Vinalhaven Lobster Front and Center at Smithsonian Exhibit

On June 18, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History opened a new exhibit, From these Lands: Sharing Our Natural and Cultural Heritage, which displays natural history objects from the nation’s 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. 

Photo Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution

Every state, district and territory has plants, animals and minerals that represent their unique character, from birds, flowers and shells to rocks, gemstones and fossils. The exhibit's displays emphasize the connections between people, places, and the natural world.

At the center of the exhibit’s State Symbols display is a large American lobster harvested last year by a Maine lobsterman from Vinalhaven. Upon discovering that the Smithsonian’s natural history museum collection lacked a suitable lobster for display Danielle Olson, a digital producer in the Smithsonian’s Communications and Public Affairs department who has family ties to the Maine lobster fishery, donated a large specimen specifically for the exhibit and four others that will remain in the museum’s permanent collection.

Visit the exhibit online at https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/these-lands-sharing-our-natural-and-cultural-heritage. See a video of catching the lobster at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=985595397830015