The government shutdown hits the free public museum world this weekend, making this your last chance to visit the Mall museums before they close.
The one exhibition I want to see again this weekend is Little Beasts: Art, Wonder, and the Natural World at the National Gallery of Art.
If you have a chance to go, check out these three highlights:
1) Book of Hours
This richly illustrated book is a Christian devotional with illustrations of God’s creation. In a time without widespread privately-owned Bibles, wealthy patrons read from books like this, which contained prayers, scriptures, and paintings to reflect on throughout the day.
2) The Four Elements by Joris Hoefnagel.
This four-part journal was a private study by Joris, who divided animals and insects into categories of Earth, Air, Wind & Fire. He created these classifications himself, as the field of entomology was still in the future. The insect illustrations are unusually labeled as Fire, and are exquisitely detailed in color.
3) The Final Gallery
In the last room of the exhibition, enjoy the riot of colorful illustrations, animal specimens, and boldly painted walls. The featured Noah’s Ark painting illustrates not only the beauty of the created animals, but also God’s division and ordering of them by sex, clean, and unclean categories.
The free sketchbooks and NGA pencils are a great souvenir and useful gallery tool to keep your kids engaged.
The National Gallery of Art closes Sunday, October 5, 2025, and will remain closed until the government reopens. Little Beasts is a collaboration between the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which is closing Tuesday, October 7.
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