In 2026, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is celebrating all things American bison. Through a series of new exhibitions, displays and programming, the national mammal will take center stage on the National Mall to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On March 11, three larger-than-life bronze bison statues will undertake a weeklong, cross-country stampede from a foundry in Colorado to the Smithsonian. A gift to the museum by Naoma Tate and the family of Hal Tate, the bronze bison will stop at several museums along the way before being permanently installed on a pair of plinths flanking the museum’s entrance on the National Mall on March 18; they will be on view to the public beginning March 19. The arrival of the bronze bison to the National Mall marks a homecoming for the massive mammals. In the late 1880s, when the species was teetering on the edge of extinction, several bison were brought to live in a pen behind the Smithsonian Institution Building, or Castle, as part of one of the country’s earliest conservation efforts.
The arrival of the bronze bison sets the stage for “Bison: Standing Strong,” a new exhibition exploring the enduring cultural and ecological legacy of American bison. The exhibition, which opens Thursday, May 7, will spotlight the complex tale of this remarkable species from ancient times to the present through fossils, mounted specimens, anthropological objects and images of bison-themed items from across the Smithsonian’s vast collection…