David H. Koch Hall of Fossils - Deep Time | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

From the Beginning of Life

The new, 31,000-square-foot fossil hall invites you to explore the epic story of how Earth’s distant past is connected to the present and informs our future.

Travel through ancient ecosystems, witness the evolution of life, and get up close to some 700 fossil specimens. Discover how human actions are driving Earth’s rapidly changing climate today much like long-ago geological events did in the past. Learn how to interpret the scientific evidence of the past and present, and see how the choices we make today will live far beyond us, in deep time.

Earth's distant past is connected to the present and informs our future

Deep Time starts at the very beginning—4.6-billion-years ago. But it ends in the future. Along the way, visitors will travel through ancient ecosystems, experience the evolution of plant and animal life, and get up close with some 700 specimens, including an Alaskan palm tree, early insects, reptiles and mammals, and dramatically posed giants like Tyrannosaurus rex, Diplodocus and the woolly mammoth.

The massive, 31,000-square-foot exhibition will inspire a new generation of dinosaur lovers and scientists. It will also prompt individuals to think about their own impact on the planet.

Unlike past extinction and warming events, human activities are driving Earth’s rapidly changing climate today. The exhibition will give visitors tools to interpret the past, present, and future and see how the choices they make today will live far beyond them, in deep time.

Did you know?

Many of the original murals from the old fossil hall by Jay Matternes are featured in Deep Time

Cartoon-style game board for Evolve or Perish.

Evolve or Perish Board Game

Travel through 630 million years of evolution from life in the sea to life on land! Download this two to four player game in a variety of languages and learn more about the history of life on our planet.

Download here

Fossil Highlights

A Tyrannosaurus rex ripping the head off of a Triceratops — *Tyrannosaurus rex* and *Triceratops*

*Smilodon californicus* (Saber-toothed cat)

Deep Time Audio Description App

blue gradient back ground with white letters Deep Time AD

Using the accessibility features and settings on your own device, you can read or listen to visual descriptions of the new fossil hall integrated with exhibit content.

Discover how all life is connected—past, present, and future—to all other life and to the Earth itself. Learn more about evolution, ecosystems, and extinction from the beginning of life 3.7 billion years ago to the Age of Humans today.