Mar
22

Today in Smithsonian History: March 22, 1956

An exhibit case of birds shown in reproductions of their natural surroundings in Bird Hall.

An exhibit case in Bird Hall appears to show birds in a post-apocalyptic wilderness.   (Photographer unknown. Via Smithsonian Institution Archives)

March 22, 1956 The new Bird Hall of the National Museum of Natural History opens to the public. Designed by bird curator Herbert Friedmann, the Hall is the first in a series of new exhibitions that are part of the Exhibits Modernization Program that attempts to show specimens in natural surroundings.

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Posted: 22 March 2019
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