Erica R. Hendry

Erica R. Hendry

 

Erica R. Hendry is the innovations reporter/producer for Smithsonian.com

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Watch: The Air Force Band Turns the National Air and Space Museum Into a Concert Hall

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7 Epic Fails Brought to You By the Genius Mind of Thomas Edison

Despite popular belief, the inventor wasn’t the “Wiz” of everything

This train car, used for much of the early 20th-century as a segregated passenger car through the southern United States, will be installed Sunday on the National Mall—the first artifact for the future National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Installing an Artifact in a Museum That Hasn’t Even Been Built Yet

This weekend, two objects are being installed in the National Museum of African American History and Culture—more than a year before it's set to open

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10 Gadgets Halsey Burgund Can’t Live Without

From the software he uses to compose to the podcasts that inspire him, these tools help the Boston-based sound artist make music from everyday noises

Have you carved your pumpkin yet?

The Patents Designed to Make Carving Your Pumpkin a Little Less Messy

A group of innovators set out to simplify how we make classic Jack-o-Lanterns and their ghoulish grins

In less than a year, MealSharing.com has built a community that spans 400 cities worldwide.

How to Get a Home-Cooked Meal Anywhere in the World

Jay Savsani describes his early success with MealSharing.com, a website that connects tourists with locals offering a free meal

The National Museum building, now known as the Arts and Industries building, wouldn’t open to the public until October 1881, but made an exception for a big debut: President James A. Garfield’s inaugural ball on March 4, 1881. The building’s West Hall, which faces the central Rotunda, was decorated with “festive buntings, state flags and seals.” Workers constructed a temporary wooden floor for the event’s 7,000 guests (and 10,000 bins for their hats and coats).

The Arts and Industries Building: Innovation Through The Years

A look at the evolution of the second-oldest building on the National Mall

Members of the Lake Whillans drill team lived in yellow tents studding the Antarctic landscape.

Digging for the Secrets Beneath Antarctica

Scientists have found life in the depths beneath the ice

Along with co-authors Don DuRousseau and Joseph Cardillo, Galina Mindlin advise that repeated listening to selected songs can make you more productive, calmer or affectionate.

Music Playlists to Soothe Your Mind

Neuropsychiatrist Galina Mindlin suggests that listening to particular songs on your mp3 player can make you a more productive person

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Jazz: The Smithsonian Collection: 111 Tracks of Music History

"You didn't learn your history, you lived it," says Cornelia Bailey, who grew up on Sapelo.

Holding on to Gullah Culture

A Smithsonian curator visits a Georgia island to find stories of a shrinking community that has clung to its African traditions

"Jazz implicitly communicates some of the most cherished core values of our society," says John Edward Hasse.

The Smithsonian's Ambassador of Jazz

Music curator John Edward Hasse travels the globe teaching the genre that revolutionized American music

At American History through fall 2011, more than 50 works are on display in the exhibit "Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop and Turn."

What's Up

Nina Simon advises museums how to involve visitors in the design of exhibitions.

Nina Simon, Museum Visionary

The author helps museums create systems in which visitors participate in exhibition design

African slaves brought their art of basket weaving to the American South. See samples such as this wave basket through November 28 at African Art.

What's Up

"Kids have fantastic ideas," says "wired composer" Tod Machover, holding an instrument from the Beatles version of Rock Band, the computer-based musical toy invented by his students at MIT.

Tod Machover on Composing Music by Computer

The inventor and MIT professor talks about where music and technology will intersect over the course of the next 40 years

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Red Panda Cub Dies at the National Zoo

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Roundup: Cool Down, Speak Up and Faraway Places

2,168 Albums Later: The Legacy of Moses Asch

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Wednesday Roundup: Your Face to Space and Early Computer Games

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