About The Sant Ocean Hall

A Look Inside the Sant Ocean Hall

The Sant Ocean Hall is the National Museum of Natural History's largest exhibit, providing visitors with a unique and breathtaking introduction to the majesty of the ocean. The hall's combination of 674 marine specimens and models, high-definition video, and the newest technology allows visitors to explore the ocean's past, present, and future.

If you are coming to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., start planning your visit now to the Sant Ocean Hall.

Visitors entering the 23,000-square-foot exhibition will see a precise replica of a 45-foot-long North Atlantic Right Whale, named Phoenix, who has been tracked by scientists since her birth in 1987, and a giant squid — so rarely seen that a living squid was not caught on camera until 2004. A unique underwater experience is created by "Ocean Odyssey," a high-definition film by renowned underwater cinematographer Feodor Pitcairn, which wraps the walls above the exhibit space. And, like the real ocean, the deeper visitors explore the more they will discover — from the sunlit surface to the dark, pitch-black ocean depth, from the smallest microorganism to the biggest animals ever known.

You can also discover amazing ocean animals and ecosystems here on the Smithsonian Ocean Portal, featuring ocean facts, multimedia, blogs, resources, and more from Smithsonian marine research and collections, the Sant Ocean Hall, and over 20 trusted collaborators such as NOAA, National Geographic, Ocean Conservancy, UNESCO's Marine World Heritage Programme, and more. Explore the Giant Squid, Phoenix, the North Atlantic Right Whale, Coral Reefs, and actions you can take to help the ocean.

Creating the Sant Ocean Hall

The hall is named for Victoria and Roger Sant and family, Washington, D.C., philanthropists and Smithsonian supporters, who donated $15 million to endow the new hall and related programs and outreach activities. The hall, which opened in 2008, is founded on the museum's unparalleled collection (the largest marine collection in the world, with more than 80 million specimens), allowing the Smithsonian to offer the most comprehensive exhibition in the country devoted to a global view of the ocean.

The Sant Ocean Hall was created in partnership with NOAA to show the ocean as a global system that is essential to all life on Earth. The exhibition refers to ocean in the singular because the ocean is one huge, interconnected body of water that spans several basins.