Search

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
night landscape with halo of stars with image credit Babak Tafreshi, TWAN
Second floor | Temporary Exhibit

Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky

Open Until December 2025

Embrace the Dark

Artificial lights have become such common nighttime fixtures that we take them for granted. But what do brighter nights mean for people and wildlife? The effects of light pollution go beyond our diminishing view of the stars, but the solutions can have an immediate impact. 

Through over 100 photographs, nearly 250 objects, interactive experiences, tactile models, and a theater program, discover why dark nights matter, rekindle your connection with the night sky, and consider how much light at night is enough—for whom, for what purpose, and who gets to decide?

Night sky: © Babak Tafreshi, TWAN

This 1880 Edison bulb is one of several objects exploring changes in lighting technology. 

an Edison light bulb
Did you know?

A third of the world’s population can’t see the Milky Way because of light pollution.

LOOK FOR:

colorful beadwork represents night sky on black background
A beaded night sky by Gwich’in artist Margaret Nazon
graph of a city scape
Tips on how to reduce light pollution in your community
collected bird specimens with labels
Birds collected from city sidewalks during peak migration periods, when light pollution disrupts flight patterns
Previous
Next

TO DO: 

  • Peer through a "telescope” into the past, adjust the skyglow in a famous painting, and see how artificial lights affect mating fireflies. 

  • Find dark-sky sites around the world—there may be one near you! 

  • Listen to star stories from different cultures while experiencing a dark, starry night.

Did you know?

Small changes can have a big impact: use shielded fixtures and less intense bulbs, and turn off unneeded lights.

illustrated earth inside of a lightbulbt hat is being unplugged

Listen to the Podcast

Can’t make it to the exhibit, but still curious about light pollution and the night sky? This episode of the Smithsonian Sidedoor podcast talks with astronomers, ornithologists, and historians to learn how we found ourselves surrounded by a glowing shroud of electricity, and asks how we can have the dark without giving up the light.
image credit: Dave Leonard
Listen Here

Experience More

a large piece of blue lapis lazuli
Second Floor | Exhibit
Objects of Wonder
a bird flying out of a cage
First Floor | Exhibit
African Voices