Giant-screen Films
Current Exhibitions
Upcoming Exhibitions
Past Exhibitions

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CONTACT:
Tim Murray
Director of Exhibits
619.255.0205
fax: 619.232.0248
exhibits@sdnhm.org

A Day in Pompeii
February 15–June 15, 2008
Discover an ancient story of human drama and natural disaster. This compelling exhibition features authentic artifacts from Pompeii, buried in 79 CE by a catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius. Most poignant and dramatic are the body casts of the volcano's victims, frozen in their last moments. Objects such as frescoes, jewelry, and household items take you back in time to experience life and death in ancient Rome's favorite vacation resort.

Dangerous Volcanoes of the World
February 15–June 15, 2008
Discover volcanoes from around the globe. View satellite images with locations of all of Earth’s active volcanoes. Explore 20 notable volcanoes through incredible photography and discover the stories of famous eruptions. Learn what creates volcanic activity and experiment with seismic activity.

Fossil Mysteries
Permanent exhibition
From dinosaurs to mastodons, discover the rich fossil history of our region. In this major exhibition, created by the Museum, ponder a mystery, examine the strong fossil evidence from the Museum's collection, and use scientific tools to discover answers. Traveling through a 75-million-year timeline, from the age of dinosaurs to the Ice Ages, experience an unfolding of the prehistory of southern California and Baja California, Mexico.
Developed by the San Diego Natural History Museum. Major funding provided by the California Cultural and Historic Endowment; National Science Foundation; Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation; an anonymous donor; and generous support from the J. W. Sefton Foundation; the San Diego Foundation: Weingart-Price Fund and Carol and Henry F. Hunte Fund; San Diego County Supervisors Pam Slater-Price, Ron Roberts and Greg Cox; The Legler Benbough Foundation; THE PARKER FOUNDATION: Gerald and Inez Grant Parker; Thomas C. Ackerman Foundation; Charmaine and Maurice Kaplan; Carol and Dennis Wilson; Rice Family Foundation; Samuel and Katherine French Fund; Ellen Browning Scripps Foundation; and Sony Electronics Inc.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Aerial Portraits of the American West: Photographs by John Shelton
May 11–November 2, 2008
This photography exhibition, a retrospective of Shelton’s work, marks the first time works by the legendary geologist will be exhibited for the public. A geologist filled with a love for music and machines, John Shelton is best known for his pioneering aerial photography. Formerly an associate professor of geology at Pomona College, he has always been intensely interested in the process of learning. Shelton’s love and knowledge of flying enabled him to reveal geologic features and processes through his aerial photographs of wondrous landscapes. His aerial photographs of North America are especially valuable today, when diminishing air quality makes some of his shots irreplaceable.

Enraptured: Works by Mitch Dobrowner
May 17–August 3, 2008
Mitch Dobrowner is an accomplished black-and-white, fine-art photographer who captures otherworldly images of the Earth. To view a Dobrowner photograph is to enter a dramatic realm filled with mystery, passion and eerie beauty. Dobrowner has exhibited his fine-art photography through galleries in California, Texas, Colorado, and Maryland, as well as overseas in Paris, France. From infrared images of luminescent foliage to rockscapes beneath furious skies, Dobrowners work brings one to another sphere of existence. The Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum will also show glass sculpture by Dick Ditore, photographs by Richard Garrod and Robert Walter, and a selection of works by other Gallery artists.

Spirits in Stone—Art & Animals of Africa
July 11–October 12, 2008
Come face to face with Africa’s cultural vanguard in this exciting collection of Zimbabwe Shona sculpture. The exhibition features sculpture of internationally acclaimed Zimbabwean Shona stone sculptors, as well as masks, jewelry, and baskets. Visitors will also enjoy seeing live African lizards and bugs, fish, frogs and snakes. Shona sculpture is steeped in the legend and traditions of an ancient African culture, yet stunningly modern in appearance. Sculpting by hand with simple and found tools, the self-taught artists carve in indigenous serpentine, granite, and rare precious verdite. The unique rock they shape illumines with more than 200 natural color and texture variations. The result is a diverse body of work alive with dynamic, spiritual themes.

Water: H₂O=Life
July 19–November 30, 2008
It is a natural resource more valuable than oil and more precious than gold. Life on Earth originated in it and cannot exist without it. Water, the essential ingredient in our life, culture, history and future will be celebrated and explored in this captivating new exhibition. New visualization techniques and cutting-edge technologies, hands-on exhibits, videos and interactive media, specimens and artifacts will forever change your view and appreciation of this common, yet invaluable substance. Also, the San Diego Natural History Museum has designed and developed Water: A California Story which will remain on exhibit at the Museum for at least two years. The special exhibition uses natural history specimens, live animals, photos, and interactive exhibits explore the water issues facing southern California and Baja California. Discover why, to have water in the future, we all need to change how we use water now.        

The Art of Robert Bateman
November 1, 2008–January 1, 2009
Experience the work of Robert Bateman, long recognized as one of the world’s premier wildlife artists. The work on display reflects his commitment to ecology and preservation. The Museum is proud to feature Bateman’s art in a one-man show that will captivate visitors with its lifelike realism and stark, natural drama.

Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS 2 & The Three Pound Gem
The Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies
March 5–October 4, 2009
Body Worlds exhibitions have been hailed by many as the most educational exhibitions ever created to improve the public’s awareness, knowledge, and appreciation of the human body. Thanks to a process developed by Dr. Gunther von Hagen called “plastination,” these exhibitions feature dynamic, whole-body plastinates that are unparalleled for their aesthetic and informative value. Visitor studies have shown that people who see Body Worlds exhibitions have made lifestyle changes in diet, alcohol, smoking, and exercise habits to improve their health. Body Worlds 2 and the Three Pound Gem focuses on the brain.

 Past Exhibitions

Contemporary Israeli Photography
Dead Sea Scrolls
Playing with Time
Earth, Wind & WILDFIRE
Dinosaurs: Reel & Robotic
GENOME: The Secret of How Life Works
Backyard Monsters
Wildlife Art
Fossil Hunters San Diego
Natural Treasures: Past and Present
Chocolate: The Exhibition
Feathered Dinosaurs and the Origin of Flight
Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A.R. Valentien
Spirit of the Mountains: Images by Thomas D. Mangelsen
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Spirits in Stone: The New Face of African Art
Glow: Living Lights
Rare Places in a Rare Light: The Wildlands Photography of Robert Turner
DOGS!
FORE! The Planet
T. REX on Trial
California's Native Grandeur
Animal Eyes
After the Dinosaurs: When Crocodiles Ruled
Monarca: Butterfly Beyond Boundaries
Epidemic! The Natural History of Disease
BEARS: Imagination and Reality
The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park: The Lost World
Desert and Sea: Visions of Baja California
The Nature of Diamonds
SHARKS! Fact and Fantasy
REPTILES! Real and Robotic
Cats! Wild to Mild
Shona