The Garden Lounge | Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

As a public health precaution due to COVID-19, all Smithsonian museums are temporarily closed. We are not announcing a reopening date at this time and will provide updates on our websites and social media.

Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

A Peaceful Oasis

Rest and recharge (yourself and your phone) among live plants. Research has shown that spending time around plants improves both mood and working memory, and just makes us feel better. This airy, light-filled space features benches and charging stations with outlets—and a distinct place, apart from the energized hustle and bustle of the rest of the museum, to relax and exhale.

Plants are vital to all land ecosystems—and to us. The Garden Lounge invites you to explore these connections, and learn why and how plants “move,” or disperse, to survive and thrive.

Our lives are intricately connected to plants.

a group of three pink orchids

Did you know?

The cycad, a tree in the garden, is one of the oldest plants to exist on Earth

Look For

vanilla climbing up a trellis — Vanilla planifolia, the plant that produces vanilla “beans,” climbing up a trellis

pink and yellow orchids — Orchids of many colors, staghorn ferns, and a tree-sized cycad—one of Earth’s oldest types of plants

view of lounge with three tree stump seats and a wall of plant information — Tree-stump seating and kid-focused text and graphics, all displayed at a child’s height

Did you know?

SI Gardens, our partner for this exhibit, creates and manages all of the Smithsonian's outdoor gardens & interior live plants

Things To Do

Play a sliding-door interactive game to learn how seeds disperse.
Charge your mobile device.
Relax, breathe in deeply, exhale, and sit for a while!

Experience More

a large piece of blue lapis lazuli

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Objects of Wonder

cheetah on branch with other animal

First Floor | Exhibit

Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals