“Quicktake: Stamps of Approval” features the work of American industrial designers recognized by the U.S. Postal Service in a new series of Forever stamps. The stamps commemorate pioneers of American industrial design whose designs helped shaped the look of everyday life in the 20th century.
A new educational website, “American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges,” targets middle and high school teachers, students and the general public.
Millions of people across the United States will sit down Nov. 24 to a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, potatoes, squash, corn and cranberries. These foods have become synonymous with Thanksgiving, but how did they end up on tables from Maine to California? According to Bruce Smith, senior scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, much of what is eaten at Thanksgiving today came from Mexico and South America.
When you’re caught under the mistletoe, the tradition is to kiss the person next to you. But this holiday season you may want to wow them first with some cool mistletoe facts from a Smithsonian botanist.
Imagine spending an internship engaging, designing and educating at the world’s largest museum and research complex. That’s what students from the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Maine and George Washington University did while interning at the Smithsonian—working behind-the-scenes alongside experts in art, history, culture and science.
Did you know the Smithsonian has 35 acres of public gardens? Smithsonian horticulturists will share their knowledge of the gardens with hands-on demonstrations and more than 20 family-friendly activities at this year's Garden Fest.
The Smithsonian is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts with displays, public programs, special discounts, blog posts and online programs across the Institution. A special website was designed to list all events and exhibitions related to the Girl Scouts anniversary: http://www.si.edu/Events/GirlScouts100.
This Smithsonian Snapshot marks the May 18, 1969, launch of the Apollo 10 mission with an astronaut's space meal from that mission.
The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has launched a new microsite, “RFD: Marketing to a Rural Audience,” telling the story of how an experimental mail service in the late 1800s created a new commercial market.
This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the May 25, 1889, birthday of Igor Sikorsky, inventor of the world’s first mass-produced helicopter.
Wondering where the funk has gone? Look no further than this year’s Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The National Museum of African American History and Culture will “Bring Back the Funk” with a free concert on the National Mall, Wednesday, June 27, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Festival’s performance tent between 12th and 14th streets. “Bring Back the Funk” will open the Folklife Festival’s evening concert series and will take place within view of the future site of the museum.
This guidebook shows how animal rides, sporting events and even ballroom dances were once held in an unexpected place - zoos.
“African Cosmos: Stellar Arts” will be on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art from June 20 through Dec. 9. This is the first major exhibition exploring the historical legacy of African cultural astronomy and its intersection with traditional and contemporary African arts.
This Smithsonian Snapshot marks the June 15, 1942, launch of Victory Mail or V-Mail, the overseas communication service used between military personnel, family and friends. During World War II, Army post offices, Fleet post offices and U.S. post offices were flooded with mail sent by service members and family. V-Mail was a solution to the volume of mail competing with essential wartime supplies for cargo space.
Scientists from the Smithsonian and colleagues have found that waterbird communities can be the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to detecting the health of urban estuary ecosystems. Their research revealed that the types of waterbirds that inhabit urban estuaries are influenced not only by urban development, but also by a far more natural process―rain. The team’s findings are published in the scientific journal PLoS ONE.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian invites visitors to experience its newly opened imagiNATIONS Activity Center, which offers bilingual learning tools and hands-on activities highlighting the diversity, history, culture and contributions of tribes across the Western Hemisphere. Located on the third level and open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the imagiNATIONS Center is a sunny, 5,400-square-foot space lined with a wall of windows offering a stunning view of the Capitol and the National Mall. It features interactive games, storytelling programs and craft workshops throughout the year.
This Smithsonian Snapshot marks the start of summer with this 1969 airline poster. The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s collection of more than 1,300 posters focuses on advertising for aviation-related products and activities. In the mid 1900s, airline advertisements like this one from Continental Airlines promoted exotic travel destinations.
This Smithsonian Snapshot highlights the 1881 Hapsburg Imperial Bridal Veil.
The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens, which is managed by Smithsonian Gardens, recently received the American Public Gardens Association Award for Program Excellence. This annual award recognizes exemplary public garden programming that has been a pioneer in a discipline related to public horticultural institutions. The Archives of American Gardens is a repository devoted to preserving America’s garden heritage. Since its founding in 1987, AAG expanded its holdings to include more than 100,000 images and supplemental files documenting 7,000 gardens from the late 19th century to today.
