American History
Environmental Film Festival Roundup
The D.C. Environmental Film Festival is upon us!The Smithsonian is offering a variety of free movies and events in conjunction with the 2010 Environmental Film Festival. Check out the festival's website and goSmithsonian for full information on dates, times and film synopses. Feel free to downloa...
March 19, 2010 |
By Jamie Simon
Harriet Tubman Artifacts Donated to the Smithsonian
The last time Harriet Tubman heard the African American spiritual, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," was in the final hours of her life, as friends and family gathered around her and sang the song to "carry her home."Tubman (1822- 1913), an African American abolitionist and humanitarian who guided dozens...
March 11, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Meet Mrs. Obama's Inaugural Jewelry Designer Loree Rodkin
"You've called the wrong jewelry designer," was Rodkin's first thought when she got the call to do Michelle Obama's inaugural earrings, ring and bracelets
March 09, 2010 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ball Dress Comes to the Smithsonian
At last, the long-awaited moment has arrived. The white chiffon, off-theone-shoulder dress that Michelle Obama wore to ten inaugural balls last January will go on view at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History beginning Wednesday, March 10.Full Stop. Everybody take a deep breath. It'...
March 05, 2010 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
The Search for the Guggenheim Treasure
Loot valued at $20 million lies off the coast of Staten Island, and Ken Hayes is on the hunt for the sunken silver bullion
March 05, 2010 |
By Christopher Solomon
Weekend Events: Black History Month Family Celebration, Glass Artist Karen LaMonte, and the Zoo's Wild Side Stage
Friday, February 26: Artist Talk: Karen LaMonteGlass artist Karen LaMonte—who American Art Museum visitors may know for her cast glass sculpture Reclining Dress Impression with Drapery—will be discussing her work and the unique process she uses to create her sensuous glass garments. Free, American ...
February 26, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
30th Anniversary of the Miracle on Ice
As athletes continue to create new Olympic moments (I’m still coming down from Shaun White’s victory run), we here at ATM thought it a good time to reflect on a classic one of the past—the so-called “Miracle on Ice.”Thirty years ago today, the U.S. men’s hockey team faced the Soviet Union in the se...
February 22, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
Events: Founding Fathers, Civil Rights Activists and Gershwin's Porgy
Monday, February 22: Words Between Two Reformers: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt: Cultures in Motion PerformanceIn this theatrical piece, learn about the friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune who was a member of the Black Cabinet, a collective of representatives wo...
February 22, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Events: How To Build a Building, Remember Japanese Internment and Celebrate Civil Rights
Sorry kids, no special events happening today. But never fear—other stuff is here! Be sure to check this Web site for a listing of regularly scheduled Smithsonian fun.Wednesday, February 17: Discovery Theater: Builder BillCelebrate Engineering Week with Builder Bill who will show you how buildings ...
February 16, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Preserving Stories: The "Backstage Pioneer of American Ballet"
Sometimes through the passing of a great American, we discover a story that is very much alive, and preserved with the artifacts they leave behind.So when we heard about the death of May Asaki Ishimoto, a second generation Japanese American who survived two years in a World War II internment camp t...
February 12, 2010 |
By Erica R. Hendry
Events: Celebrate Black History Month With Art and Science's Best and Brightest
Monday, February 1: African Art Book ClubWhile I'm hoping I'm wrong in this assumption, something tells me that African literature is not commonly being taught in American high schools. (Personally, I was fortunate enough to have a teacher have me read Things Fall Apart—which is absolutely amazing ...
February 01, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Courage at the Greensboro Lunch Counter
Fifty years ago, four college students sat down to request lunch service at a North Carolina Woolworth's and ignited a struggle
February 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
Behind the Scenes in Monument Valley
The vast Navajo tribal park on the border of Utah and New Mexico stars in Hollywood movies but remains largely hidden to visitors
February 2010 |
By Tony Perrottet
The Scurlock Studio: Picture of Prosperity
For more than half a century the Scurlock Studio chronicled the rise of Washington's black middle class
February 2010 |
By David Zax
The Changing Definition of African-American
How the great influx of people from Africa and the Caribbean since 1965 is challenging what it means to be African-American
February 2010 |
By Ira Berlin
Events: African American Patriots, Firefighter Memorabilia and Getting to Know Phoebe Greenberg
Monday, January 25:Nothing extra special happening today, but there is always plenty to do around the Smithsonian! Check out this site for a listing of regularly-scheduled fun at the museums or check out an IMAX movie. You can find IMAX listings here.Tuesday, January 26: For Love of Liberty: The St...
January 25, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Henrietta Lacks’ ‘Immortal’ Cells
Journalist Rebecca Skloot’s new book investigates how a poor black tobacco farmer had a groundbreaking impact on modern medicine
January 22, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Weekend Events: Celebrate the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., Storytelling and More
Friday, January 15:Sorry kids, no special evening events happening today. But never fear—other stuff is here! Be sure to check this Web site for a listing of regularly scheduled Smithsonian fun.Saturday, January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Three-Day Family FestivalCivil rights is an ongoing...
January 15, 2010 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Have You Hugged Your Computer Today?
January may mean New Year’s and half-priced Christmas decorations to some, but for those who live and die by their keyboard shortcuts (like me, alas), January marks the anniversary of the computer. In 1984, Apple Inc. brought the world the Macintosh, heralding in its new brand of personal computin...
January 14, 2010 |
By Jamie Simon
Indian Ledger Drawings at the American History Museum
Between 1875 and 1878, seventy-two Plains Indians were imprisoned at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida, for their involvement in the Red River Wars in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Their captors, particularly a warden by the name of Richard Henry Pratt, encouraged the Indians to draw during...
January 13, 2010 |
By Megan Gambino
