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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
A herd of Bison walk in the sunrise
SECOND FLOOR | EXHIBIT

Bison: Standing Strong

May 2026 through May 2029
Second Floor
Always Free
Opening May 7, 2026 | FREE

Meet America’s National Mammal

Rendering of the Bison Standing Strong Exhibit
Rendering of the exhibition main entrance footsteps from the elevator on the museum’s second floor.
Rendering of bison taxidermy in a museum exhibit.
Come eye to eye with a six-foot-tall bull bison while immersed by a North American prairie soundscape.

Explore the remarkable story of bison. These iconic animals shaped North American landscapes for more than 100,000 years and anchored Indigenous lifeways for generations. Pushed to the brink of extinction in the 19th century, bison survived thanks to dedicated conservation efforts. Today, they stand strong as an enduring symbol of survival and resilience.

The Bison: Standing Strong exhibit invites you into this incredible journey. Explore a full-sized bull bison specimen, the six-foot-wide skull of an ancient bison ancestor, an immersive soundscape, multimedia, cutting-edge scientific research, and Native objects and stories shared in collaboration with community members. Experience the deep history of America’s national mammal and discover the hopeful future being built for generations to come.

This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s "Our Shared Future: 250," a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years.

Exhibit Highlights

Exhibit case with a large bison skull in it.
Look for a fossil skull with horns measuring more than six feet tip to tip from a bison ancestor that lived 100,000 years ago, on loan from the Idaho Natural History Museum.
Missy Hawkins looking at a bison jaw in a lab.
Explore cutting-edge research happening at the Museum to keep bison resilient for the future.
A close up photograph of the stock and trigger of an old rifle
See a Sharps Model 1874 Rifle developed specifically for bison hunting
Hands holding a bison jaw bone over a pile of other bison jaw bone specimens
Explore the rich history of the Smithsonian's bison collections dating back to the 1800s
A photograph of a tipi model with bison and elk depictions drawn on it
Examine a Kiowa tipi model with detailed paintings of buffalo, elk, and yellow-headed blackbirds.
A man standing surrounded by bison specimens in a collections building
Learn how the museum collects specimens and the value of older collections today
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Online Bison Resources

Experience More

A herd of bison
Smithsonian Bison
Illustration of a bison with an inaccurate face rubbing up against a tree.
Ground Floor
Imagining Bison