This Week at Natural History: Feathered Friends🪶

Image credit: Gabriel Ugueto

Ancient Reptile with a Feathered Sail on its Back Rewrites the Rules of Reptilian Evolution 

250 million years ago, in the heart of a lush Triassic forest, a small reptile scurried through the underbrush—its back crowned by a dramatic sail of feather-like structures. The ancient creature was recently placed in the new genus Mirasaura, which means “marvelous reptile.” Click the link below to learn why NMNH paleobiologist Hans Sues says the colorful reptile is unlike any living animal and reveals an entirely new body plan among reptiles that evolved early in the Triassic.

Image credit: Moriah Ratner

The Feather Detective: Roxie Laybourne’s Legacy in Six Fascinating Objects

From the engine of an airplane to the center of a crime scene, bird feathers can turn up in unusual places.  The most peculiar cases often ended up on the desk of Roxie Laybourne, a Smithsonian scientist who pioneered the field of forensic ornithology. Click the link below to learn about Laybourne’s illustrious career through a series of six objects and specimens. 

Image credit: Living Classrooms

Here is our latest programming guide. Click here for a full schedule of upcoming public programs and a link to previously scheduled video webinars.

For Families

The World & Me: Life ON and IN the Ocean!
Explore life ON and IN the ocean with our friends from Living Classrooms. Come learn from educators about sailors, working on a boat, how boats communicate with one another, and where you can visit the Mildred Belle, a Chesapeake Bay buyboat. Look up close at oysters and specimens from our museum's collections while being inspired to design your own postage stamp in celebration of buyboats like the Mildred Belle.
Saturday, August 2, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, Ground Floor

For DC Educators from Public and Private Schools

DCPS Professional Development Cruise aboard Mildred Belle
Join the Living Classrooms crew onboard their historic education vessel, Mildred Belle, as they explore the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers! Learn about their E-STEM and War of 1812 programming offered to grades 4-12 during the summer and school year. Help the captain and crew steer and navigate the boat. Feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks.

This is an Adults Only educational cruise for DC public and private school educators. Visitors with limited mobility will be accommodated as best as we can. Due to its historic design, this vessel is not ADA accessible on or below decks.

Any questions? Email Nick Iannacone at [email protected] or call (410) 961-9931.

• MILDRED BELLE Morning Professional Development Cruise from the Yards Marina
  Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
  Location: Yards Marina, 10 Water Street, SE, Washington, DC
• MILDRED BELLE Evening Professional Development Cruise from the Yards Marina
  Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. ET
  Location: Yards Marina, 10 Water Street, SE, Washington, DC

For Adults

Q?rius After Hours - August
Enjoy an evening of free play that will connect you to the natural world in Q?rius, the Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center. Come in and explore at your own pace. Feed your curiosity opening specimen drawers in the Q?rius Collection, sit down and do a puzzle with old or new friends, try a board game, talk with experts, or lose track of time making art inspired by the natural world. Check out these featured topics and experts for August:

• Dune-esque Ancient Worms with NMNH Deep Time Peter Buck postdoctoral fellow Kat Turk
• Mass Extinctions in Ancient Oceans with NMNH paleobiology postdoctoral fellow Sarah Leventhal
• Putting Plant-damaging Insects of the Past to Work: The History of Insect Herbivory with NMNH paleoecologist Conrad Labanderia
• The Art of Preserving Plants featuring hands-on botany specimen preparation with NMNH museum specialist Erika Gardner
• Fossil hunting and sorting

This program is designed for adults. Registration is free and highly encouraged. Space is filled at a first come first served basis.

Wednesday, August 13, 2025, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center, Ground Floor

For Everyone

Research Outreach Day
Meet our 2025 Natural History Research Experience (NHRE) interns and learn about their summer research in Earth Science, Biology, and Anthropology at NMNH.
Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Most 1st and 2nd Floor Exhibit Halls

Experts Are In!
Stop by the Sant Ocean Hall on Monday, July 28, to talk with experts about their work:

• Meet the NOAA Fleet
  Ocean Hall, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET
• Sargassum from Essential Habitat to Environmental Hazard
  Ocean Hall, 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET
• Genetic Time Travel Using Museum Specimens
  Ocean Hall, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET

Image credit: Brian E. Small

A Stunning New Atlas Showcases Every Bird Ever Documented in North America

A vibrant collection of more than 1,200 full-color photographs and illustrations, plus more than 700 color range maps, "Birds of North America: A Photographic Atlas," is a gem for anyone interested in bird diversity. Authored by NMNH ornithologist Bruce Beehler, the Atlas is a comprehensive reference providing up-to-date information and photographs to illustrate all 1,144 bird species documented in North America.

Thank you for your interest in NMNH! Your generosity enables the museum to address the big questions that society faces and our fundamental understanding of how people and nature interact. Click the links below to help us spark curiosity, discovery, and learning about the natural world and our place in it.