What is a skink? What do they eat? How long have they lived on earth? These are some of the questions Smithsonian herpetologist George Zug answers in a short interview. Zug has helped name and describe four skinks in the past year.
This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the July 4, 1776, U. S. independence from Great Britain. In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence on this portable desk. It features a hinged writing board and a locking drawer for papers, pens and inkwell.
“What can we see?” and “How do we get there?” are two of the most common questions asked by Smithsonian visitors. To help answer those questions before they are asked, the Smithsonian has collaborated with Google to map its indoor public spaces—17 museums and the National Zoo—for easier exploration. Beginning today, many of the millions of yearly visitors to the Smithsonian can electronically explore the building interiors, floor by floor, and pinpoint themselves within the building. The technology allows visitors with Google Maps for Android to navigate within and between each museum.
The high-tech bicycles used in today's Tour de France have come a long way from the velocipede, the forerunner to the bicycle from the 1800s.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and the Embassy of Peru present Kaypi Perú, a festival highlighting the South American nation’s rich and diverse cultural heritage and traditional arts, Wednesday, July 25, through Monday, July 30. Kaypi Perú ,which means “This is Peru” in the indigenous language of Quechua, includes an art market, music and dance performances, hands-on activities for kids, short films, photo exhibitions of Machu Picchu and the Inka Road, traditional plants, as well as Peruvian Paso horses and alpacas.
This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the back-to-school season with an original pack of Crayola Crayons.
Most Americans know the Smithsonian―or at least they think they do―with its iconic objects, like the Hope Diamond and Dorothy’s ruby slippers, coming to mind. But the Smithsonian is far more than objects on exhibit. To help people understand that it is a place of scientific discovery, cultural exploration and collaborative learning, the Smithsonian is embarking on a first―a national advertising campaign to show that while the Smithsonian is many things, it is also one thing: “Seriously Amazing.”
The world is changing at a rapid pace. Scientists have documented significant changes during the past century in climate, land-use and biodiversity that are unprecedented over the past thousand years. These changes are also occurring at a time of rapid social, economic, political and technological transformation. To examine this phenomenon through the lenses of science, society and culture, the Smithsonian is hosting a symposium with leading experts in the fields of science, culture, history and art.
The Smithsonian and the National Endowment for the Humanities examine the legacy of the Dust Bowl era through current issues of drought, agricultural sustainability and global food security during a live, interactive discussion with experts. The program will be webcast from the museum to Youth Town Halls at locations across the nation Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. EDT.
The Smithsonian announced today that it will launch a major long-term project to study coastal marine biodiversity and ecosystems around the globe. The project is made possible by a $10 million donation from Suzanne and Michael Tennenbaum, senior managing partner of Los Angeles-based Tennenbaum Capital Partners and philanthropist. The goal of the project—Smithsonian’s Tennenbaum Marine Observatories—is to monitor the ocean’s coastal ecosystems over a long period of time.
This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates Halloween with this 1889 scientific illustration of a vampire squid from Smithsonian Libraries. Its jet-black skin, the caped appearance of the webbing between its arms and eyes that appear red under some light conditions are what gave the vampire squid its name.
No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a succulent roasted turkey. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that consumers cook and eat more than 45 million turkeys every Thanksgiving. Very few Americans, however, know much about the difference between their gravy-smothered poultry and the poultry that earlier generations of Americans ate to celebrate the holiday. “Ancient turkeys weren’t your Butterball,” said Rob Fleischer, head of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics. “We set out to compare the genetic diversity of the domestic turkeys we eat today with that of the ancestral wild turkey from South Mexico. Some of what we found surprised us.”
Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates the Thanksgiving season with this 1905 Thanksgiving menu by George Elbert Burr from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. In the early 20th century, Burr worked as an illustrator for several magazines including Harper's, Cosmopolitan and Frank Leslie's Weekly Newspaper, the same newspaper in which Winslow Homer provided illustrations. In 1905, Burr created this menu for a Thanksgiving dinner that included mashed potatoes, English plum pudding, Charlotte Russe dessert and of course, the turkey, illustrated here in a simple pen, ink and watercolor drawing.
The Speedwell Foundation Conservation Carousel—one of the only solar-powered carousels in the world—is now open at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The carousel, made possible by the Speedwell Foundation, features hand-carved and hand-painted animals and has a net-zero impact on the Zoo’s energy consumption.
It is the busiest time of year for shopping. Here is a little food for thought while filling your carts this holiday season. This Smithsonian Snapshot marks the opening of “Food: Transforming the American Table 1950–2000” at the National Museum of American History with these 1949 telescoping shopping carts.
As the U.S. prepares to celebrate the 57th presidential inauguration, here is a peek into the evening of President Abraham Lincoln’s 1865 inauguration celebration. This Smithsonian Snapshot marks Inauguration Day with an original 1865 invitation to President Lincoln’s National Inauguration Ball.
This Smithsonian Snapshot celebrates Black History Month with the 1960 Greensboro, N.C. Lunch Counter from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Looking to perk up your home this winter by redecorating? This Smithsonian Snapshot offers design inspiration from mid-19th century family photos, tintypes and Victorian parlor collages on view in “Pictures in the Parlor” at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through June.
A century from now researchers will gather data from a forest in Maryland to see how, during the previous 100 years, varying levels of species diversity affected its development and how the forest reacted to climate change. The information researchers garner could be critical for conservation, and they will have Smithsonian scientists who planted the entire forest back in 2013 to thank.
Similar to blogging and e-publication in the 21st century, wood-block illustrated books (ehon) in Edo-period Japan (1615–1868) evolved quickly into a popular mode of both artistic production and commercial trade. This Smithsonian Snapshot features an image from Odori Hitori Geiko (Dance Instruction Manual) by Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849). It is in the exhibition, “Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books,” at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
This Smithsonian Snapshot marks the May 14, 1973, launch of Skylab, America’s first space station. Launched by NASA in 1973, Skylab orbited the Earth until 1979. The orbital workshop in this photo is the largest component of Skylab. It housed the living quarters, work and storage areas, research equipment and most of the supplies needed to support a succession of three-man crews.
For decades, ecologists have assumed the worst invasive species—such as brown tree snakes and kudzu—have an “away-field advantage.” They succeed because they do better in their new territories than they do at home. A new study led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center reveals that this fundamental assumption is not nearly as common as people might think.
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival showcases its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans.
The United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimates that of the more than 7,000 languages in the world, nearly half of them are in danger of becoming extinct by the end of this century. The Smithsonian’s Folklife Festival program “One World, Many Voices: Endangered Languages and Cultural Heritage” will focus attention on this urgent issue of global language loss by bringing together communities from around the world that are fighting to save their native tongues and cultural traditions.
This summer, visitors to the 47th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival will experience the vitality and living traditions that define and sustain Hungary’s unique culture. “Hungarian Heritage: Roots to Revival” will feature more than 100 participants from this 1,000-year-old country. Artists, dancers, craftspeople and cooks will share and celebrate the customs and traditions from every part of the country.
Over half of the world’s languages are endangered. The Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages is working with Native Americans to revitalize their languages before they are gone forever. During a two-week program, participants will connect with libraries, archives and museums to support language learning and teaching. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History will host Breath of Life workshops June 9–21.
Planning your summer vacation? The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., is offering special activities, all free of charge. For the first time, the museum will present outdoor band concerts and family events as well as special deals on theater tickets and simulator rides.
Visitors to the 47th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival can learn about the country of Hungary, endangered languages and the history of aesthetics of African Americans. The Festival will be held Wednesday, June 26, through Sunday, June 30, and Wednesday, July 3, through Sunday, July 7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. Admission is free. Festival hours are from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day, with such special evening events as concerts and dance parties beginning at 6 p.m. The Festival is co-sponsored by the National Park Service.
It was one of those happy accidents. When X-raying spacesuits at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in 2008, photographer Mark Avino and conservator Ron Cunningham noted how artistic the gear appeared in scans. They were the first to practice using X-rays on historical space objects for further study. Fast forward to 2011 when the images were paired with their respective spacesuits for a traveling exhibit now on tour.
A fiery explosion on the surface of the Moon, visible to the naked eye, recently surprised NASA astronomers monitoring the moon for meteorite strikes. In this Q&A a geophysicist at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum answers a few questions about the explosion and the geologic processes that shape the moon’s surface.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, in partnership with the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, recently opened “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code”—a multimedia exhibition that explores how the genomic revolution is influencing people’s lives and the extraordinary impact it is having on science, medicine and nature.
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