The Smithsonian invites the public to celebrate American Indian Heritage Month throughout November with a series of performances, lectures, exhibitions, family activities and tours at various museums around the Smithsonian. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated. For a full calendar of events, visit www.SmithsonianEducation.org/Heritage.
When Salvador Dalí first exhibited “Lobster Telephone” at the Galerie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1938, he replaced the handset of a desk telephone with an actual crustacean. Over the five-and-a-half-week run of the “International Exhibition of Surrealism,” the creature would decay, and its odor would turn viewers’ desire to disgust. This Smithsonian Snapshot shows an unscented version of “Lobster Telephone” that will be seen Oct. 29–Feb. 15, 2016, in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s “Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York,” the first major museum exhibition devoted to a comprehensive view of the movement’s three-dimensional works.
David J. Skorton was installed as the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution during a ceremony held on Oct. 19 at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall. The Hon. John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States and Chancellor of the Smithsonian, presided over the ceremony and presented Skorton with a ceremonial brass key that once opened one of the massive oak doors of the Smithsonian Castle.
When the population of one of the Chesapeake Bay’s most famous residents, the blue crab, went into rapid decline due to overfishing, the Smithsonian stepped in to help. Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) have been tracking blue crabs throughout the Chesapeake Bay for decades to understand the impact fisheries have on crab populations. After the crabs are caught, scientists record their condition, size and sex; next, they are given a tag with a number unique to that animal and the phone number for the “Blue Crab Hotline.” The crab is then released back into the Bay.
This monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucaria) is one of the stranger trees growing in the Smithsonian’s Enid A. Haupt Garden in Washington, D.C. Its triangular leaves, which cover the entire tree, both branches and trunk, are thick, tough, and scale-like, with sharp edges and tips. Each leaf can last 10 to 15 years.
El Smithsonian invita al público a celebrar el Mes de la Herencia (del 15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre) con una variada programación que incluye vibrantes presentaciones, conferencias, actividades familiares y exposiciones en varios museos del Smithsonian. Toda la programación es gratuita a menos que se indique lo contrario. Para el calendario completo de los eventos visite www.SmithsonianEducation.org/Heritage.
The Smithsonian invites the public to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15–Oct. 15) with a series of vibrant performances, lectures, family activities and exhibitions at various museums around the Smithsonian. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated. For a full calendar of events, visit www.SmithsonianEducation.org/Heritage.
Smithsonian scientists and colleagues have discovered a new genus and species of river dolphin that has long been extinct. They made the discovery after carefully examining fossil fragments from Panama. The fossil fragments also shed new light on the evolution of today’s freshwater river dolphin species.
The Smithsonian turns 169 today, and to celebrate, we're sharing a photo from our younger days. This photo was taken in 1850 during the Smithsonian Castle’s construction; it is the earliest-known image of the building.
Yoko Ono’s participatory artwork “Wish Tree for Washington, DC” (2007) is open for the summer at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. For most of the year, visitors are invited to whisper their wishes to the tree, a white flowering dogwood in the museum’s collection. But during the summer through Labor Day, they may write their wishes on paper tags and tie them to the tree’s branches.
Her name is Bartzella, and she is something of a novelty and relative newcomer in the world of peonies. She definitely stands out among the other peonies in the Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden in Washington, D.C. Her top distinction is the color of her petals: yellow.
In a world consumed by personal and celebrity image making, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery considers how personalities are constructed in its exhibition “Eye Pop: The Celebrity Gaze.” Featuring 54 portraits, such as this one of Shaun White, it will be open at the Portrait Gallery May 22 through July 10, 2016.
LeRoy Neiman considered this 9-by-13-foot work featuring 18 iconic jazz musicians one of the greatest works in his career. Donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, it was recently unveiled for April, Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM).
s a symbol of friendship, Japan gave cherry trees to Washington, D.C., where they encircle the Tidal Basin. Not far away are the Smithsonian’s Asian art museums, the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. They hold many Japanese artworks that feature cherry blossoms, which Japanese poets have long associated with the transience and shortness of life. This Smithsonian Snapshot is an animated GIF of “Cherry Blossom Flurry at Kambayashi Hot Spring” from the Sackler Gallery.
This nylon jacket belonged to Cesar Chavez, a civil rights, Latino and farm labor leader who in 1962 founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) union, the first effective union of farm workers in the United States. His birthday, March 31, is an official holiday in 10 states.
Esta chaqueta de nylon le perteneció a Cesar Chavez, un líder de los derechos civiles, latinos y de los trabajadores agrícolas que en 1962 fundó la unión de Trabajadores Agrícolas Unidos (United Farm Workers o UFW), la primera unión efectiva de trabajadores agrícolas en los Estados Unidos. Su cumpleaños, el 31 de marzo, es un día de fiesta oficial en 10 estados.
El Smithsonian trae a la capital de la nación la vitalidad cultural, historia y biodiversidad del Perú y de la región andina de América del Sur. A través de una serie de programas, exposiciones y eventos del Smithsonian, los visitantes aprenderán sobre la rica historia y los logros de las comunidades indígenas, la importancia de la continuidad cultural y las tradiciones, y la conservación de la biodiversidad.
The Smithsonian is bringing the cultural vibrancy, history and biodiversity of Peru and the Andean region of South America to the nation’s capital. Through a series of programs, exhibits and events across the Smithsonian, visitors will learn about the rich history and achievements of indigenous communities, the importance of cultural continuity and traditions, and conservation of biodiversity.
he Smithsonian’s National Zoo, in collaboration with Univision’s ¡Despierta America!, is inviting the public to name two rambunctious and charismatic 18-week-old male Andean bear cubs. Starting today, March 16, fans can vote on the Zoo’s website for their favorite among names reflecting the cultural significance of Andean bears to the Quechua and Aymara, the indigenous communities of the Andes region, the native habitat of Andean bears.
The Smithsonian invites the public to celebrate Women’s History Month in March through a series of vibrant performances, lectures, family activities and exhibitions at various museums around the Institution. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated.
This artwork adorns a postage stamp of Admiral Robert E. Peary and Matthew Henson that was issued May 28, 1986. A former sharecropper from Maryland, Henson participated as a navigator and translator in six expeditions to the North Pole and was Peary’s most trusted member of the expedition that discovered the North Pole.
The Smithsonian invites the public to celebrate Black History Month in February through a series of vibrant performances, lectures, family activities and exhibitions at various museums around the Institution. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated.
The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will release their entire collections online Jan. 1, 2015, providing unprecedented access to one of the world’s most important holdings of Asian and American art. The free public resource—called “Open F|S”—will launch at open.asia.si.edu, allowing anyone to explore and create with the collections, from anywhere in the world.
Scientists across the Smithsonian have studied genomics for years, investigating how animal and plant species function, relate to one another, adapt to change and thrive or fail to survive. Genomics also play a key role in their research of climate change, disease and biodiversity conservation. The Smithsonian is now uniting these efforts and creating a plan for transformative future research with the establishment of the Smithsonian Institute for Biodiversity Genomics.
The first presidential portraits created from 3-D scan data are now on display in the Smithsonian Castle. The portraits of President Barack Obama were created based on data collected by a Smithsonian-led team of 3-D digital imaging specialists and include a digital and 3-D printed bust and life mask. A new video released today by the White House details the behind-the-scenes process of scanning, creating and printing the historic portraits.
El Día de los Muertos es una oportunidad para conmemorar y honrar las vidas de aquellos quienes han fallecido, con tradiciones que incluyen fiestas, música, vigilias y ofrendas temporales como esta. La ofrenda tradicionalmente incluye fotos y objetos que conmemoran a los seres queridos para así honrarlos y recordarlos.
The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is a holiday to commemorate and honor the lives of dead loved ones, with traditions that include feasts, music, vigils and creating temporary ofrendas or altars, such as this one. The ofrenda is composed of mementos, photographs and objects of loved ones who have died and is intended to honor and remember their lives.
Smithsonian Chancellor John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, has appointed senior Smithsonian official Albert G. Horvath to be Acting Secretary of the Smithsonian. Horvath will serve in the top leadership position from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2015, after retiring Secretary Wayne Clough departs at the end of December and before incoming Secretary David Skorton arrives July 1, 2015.
Esta vasija de barro representa a un Hueheuteotl (“guey-guey-TE-oh-tul”), un dios mesoamericano personificado en la forma de un anciano y relacionado con el fuego.
This clay vessel depicts a Hueheuteotl ("way-way-TAY-oh-tuhl"), a Mesoamerican deity represented as an old man and associated with fire.
Cien años después de la extinción de la paloma migratoria, los grupos científicos y de conservación de aves más importantes del país se reunieron para publicar el informe Estado de las aves 2014, el análisis más completo de los datos de tendencias a largo plazo correspondientes a las aves de los Estados Unidos alguna vez realizado.
One hundred years after the extinction of the passenger pigeon, the nation’s top bird science and conservation groups have come together to publish The State of the Birds 2014—the most comprehensive review of long-term trend data for U.S. birds ever conducted.
If you visit the Smithsonian Castle this Labor Day weekend, you’ll be seeing red—yarn, that is. The entrance gate to the Haupt Garden, light poles, benches and guide ropes leading to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery have been “yarnbombed,” or swathed under layers of yarn, to highlight a new Sackler Gallery exhibition, “Perspectives: Chiharu Shiota.”
El Smithsonian lo invita a celebrar el Mes de la Herencia Hispana (15 de septiembre al 15 de octubre) con una serie de presentaciones, actividades familiares y exposiciones en varios de los museos de la Institución. Todos los programas son gratuitos, a menos que se indique lo contrario.
The Smithsonian invites the public to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15) through a series of vibrant performances, lectures, family activities and exhibitions at various museums around the Institution. All programs are free unless otherwise indicated.
As sure a sign of summer as lightning bugs but maybe not as welcome, gnats are often thought of as no more than flying specks and a nuisance. But as this Smithsonian Snapshot shows, magnified under a microscope their appearance reveals that they are “true” flies, meaning they have only two wings instead of four.
Today the Smithsonian launches its Transcription Center website to the public. The website is designed to leverage the power of crowds to help the Smithsonian unlock the content inside thousands of digitized images of documents, such as handwritten civil war journals, personal letters from famous artists, 100-year-old botany specimen labels and examples of early American currency.
Looking like a character from a classic Saturday Night Live skit, this cone-headed katydid (Copiphora rhinoceros) unsurprisingly gets its name from its pointy-shaped head.
Japanese collectors have long engaged with objects through the formalized tea presentation called chanoyu. They gave added distinction to stellar tea-leaf storage jars by awarding them personal names and adorning them with precious textiles. This powerful process of seeing and naming created the tea-leaf storage jar named Chigusa. It transformed an imported Chinese jar from a practical container into a vessel worthy of display, ornament and contemplation, although its practicality did not cease to be important. This Smithsonian Snapshot highlights the exhibition “Chigusa and the Art of Tea” at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery through July 27, 2014.
A large brain, long legs, the ability to craft tools and prolonged maturation periods were all thought to have evolved together at the start of the Homo lineage as African grasslands expanded and Earth’s climate became cooler and drier. However, new climate and fossil evidence analyzed by a team of researchers suggests that these traits did not arise as a single package. Rather, several key ingredients once thought to define Homo evolved in earlier Australopithecus ancestors between 3 and 4 million years ago, while others emerged significantly later.
The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery will open a new exhibition featuring six contemporary Latino artists who explore how identities are constructed and negotiated through portraiture. “Portraiture Now: Staging the Self,” open Aug. 22 through April 12, 2015, will include 59 photographs, paintings and mixed media portraits.
La Galería Nacional de Retratos del Smithsonian inaugurará una nueva exposición de seis artistas latinos contemporáneos, quienes exploran cómo se construyen y negocian las identidades a través del retrato. “El retrato ahora: ponerse en imagen” se presentará del 22 de agosto al 12 de abril de 2015 e incluirá 59 fotografías, pinturas y retratos de técnica mixta.
The “Behind the Badge” exhibition opened today at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. It showcases the work of one of the nation’s oldest federal law-enforcement agencies. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service dates to 1776, when Benjamin Franklin first sent a surveyor to investigate the fledgling nation’s mail routes for efficiency and security.
Here at the Smithsonian we are celebrating Sloth Week with four little-known facts about sloths, some of which we found in the Smithsonian’s very own collections.
The Smithsonian celebrates the diversity and traditions of Kenya and its people with the 2014 Folklife Festival program “Kenya: Mambo Poa.” The program will feature more than 80 participants, including athletes, wildlife experts, archeologists and artists highlighting the East African country’s rich cultural heritage.
This summer, visitors to the 48th annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival will experience the living traditions of China, the world’s most populous country. “China: Tradition and the Art of Living” will feature 120 participants highlighting the diversity among the country’s distinct communities. Musicians, dancers, craftspeople and cooks will show how the Chinese, despite current change and pressures, are working to preserve and adapt their traditional culture in meaningful ways.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passenger pigeon’s extinction, when the last individual, named Martha, died Sept. 1, 1914, at the Cincinnati Zoo. Martha is now at the Smithsonian. In this photo, Martha and a fellow male passenger pigeon are getting a touch up by exhibits specialist Megan Dettoria before becoming the centerpiece of the new exhibit “Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North America.” The exhibit opens June 24 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Do you enjoy tequila? Then you need to raise your glass to the pollinating bats that helped to make it. Learn about the bat-tequila connection in this video.
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access is helping students avoid the summer learning slide with a collection of self-directed, project-based learning activities through its Smithsonian Quests program. Smithsonian Quests motivate young people with personal coaching from the Smithsonian and reward their achievements with digital badges.
Inti Raymi or the “Festival of the Sun,” is a celebration of the winter solstice throughout many Andean cultures and will be celebrated at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Saturday, June 21, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The shortest day of the year in the Andes, this event welcomes the sun, longer days, plantings and harvests to follow. The countries of Bolivia and Peru are united in this festival, yet each community has its own unique way of celebrating.
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