Katie Nodjimbadem

Katie Nodjimbadem

 

Katie was formerly the staff reporter for Smithsonian magazine.

A beach at Durban reserved for whites. An amendment to the Separate Amenities Act extended the laws to beaches. January 1, 1976

A Look Back at South Africa Under Apartheid, Twenty-Five Years After Its Repeal

Segregated public facilities, including beaches, were commonplace, but even today, the inequality persists

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit in The Walk

What Happens to Your Body When You Walk on a Tightrope?

It's more than just an insane amount of courage that gets people on the tightwire

Michelle Obama and Madame Peng reveal the name of the Zoo's new giant panda cub: Bei Bei.

Two Special Visitors to the National Zoo Announce the Panda Cub's New Name: Bei Bei

Michelle Obama visits Zoo with Madame Peng Liyuan, First Lady of the People's Republic of China to make the special announcement

How Powerful Is a Volcanic Eruption and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Toni Tipton-Martin's book The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks gives readers a new look at African-American cooking history and culture.

What 200 Years of African-American Cookbooks Reveal About How We Stereotype Food

In a new book, food journalist Toni Tipton-Martin highlights African-American culinary history through hundreds of pages of recipes

The Star Trek starship Enterprise model on display in the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building in 1975.

Trekkies Needed for USS Enterprise Restoration Project

The National Air and Space Museum asks "Star Trek" fans for pre-1976 images or film of the original studio model of the USS Enterprise

This is your brain on science.

"Hidden Brain" Podcast Will Make You Think Twice About Your Unconscious Mind

In the new NPR program, correspondent Shankar Vedantam connects rigorous science with people's everyday experiences

Emmett Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi, for allegedly flirting with a white woman.

Emmett Till's Open Casket Funeral Reignited the Civil Rights Movement

Mamie Till Mobley's decision for her slain son's ceremony was a major moment in Civil Rights history.

This Bionic Suit May Be the Future of Prosthetics

Inventor Scott Summit is personalizing medical devices through 3D printing

Waves kicked up by Hurricane Dora pound a beachfront hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1964.

Tampa and Dubai May Be Due for Extreme "Grey Swan" Hurricanes

A new model combines historical data and physical modeling to find the risks of catastrophic storms in unexpected places

The male panda cub (upper right) is now 4.9 ounces, having gained almost a full ounce in the last 72 hours. The cub was sired by Tian Tian by artificial insemination.

It's a Boy! The Panda Cub Was Fathered by the National Zoo's Tian Tian (Video)

Zoo scientists say that their newly developed genetic test determined the sex of the panda

The first edition of The Guinness Book of Records had a waterproof cover to protect it from pub spills.

The Guinness Book of World Records: A Promotional Stunt That Became an International Phenomenon

The book that makes us ooh and ahh, and squirm in our seats is more than 65 years old

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These Maps Show the Severe Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans

Where does the city stand now, compared to where it was ten years ago when the storm hit

Screen grab from Panda Cam

BREAKING: A Panda Cub is Born at the National Zoo (Video)

The 17-year-old female giant panda Mei Xiang gives birth

Veterinarians detected what they believe is a developing giant panda fetus in an ultrasound procedure on giant panda Mei Xiang. Based on the size of the fetus, which is about four centimeters, officials say that Mei Xiang could give birth early next week, or possibly in early September.

Panda Cub (Or Is It Bamboo?) Detected in Mei Xiang's Ultrasound

Breeding pandas is complicated and frustrating. The Zoo's female Giant Panda has delivered two healthy cubs in the past ten years

Could This 'Drinkable Book' Provide Clean Water to the Developing World?

Pour untreated water over a page from the book and silver nanoparticles embedded in it will kill nearly 100 percent of disease-causing bacteria

A combined shot shows two Perseids falling a minute apart over Bergen, Norway, on August 13.

See Spectacular Photos From This Year's Perseid Meteor Shower

The annual event sent sparks flying over dark skies as Earth plowed through debris from a comet

When a Trip to the Zoo Resulted in an Engineering Breakthrough

Megan Leftwich, an engineering professor at George Washington University, is building a robotic flipper based on her observations of sea lions

The Yamaki Pine, which survived the bombing of Hiroshima, resides at the U.S. National Arboretum. The tree serves as a reminder of the continued peace between the United States and Japan.

The Bonsai Tree That Survived the Bombing of Hiroshima

Now living in Washington, D.C., this bonsai tree outlasted the atomic blast

Screenshot from "A Wild Hare"

What Gives Bugs Bunny His Lasting Power?

From the moment of his first “What’s Up, Doc?” in 1940, the trickster hare has topped the list of great cartoon characters

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