Past Exhibitions

Gold

Gold, an enduring icon of wealth, beauty and power. Since the beginning of recorded history, the rise of influential societies has coincided with their ownership of the precious substance.

November 18, 2006 - August 19, 2007

Horse

Horses have been racing across the landscape for more than 50 million years--much longer than our own species has existed. But once horses and humans encountered each other, our two species became powerfully linked.

May 17, 2008 - January 4, 2009

Traveling Information

Mythic Creatures

Track the origins of legendary creatures including dragons, unicorns, mermaids, and sea serpents.

January 1, 2008 - January 6, 2008

Traveling Information

Pearls

The most comprehensive presentation ever mounted on pearls weaves science, art, literature, history, and fabulous jewelry into the story of pearl-forming mollusks.

January 1, 2002 - April 14, 2002

Petra

Once a flourishing city in the heart of the ancient Near East...then forgotten by the outside world for centuries. Now Petra reveals some of its long-lost secrets.

October 18, 2003 - July 6, 2004

Totems to Turquoise

For thousands of years, the Native peoples of North America have made extraordinary jewelry and other adornments. Today throughout the continent that tradition is still alive–and vibrant.

October 30, 2004 - July 10, 2005

Grand Gallery

Just inside the 77th Street entrance, the Grand Gallery is a familiar gathering place for visitors, whose “Meet me at the canoe!” refers to the Museum icon at its center: the 63-foot-long Great Canoe, which hangs suspended from the ceiling, providing a dynamic focal point to this hall.

The gallery is home to three specimens on extended display: a colorful ancient ammonite, a spectacular stibnite, and a rare slab of jadeite jade.

The Grand Gallery is also a gateway to Gallery 77, which houses temporary exhibitions such as Frogs: A Chorus of Colors; to the Museum’s newest and oldest permanent exhibition halls, the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins and the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, respectively; and to Café on One.