Orchid exhibition in Washington, D.C.

This video says about itself:

8 April 2011

The Smithsonian Gardens and the United States Botanic Garden share plants and resources to present an annual orchid extravaganza, presented this year at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington until April 24, 2011. The Smithsonian Gardens curates close to 9,000 live orchid plants, many of which are displayed in “Orchids: A View from the East.” The reverence for orchids in Chinese culture is clearly evident in this exhibit. You can learn more about the exhibit here.

From the Smithsonian Gardens in the USA:

20th Annual Orchid Exhibition: Interlocking Science and Beauty

January 24 – April 26, 2015 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Gardens and the United States Botanic Garden will open the 20th annual orchid exhibition, “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty,” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 (closes April 26, 2015.) On any given day, the exhibition will display more than 300 orchids. Change-outs occur often; during the course of the exhibit thousands of orchids will be on view.

“Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty”, will explore the rich crossroads where orchid botany, horticulture, and technology connect. Featuring orchids from the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection and the United States Botanic Garden Orchid Collection, the exhibit looks at how new ideas, technologies, and inventions change the way we study, protect, and enjoy orchids. Each new innovation is like a puzzle piece: it fills in gaps in our knowledge and creates a larger and more complex picture of orchids.

At first, Victorian explorers and horticulturists found ways to transport and grow exotic orchids. More recently, we developed labs to grow these flowers on a massive scale (though some labs concentrate on learning about wild orchids). Our relatively recent awareness of the need to protect wild orchids has spurred conservation efforts, both in nature reserves and in labs.

The future of orchids is full of possibility. Today we use DNA technologies to create new orchid hybrids, and identify wild species and their symbiotic fungi. Meanwhile, imaging technologies reveal new facets of these fascinating flowers.

Orchid Family Day

Visitors of all ages are invited to explore the world of orchids up close and hands on at the Orchid Family Festival in the Evans Gallery at the National Museum of Natural History Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Presented in conjunction with “Orchids: Interlocking Science and Beauty,” this free event will feature activities that will bring the exhibition to life. Visitors will be able to make their own miniature Wardian case (an early type of a terrarium), create field journals for orchid observations and fashion beautiful orchid corsages to wear. Orchid experts from Smithsonian Gardens and the U.S. Botanic Garden will be available to answer questions and talk about the orchids from their collections.

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