>>The National Academy of Sciences is running an exhibition meant to “tickle your senses.” Patricia Olynyk’s installation, Sensing Terrains, merges scanning electron micrographs – of wild mouse taste buds, for example – with macro photographs of Japanese gardens where the particular sense was triggered. Wonder if she’s got a piece on toad licking… 2100 C St NW, Rotunda Gallery. Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Runs until June 16.

>>Does the onset of summer have you gasping for more greenery than our fair city can provide? Take a ride up to Wheaton for the day to check out the Brookside Gardens’ 50-acre display. Not only will you get your fill of begonias and butterflies, but a step inside the Visitor’s Center reveals two ongoing art shows – Concetta Scott’s The Garden as Metaphor and the Laurel Art Guild’s Spring Flowers & Landscapes. If your botanical muse is inspired, save your pennies for the Brookside’s art classes, which begin in August, and by this time next year you might have your own masterpiece hanging on their wall. 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD. Gardens open daily from sunrise to sunset; Visitor’s Center open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current shows run until June 24.