Pumpkin Carving Ideas From Around the Smithsonian

The most iconic of the Smithsonian buildings, the Smithsonian Castle stencil will need a wider pumpkin to fit the entire structure.

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.

Cut around just the dotted lines for this adorable carving of Tai Shan, the panda born at the National Zoo but now living in China.

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.

Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927 in The Spirit of St. Louis. You can see the plane at the Air and Space Museum's "Milestones of Flight" gallery, or carve one out of your pumpkin at home. In this stencil, cut on the dotted lines so the plane stands out from the light behind it.

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.

While Henry the elephant greets visitors to the National Museum of Natural History, the pumpkin version can greet trick-or-treaters at your door. Be sure to cut only along the dotted lines.

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.

The Natural History Museum's "Hall of Human Origins" exhibit is home to a whole series of scary models showing the evolution of the human skull. We chose this neanderthal one as the specimen for your pumpkin carvings. Be sure to cut only along the dotted lines, such that your skull is lit up from behind by the square frame.

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.

The Star-Spangled Banner is the centerpiece of the American History Museum—and this pumpkin requires the most skill in carving. For the stripes, be sure to cut only along the dotted lines. And the stars—best of luck!

Click here for a printer-friendly stencil to attach to your pumpkin.