Community Structures
The Divine Art of Tapestries
The long-forgotten art form receives a long overdue renaissance in an exhibit featuring centuries-old woven tapestries
December 23, 2008 |
By Matthew Gurewitsch
The End of the Game, a Mystery in Four Parts
In a first-hand account of participating in an alternative reality game, one player gets caught up in the challenge
December 22, 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
The International Dinosaur Illustration Contest
For as long as scientists have been studying dinosaurs, illustrators have been drawing them. Whether it's precise depictions of their bones or imaginative restorations of what dinosaurs might have been like in life, paleo-illustration has been a diverse and popular field for over 150 years.In honor...
December 05, 2008 |
By Brian Switek
Gettysburg Address Displayed at Smithsonian
Lincoln's timeless speech during the Civil War endures as a national treasure
December 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
A Capitol Vision From a Self-Taught Architect
In 1792, William Thornton designed America's defining monument, where a new visitor center opens in December
December 2008 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
A Monumental Struggle to Preserve Hagia Sophia
In Istanbul, secularists and fundamentalists clash over restoring the nearly 1,500 year-old structure
December 2008 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
The Dinosaurs Devoted to Dixie
In 1863, a group of paleontologists discovered an abandoned mine shaft in Natural Bridge, Virginia. They were shocked to find that it led to a lost world where dinosaurs still lived, a discovery of great interest to the Union Army. The Yankees devised a plan to unleash some of the toothy beasts aga...
November 25, 2008 |
By Brian Switek
The Road to Repatriation
The National Museum of the American Indian works with Native Tribes to bring sacred artifacts home again
November 25, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
“Cliff” the Triceratops finds a good home
There are few things more nerve-wracking for paleontologists than fossil auctions. Exquisite specimens often command high prices and can be snapped up by private collectors, which keeps important fossils out of the hands of scientists. The impressive Tyrannosaurus “Sue,” for instance, was sold for ...
November 18, 2008 |
By Brian Switek
Chasing the Lydian Hoard
Author Sharon Waxman digs into the tangle over looted artifacts between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Turkish government
November 14, 2008 |
By Sharon Waxman
American History Museum: Pieces of Our Past
Smithsonian curators probe the meanings of telltale objects
November 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
Star-Spangled Banner Back on Display
After a decade’s conservation, the flag that inspired the National Anthem returns to its place of honor on the National Mall
November 2008 |
By Robert M. Poole
Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?
Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, Turkey's stunning Gobekli Tepe upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization
November 2008 |
By Andrew Curry
Feeling Blue: Expressionist Art on Display in Munich
Visitors catch a glimpse of the groundbreaking, abstract art created by
preeminent 20th century expressionists.
November 01, 2008 |
By Amanda Bensen
How Dinosaur Poop Got Its Name
Earlier this year, Smithsonian published an article, “Where Dinosaurs Roamed,” that touched briefly on the war between the two men who started us down the path to our current dinosaur obsession:
“Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope were the two most prominent dinosaur specialists of the 1...
October 24, 2008 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Answers to Last Week's Sesame Street Quiz
*SPOILER ALERT*We will be posting answers to our Sesame Street quiz throughout the week. Did you miss it? Check out our video before we spoil some of the fun.Have you watched it? Ready to test your Sesame Street-smarts? Let's go...answers are after the jump.Question 1: When did Cookie Monster eat a...
October 15, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Sesame Street Redux and Jim Henson's Fantastic World
Hobnobbing with celebs has become sort of our specialty here at the Around the Mall blog. And this summer we had a couple of sit downs with some old friends from Sesame Street. Check out our video. While the children's puppet theater—part of the exhibition, Jim Henson's Fantastic World—was meant fo...
October 06, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Get Your Game On
At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, tech-savvy players gather clues in the alternate reality game "Ghosts of a Chance."
October 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
New Light on Stonehenge
The first dig in 44 years inside the stone circle changed our view of why—and even when—the monument was built
October 2008 |
By Dan Jones
Eastern State Penitentiary: A Prison With a Past
Philadelphia set the stage for prison reform not only in Pennsylvania, but also the world over
October 01, 2008 |
By Chai Woodham
