Summer Solstice Festival
Let’s celebrate the summer solstice in the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden with our partners from the National Museum of Natural History!
Pack a picnic blanket, snacks, and spend the day with us. Educators from both museums will encourage artful connections with the flora and fauna around you. Check out specimens from the National Museum of Natural History’s education collection, enjoy a Storytime in the garden, and color your own nature scene inspired by the Sculpture Garden. Continue your creative journey with the acoustic sounds of the Onyx Club Boys and a tour with Ecologist Rea Manderino. Pick up a nature journal to inspire connections as you explore the exhibition Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World in the National Gallery’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 History and check out the Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals on the first floor, Bone Hall on the second floor, and the O. Orkin Insect Zoo on the second floor!
In case of inclement weather, this event will be relocated to the National Gallery of Art’s West Building.
The event is part of Smithsonian Solstice Saturday.
Saturday, June 21
![Jan van Kessel the Elder, Study of Insects and Reptiles [center], c. 1660, oil on copper, Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Upperville, VA](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/f6af1a38-17ae-4b8d-8a12-36840d667e1d__4000/0,79,4000,2669/!950,634/0/default.jpg)
You may also like
Event Series: By Land, Sea, and Lens: Creatures on Film
This film series celebrates the exhibition Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World through historic and contemporary international videos and films inspired by the incredible insects, sea creatures, birds and other animals who share the world with us.
Event Series: First Saturdays
Each month, join us for a fun and relaxed experience featuring art making, films, and a variety of special pop-up activities. All activities are free, and most are first come, first served. Some activities require registration.
Event Series: Jazz in the Garden
DC’s favorite summer concert series returns with a variety of performances including jazz, Latin fusion, R&B, and more. Join us in the Sculpture Garden on Fridays from May 23 through July 11 (no concert July 4).
The Night Visitors
The Night Visitors considers moths through a variety of lenses and distances—from how they are generally thought about by humans to their role in indicating climate change and degradation of a given habitat.