The difference between exhibit and exhibition is a matter of scale. An exhibit is a public showing of an object�usually a work of art or an object meant to educate�or a small collection of objects. An exhibition is a public showing of a large selection of such items, often united by a theme. For example, a fossilized dinosaur skeleton in the lobby of a museum is an exhibit, and a collection of dinosaur skeletons in a wing of the museum might be called an exhibition.