Photo courtesy of National Geographic.

By DCist Contributor Elizabeth Packer

It’s autumn in D.C, and apple season is in full swing, but unless you picked your apple yourself, there’s a good chance the fruit originated on the other side of the country, in Washington state. The journey our food takes from field to table is just one aspect of the system that you can explore at National Geographic’s (1145 17th Street NW) “Food: Our Global Kitchen” exhibit, on view now through February 22, 2015.

As you wander through the exhibit, which is organized into grow, transport, cook, taste, eat and celebrate sections, there are plenty of interactive displays to keep the journey exciting, engaging all of the senses. Listen to the bustling sounds of a pre-Columbian Mayan market. Smell a variety of spices from around the world at clear boxes throughout the exhibit that release fragrant puffs, from lavender to ginger, at the press of a button. Trace the transport of global food commodities, like tuna and bananas, on a touchscreen map that lets you explore the costs and impact of their shipment.

Though certain sections cover well-known territory—it’s not news that people are worried about how to feed an expected 9 billion people by 2050—you will gather plenty of interesting food facts by visiting the exhibit. There’s a well-executed look at food waste, including the startling fact that the average American grocery store throws out about $2,300 worth of food every day. In a section that examines how foods are transported beyond their places of origin, you’ll learn that Europeans initially feared that tomatoes were poisonous when they were first brought over from the Americas.

There’s an exhibit case full of meal recreations, so you get a look at what a typical breakfast for Olympian Michael Phelps looks like: three fried egg sandwiches, one omelet, a bowl of grits, three pieces of French toast and three chocolate chip pancakes. In a room devoted to meals throughout history, you can see that Jane Austen liked to treat herself to frozen desserts at the home of het wealthy brother, and Kublai Khan was eating Asian fusion food way before Wolfgang Puck came onto the scene. While there are a few old school dioramas reminiscent of middle school history projects, overall, the exhibit does a nice job of incorporating technology and making the information presented feel accessible and relevant.

And no exhibit about food would be complete without a chance to eat. Stop by the test kitchen, sponsored by Whole Foods, where cooking demos and samples are offered daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The kitchen’s seasonal focus will change every two weeks—from now through November 9th, squash and pumpkins are the featured produce, and a recent visit yielded a taste of butternut squash and spinach salad, pumpkin shortbread, and spiced cider.

In conjunction with the “Food: Our Global Kitchen” exhibit, the museum is hosting a variety of events to further explore the way we eat and the impacts of our food choices. Upcoming events include From Farm to Table: A Photographer’s Journey on November 5, Eat, The Story of Food on November 17, and Delectable Pairings, a beer, wine and cheese pairing on November 18.

National Geographic’s $11 admission price includes both exhibits, so after getting your fill at “Food: Our Global Kitchen,” you can go learn about dinosaurs, like the recently discovered Spinosaurus whose statue currently stands watch outside of the building.

The National Geographic Museum is located at 1145 17th Street NW and is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm.