Discover Why Dark Skies Matter
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY– Washington, D.C.
Now – December 2025
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/lights-out
Audio/text description
https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/accessibility/audio-description/lights-out-audio-description-tour
Exhibit photos used for this post are by Brittany M. Hance, James D. Tiller; Phillip R. Lee, and James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution.
Most of the exhibit images used as a print or on digital screens are provided by the Life at Night founder Babak Tafreshi, and other members of The World at Night international team of night sky photographers. Babak has been consulting to the museum between 2020 to 2022 to prepare visual contents for the exhibit.
A Unique Experience
Make a connection to glorious night skies that are the universal roof above all countries and cultures. View 100 stunning photos of life under the night sky, listen to star stories and myths from the perspective of cultures who live under dark night skies; take part in interactive exhibits, peer through a telescope into the past.
Learn how to reduce light pollution in your community and find out where to find outdoor lighting solutions certified as “dark sky friendly”. Discover dark-sky parks and sanctuaries near you and plan a visit! “We want people to understand that light pollution is a global problem, and it’s having broad impact,” says Jill Johnson, the exhibit developer at the museum. “We want people to want to take action to preserve natural dark skies.” said the exhibition co-curator Kim Arcand, a visualization scientist.
Smithsonian Exhibition Invites Visitors to Help Recover Their Fading Night Sky
“More than 80% of people worldwide live under some degree of light-polluted skies. In North America, 80% of the continent’s population cannot see the Milky Way galaxy in the night sky due to light pollution. However, there are simple actions concerned citizens can take to help reclaim their view of the stars at night”. “Lights Out’ will give visitors the opportunity to learn what is at stake as the stars and cosmos fade from our view at night,” said Kirk Johnson, the Sant Director of the National Museum of Natural History. “And we’ll also offer them the tools and resources they need to help rebuild and preserve the night sky in their own communities.”
What Smithsonian Magazine has to say about the Exhibit – Jack Tamisie “Lights Out’ explores how ecology and culture revolve around the night and how light pollution is threatening this essential darkness. When the sun sets each day, things seem to quiet down. But the outside world is far from still when the lights go out. On land, nocturnal critters like scorpions and dung beetles scuttle out of their hiding spots as kangaroo rats and black-footed ferrets scurry about. Bats, owls and moths flutter through the night sky. Below the waves, coral reefs release plumes of eggs and deep-sea inhabitants like squid and lantern fish rise from the depths to feed.”
“For thousands of years, humans have also partaken in the night. Around the Arctic Circle, where winter nights can stretch weeks, Indigenous communities have long used the stars and the flicker of the northern lights to guide their movements. These celestial bodies also shaped their culture by inspiring mythology and influencing the art they created”….But the clear night sky that life has revolved around for millions of years is beginning to fade. For the past 80,000 years, humans have used fire and other methods to illuminate the darkness. In the last century, light from ever growing cities has put vast amounts of artificial illumination into the night sky, creating a haze that obscures the stars”.
“However, this darkness is not lost for good. “Lights Out” offers visitors the opportunity to learn how they can mitigate light pollution in their own neighborhoods. The exhibition’s displays outline the “Five Principles of Responsible Outdoor Lighting,” developed by the International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society, which present solutions for common poor-lighting practices. Photographs of entire communities that have adopted these “dark sky” lighting practices show how individual changes scale up when people work together”.
The Lights Out exhibit developer is Jill Johnson.
