Museums
In Honor of Struggle
Life came hard for people like historian Lonnie Bunch's ancestors; he strives to commemorate them
January 1998 |
By Michael Kernan
A Real "Nation's Attic"
It's a place with a two-foot-wide "dead zone," a "wet" pod and a refrigerated room for the garbage
November 1997 |
By Michael Kernan
Pushing the Envelope
At the National Postal Museum, envelopes are as critical a part of history as the letters inside
October 1997 |
By Michael Kernan
When one of the National Zoo's gorillas goes in for tests, it's not just standard operating-room procedure
By discovering heart disease early, echocardiograms have improved life for many a human; now Washington cardiologists are using them to help great apes at the National Zoo
January 1997 |
By Michael Kernan
Around the Mall & Beyond
Since her arrival in September, baby Chitwan has charmed visitors and curators alike; the birth of a rhino is a rare event and hasn't been seen at the National Zoo since 1974
December 1996 |
By Michael Kernan
The Object at Hand
A young war-horse helped Phil Sheridan win the day in the Shenandoah Valley and, made famous by a poem, helped Abraham Lincoln win re-election
November 1996 |
By John Fleischman
The Object at Hand
It took four years, a shipwright and help from the British to create the blue whale model installed in the National Museum of Natural History. After 33 years, it still attracts millions annually
October 1996 |
By Adele Conover
Around the Mall & Beyond
Every belfry must have its bell, and what better time than noon on August 10, the Smithsonian Institution's 150th birthday, to hoist one up to the Castle clock tower and ring out the hour?
August 1996 |
By Michael Kernan
Around the Mall & Beyond
After many an 18-hour day 'tinkering,' and more than 500 patents to his name, Jerome Lemelson is America's most prolific living inventor; now he's giving a leg up to others
July 1996 |
By Michael Kernan
The Inverted Jenny
How an upside-down biplane on a 24-cent stamp, now on display at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum, seemed to jinx early attempts at carrying the mail by air
July 1996 |
By Edwards Park
Phenomena, Comment and Notes
Looking at the Smithsonian from the inside: A 'random sample' of anthropologists, biologists and geologists explain why they consider it an inimitable place to work
June 1996 |
By John P. Wiley, Jr.
Around the Mall & Beyond
Since its founding in 1967, the Anacostia Museum has grown from "storefront" concept to "neighborhood museum" to world renown for its innovative programs and service to the community
January 1996 |
By Michael Kernan
Around the Mall & Beyond
Alan Fern, director of the National Portrait Gallery, offers his insights on the art of reading a portrait
December 1995 |
By Michael Kernan
The Object at Hand
The story behind the Smithsonian's display tiger leads back into tiger history, man-eating and otherwise, and sadly, back to the fact that tigers are now endangered
November 1995 |
By Adele Conover
The Object at Hand
There was a time when a cane was the exclamation point to a true gentleman's attire, but canes have also been put to a remarkable range of uses, quite a few antisocial
October 1995 |
By Edwards Park
Around the Mall & Beyond
The Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex, has yet another address http://www.si.edu on the World Wide Web; so put your feet up and come visit the new 'Museum Without Walls'
October 1995 |
By Michael Kernan
Around the Mall and Beyond
Plant and the butterflies will come: this summer the Smithsonian's new garden welcomes its winged visitors
August 1995 |
By Michael Kernan
Around the Mall & Beyond
At the site of a new Smithsonian museum, a team of archaeologists dug up traces of a 19th-century neighborhood; bottles, chinaware and even a doll will help us learn more about how the people lived
February 1995 |
By Michael Kernan
Howard Hughes
A silver speedster from the 1930s evokes the golden age of flight, a pair of world-class speed records and the early triumphs of Howard Hughes' ultimately tragic life
February 1995 |
By Timothy Foote
