National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History is a museum, at a modelled elevation of 3 m. Gantt Hill stands 156 m to the west-northwest, 11 miles off. The nearest named place is Pollinator Garden, a park 0.1 miles away. George Washington Memorial Parkway passes 1.6 miles off. 34 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. It received 3.3 million visits in 2025. Opened in 1910, the museum on the National Mall was one of the first Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to hold the national collections and research facilities. The main building has an overall area of 1.5 million square feet (140,000 m2) with 325,000 square feet (30,200 m2) of exhibition and public space and houses over 1,000 employees. The museum's collections contain over 148 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts, the largest natural history collection in the world. It is also home to about 185 professional natural history scientists—the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1910-03-17.
Wikidata Q148554, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What the record says
- Built
- 1910
What to expect
- Operated by
- Smithsonian Institution
- Fee
- No
- Step-free access
- Yes
How to reach it
- 1.6 mi off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, National
- 4.4 mi off the Booth's Escape
- 5.1 mi off the Star-Spangled Banner Byway
- 7.7 mi off the Old Georgetown Pike
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Pollinator Garden: 0.1 mi
- Smithsonian Grounds: 0.1 mi
- National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden: 0.2 mi
- L'Enfant Square: 0.2 mi
- Mary Livingston Ripley Garden: 0.2 mi
- Captain Nathan Hale Sculpture: 0.1 mi
- Orphée: 0.1 mi
- Typewriter Eraser, Scale X: 0.1 mi
- An Entrance to the Paris Métropolitain: 0.1 mi
- Graft: 0.1 mi
- Thomas Hollowell: 0.1 mi
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial: 0.2 mi
- Andrew Jackson Downing Urn: 0.2 mi
- United States Navy Memorial Plaza: 0.3 mi
- General Winfield Scott Hancock: 0.3 mi
- Smithsonian National Carousel: 0.2 mi
- Lockkeeper's House: 0.8 mi
- White House Peace Vigil: 0.8 mi
- Almas Temple: 0.8 mi
- United States Capitol: 0.9 mi
- U.S. National Archives: 0.2 mi
- Old Post Office Tower and Museum: 0.2 mi
- National Museum of American History: 0.2 mi
- Arts and Industries Building: 0.2 mi
- National Museum of African Art: 0.2 mi
- Moongate Garden: 0.2 mi
- Fountain Garden: 0.2 mi
- German-American Friendship Garden: 0.6 mi
- Floral Library: 0.7 mi
- White House Kitchen Garden: 0.7 mi
- Picnic site for Rose park: 1.9 mi
- Picnic Grove 29: 3.3 mi
- Picnic Grove 1: 3.6 mi
- Picnic Grove 2 South: 3.7 mi
- Picnic Grove 2 South: 3.8 mi
- Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary: 2.2 mi
- Fort Bennet Park and Palisades Trail: 3.0 mi
- Alger Park: 3.7 mi
- Reservation 630: 3.7 mi
- Soapstone Valley: 4.2 mi
- Peters Hill: 1.4 mi
- Jackson Hill: 2.6 mi
- Lees Hill: 2.6 mi
- Mount Hamilton: 3.0 mi
- Mackeys Hill: 3.0 mi
- Takoma Spring: 5.8 mi
- Silver Spring: 6.8 mi
- Clean Drinking Manor Spring: 7.8 mi
- Indian Springs: 10.3 mi
- Sandy Spring: 17.2 mi
- Rosier Bluff: 8.2 mi
- Indian Queen Bluff: 9.5 mi
- Indian Head: 21.4 mi
- Quartz Rock Outcropping: 22.6 mi
- Quartz Rock Outcropping: 22.6 mi
- Fishing Shore: 4.1 mi
- Lake Barcroft Beach: 7.3 mi
- Purplehorse Beach: 13.1 mi
- Sycamore Beach: 13.2 mi
- Stubblefield Falls: 10.6 mi
- Scott's Run Falls: 10.9 mi
- Great Falls: 14.2 mi
- Coe Creek: 21.5 mi
- Wilson: 24.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of National Museum of Natural History. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gantt Hill | WNW 282° | 156 m | 11.4 mi |
| Hunting Hill | NW 325° | 156 m | 16.3 mi |
| Mount Daniel | W 273° | 144 m | 8.4 mi |
| Minor's Hill | W 277° | 140 m | 7.2 mi |
| Freedom Hill | W 281° | 140 m | 11.9 mi |
| Prout Hill | W 266° | 137 m | 9.0 mi |
| Upton Hill | W 260° | 125 m | 6.6 mi |
| Point Reno | NNW 327° | 123 m | 5.0 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:13 | 18:45 | 19:20 |
| June solstice | 05:44 | 19:58 | 20:38 |
| September equinox | 06:56 | 18:32 | 19:07 |
| December solstice | 07:24 | 16:08 | 16:50 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Jun, Aug–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 38 | 40 | 48 | 58 | 67 | 76 | 81 | 79 | 72 | 61 | 50 | 42 |
| Precip in | 2.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 3.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Washington Reagan Natl AP, 3 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikipediaWikidataOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element way/66418787
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