-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: Webcasts & Online. Accessibility: Captioning.
Thursday, September 18, 2025, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Play Date at NMNH: Colorful Corals
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
This Tuesday is all about exploring coral reefs! Families will learn about coral polyps (the tiny animals that help to build-up the reef), create their own artwork inspired by coral reefs, and look up close at coral specimens from the museum’s collection.
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5), their caregivers, and families.
Location: This program is held in the Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall on the 1st floor of the museum. Please note that space is dependent on the location of that week's event. Some locations have less capacity than others. It is possible that the program might be at capacity when you arrive. If this happens, please enjoy other areas of the museum and try again later in the program.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Explorer Theater in Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.
Q?rius After Hours - September
Join us for another evening of Q?rius After Hours in the Coralyn W. Whitney Q?rius Science Education Center stocked with science and joy, crafts, puzzles, and games. Come explore NMNH collections and meet these NMNH experts: The Art of Preserving Plants featuring hands-on botany specimen preparation with museum specialist Erika Gardner , The Evolution of Domestication (crops and dogs!) with curator of archaeogenomics and archaeobotany Logan Kistler , Mass Extinctions in Ancient Oceans with paleobiology postdoctoral fellow Sarah Leventhal , Ocean Biology with ocean educator Bayley McKeon , The Dynamic Mangrove Forests Through the Eyes of Satellites with post doctoral research scientist Suvarna Punalekar , Deep-Sea Habitats with Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow Melissa Betters, Register Here
About the series:
If you think back to a time when you were having fun as a kid, what were you doing that made you so happy? Odds are it included some of the universal elements of play – a concept we know is critical…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: National Museum of Natural History (Ground Floor). Cost: Free; registration is required. Get Tickets/Register: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/76665037/qrius-after-hours-september-washington-national-museum-of-natural-history. Categories: After Five. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM.
For more info visit www.etix.com. Play Date at NMNH: Mighty Megalodon!
Join us on Tuesdays for special family play dates with museum educators!
This Tuesday we will learn about the mighty Megalodon! While Megalodons, an ancient shark that lived 23 – 3.5 million years ago, are no longer swimming in our ocean, people of all ages are fascinated by its size and large teeth! Together we will learn about this ancient shark that used to roam the ocean, make our own wearable artwork inspired by Megalodon teeth, and have the chance to hold a real Megalodon tooth!
The event is part of our drop-in program, Play Date at NMNH. Play Date at NMNH is a program designed for early learners (ages 0-5) and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome.
Location: This program is held in the Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall. Ocean Hall is on the 1st floor.
Accessibility: Access services such as American Sign Language interpretation, real-time captioning (CART), or audio-description are available with advanced notice. However,…
Venue: Natural History Museum. Event Location: 1st Floor, Explorer Theater in the Sant Ocean Hall. Cost: Free. Categories: Kids & Families. Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM.