Smithsonian showcases objects from all 50 states

Mississippi - Choctaw dress, features diamond and half-diamond patterns inspired by the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, or sinthullo.

Missouri - the American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula).

Montana - this plains bison calf (Bos bison bison) is a descendant of the six bison that began the free-ranging herd, established by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) to combat the species disappearance due to slaughter in the 1870s.

Nebraska - Stylemys, the first fossil tortoise ever recorded in North America

Nevada - the Virgin Valley opal, Nevada’s state precious gemstone

New Jersey - bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii), the smallest turtle in North America.

New Mexico - the assemblage of temnospondyl amphibians (Anaschisma browni), discovered in New Mexico and dating to about 224–215 million years old.

New York - this northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) from New York was prepared by Theodore Roosevelt when he was 17 years old

North Carolina - the teeth of the mega-toothed shark (Otodus megalodon), commonly known as “megalodon.”

North Dakota - this eared grebe (Podiceps nigricollis), collected in North Dakota in 2012, was part of a study revisiting the same region surveyed during the 1872–1873 U.S. Boundary Survey.

Ohio - preserved in the Smithsonian’s collection, Martha is the last known passenger pigeon that died Sept. 1, 1914.

Oklahoma - the Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) plays an important role in controlling insect populations.

Oregon - the Dungeness crab (Metacarcinus magister) supports a major commercial fishery and plays an important role in the seafood industry.

Pennsylvania - the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is the largest salamander in North America and the sixth largest in the world.

Rhode Island - The quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) is a type of hardshell clam found along the Atlantic coast.

South Carolina - The lettered olive (Oliva sayana) is a species of large predatory sea snail that lives along that Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida and along the gulf coast from Florida to Texas.

California - Benitoite is a brilliant blue mineral and one of the world’s rarest gemstones.

Florida - The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is an iconic species found throughout the region’s wetlands.

New Hampshire - Fluorite is a mineral with optical qualities that produce clearer, sharper images.

Tennessee - Freshwater pearls made by mussels like Megalonaias nervosa.

Utah - The Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) is the United States’ largest native lizard, growing up to 22 inches long.

Vermont - Marble is a metamorphic stone formed when intense heat and pressure recrystallize limestone—a sedimentary rock made from the bodies of tiny marine organisms.

Idaho - This mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides), collected in Idaho in 1912, is part of the museum’s enduring scientific record.

Alaska - A carved walrus ivory tusk from Nunivak Island, Alaska, illuminates how Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous cultures are deeply intertwined.

American Samoa - Samoan siapo, or bark cloth, could be found in ceremonial and everyday dress, uniforms, shrouds and room dividers.

Hawaii - This specimen, known as pahoehoe, forms from basaltic lava that flows in thin, slow-moving sheets.

South Dakota - Ammonites, shelled relatives of modern squid and octopus, swam in the Western Interior Seaway that once covered much of North America.

Texas - This alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) skull from Texas reflects a lineage that bridges the distant past with the present.

Virginia - This Eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is a salamander common in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Washington - The Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) is a bivalve in the family true oysters.

West Virginia - This fossil sea star (Devonaster sp.), discovered in West Virginia, lived between 419 and 359 million years ago, when warm, shallow seas covered much of the continents.

Wisconsin - This dugout canoe from Menominee County, Wisconsin, speaks to the Menominee people’s forestry expertise.

Wyoming - This geyserite from Yellowstone National Park comes from a region that contains more than half of the world’s geysers.

The District of Columbia - This wild rice (Zizania aquatica) specimen was collected in 1958 from the last known wild rice population in the District of Columbia.

Guam - A machete (right), hoe (middle left) and fishing spear (left) were all that was needed to survive in Guam, and betel nut scissors (middle right) facilitated the social and ceremonial consumption of fruits.