Museum of Natural History Exhibits
The Museum of Natural History, located in Roger Williams Park, is Rhode Island’s only natural history museum and is home to the state’s only public planetarium. For more than a century, the museum has served as a unique educational, scientific and cultural resource by offering exciting exhibits and programming that provide ways for children and families to learn about our world and its people. Currently one of our exhibit halls is under renovation, we looks forward to opening a new exhibit summer 2025.
Current exhibits:
Circle of the Sea: Re-Visited and Re-Imagined
Showcases the museum’s diverse holdings from Oceania. The exhibit has an array of objects such as those used in daily life for cooking, clothing, fishing, and seafaring. It also features natural history from the region: ornately feathered Birds-of-Paradise, gigantic seabirds and mollusk shells, colorful corals and volcanic geology so pivotal to the Pacific.
The exhibit was made possible through major funding support from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Special thanks to Kirsten Vacca, Guest Curator, for her contributions and expertise.
EGGSTRAVAGANZA: History and Science of Bird Eggs
Temporary lobby exhibit opening Monday, July 7
In this new exhibit, you will get a chance to glimpse a fraction of the wide variety of bird eggs that exist and learn a bit more about what makes bird eggs special and worthy of egg-citement!
James Webb Space Telescope: Uncovering the Hidden Universe
Temporary exhibit opened July 22, 2023
The James Webb Space Telescope is NASA’s newest observatory, peering deeper into the universe than in the past. As the successor and complement to Hubble Space Telescope, Webb sees in infrared light and is providing tremendous insights into the mysteries of the universe. Learn about Webb and its observations in this new exhibit.
The exhibit was made possible with a grant from the NASA Rhode Island Space Grant Program. Special thanks to Ian Dell’antonio, Exhibit Content; Anthony Englebert, Exhibit Content; and Peter Neivert, Exhibit Graphic Design and Production.
Seismic Shifts: Earth through Time
Travel through time to discover the formation of our Earth and its transformation into the habitable world we live on today. From Ice Ages to Hothouse Earth, our planet has seen many changes over its vast history. Exhibit sponsored by the Brown/NASA Northeast Planetary Data Center & the NASA/RI Space Grant Consortium.
Urban Wildlife: Nature at Your Doorstep
Human designed landscapes occupy more land than ever before. While often discounted as wastelands devoid of nature, urban areas actually play host to a great diversity of plant and animal life. Acknowledging the diversity of life found in cities is an important step toward understanding the impact humans have on the places they live and work. This exhibit focuses on the wildlife living right here in the city of Providence and highlights the urban habitats in which they can be found.
Featuring local fauna from the museum’s collections; imagery from Providence Raptors, urban wildlife photography by Peter Green; and videos from Greg Gerritt, activist, writer, videographer and watershed steward for Friends of the Moshassuck. NASA Satellite Imagery of Providence-sponsored by the Brown/NASA Northeast Planetary Data Center & the NASA/RI Space Grant Consortium.
