The National Geographic Society’s new Museum of Exploration will open Friday, June 26, after four years and $300 million worth of renovations. Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:
The museum’s main entrance is at 1600 M St., NW, just beyond Nat Geo’s iconic yellow border (selfie alert!) in the courtyard. The 100,000-square-feet of space hosts two floors full of interactive media, live performances, archives, and photo galleries.
As you enter, a large digital screen offers a warm welcome in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language. Look down, through panels of glass in the floor, to see replicas of wondrous artifacts, such as Mexican Olmec heads or remnants of the Titanic. Lucky visitors may have the opportunity to occasionally meet and talk with National Geographic explorers about their adventures.
Inside the darkroom-style Photo Ark exhibition, visitors can marvel at a revolving floor-to-ceiling display of wildlife photographs, and peek into “pop-up tents” designed for more skittish creatures, thanks to National Geographic explorer and photographer Joel Sartore. The exhibit is part of nature’s “long-term ad campaign,” Sartore said, as he hopes to document 25,000 species—he’s already shot 17,000—in order to capture the planet’s biodiversity and amplify the call to protect endangered species.
In commemoration of America 250, a new Red, White and Blue gallery will feature photos from each state that evoke the colors of the flag—including red lobster tails in Maine and blue bionic hands made in Virginia.
Young explorers (and those young at heart) can spend time in the student-focused Learning Launchpad exhibition, full of interactive displays that kids can touch, spin, or jump on to learn about migration patterns and mapmaking. The exhibit is paired with the 270-degree Geoverse theater, which plays shows about wildlife and nature such as white Wattled Cranes and the endangered Peruvian Andean bear.
Additional exhibits include Rover’s Landing, which features the impact of National Geographic’s Explorers, and the Archives, a tour of National Geographic’s evolution over its 138-year-old history, complete with copies of every single edition. Before heading out, visitors can grab a bite at Explorers Eatery, which offers fare from Italy, Peru, Vietnam, and Morocco, in addition to American classics.
Outside, the courtyard will host live performances and shows that make use of the interactive smart-glass panels on the exterior of the museum and on the courtyard. The current nightly show, “Wonders of Our World: Ocean,” will be projected onto the exterior every evening. While shows are ticketed, the courtyard, filled with life-sized sculptures of animals from each ecosystem around the world, and plants native to the DC area, will be open to the public.
Starting June 26, the museum is open seven days a week, 9 AM to 8 PM. Tickets are $30 for adults and $23 for kids, and are available for purchase online or at the museum.
Jenae Barnes previously reported and fact-checked for Capital B Gary in Indiana, 5280 Magazine in Denver, Forbes in New York and ABC News in Washington, D.C. She is a 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow. As a DC-area native, she received her Bachelor’s from George Mason University and Master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.
