Fine Arts
Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine
These delicate and stunning creatures are offering Smithsonian scientists a warning sign for the world's waters turning more acidic
May 14, 2013 |
By Hannah Waters
Events May 14-16: New Research, Old Films and Live Jazz
This week, hear the latest from the brains at the Smithsonian, dissect the great Nam June Paik's video legacy and relax with live music
May 13, 2013 |
By Leah Binkovitz
This App Uses Audio to Guide Blind Photographers
While blind people can't enjoy photographs the same way sighted people do, that doesn't mean they don't want to take them
May 10, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
What the Great Gatsby Got Right about the Jazz Age
Curator Amy Henderson explores how the 1920s came alive in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel
May 10, 2013 |
By Amy Henderson
28-Year Satellite Time-Lapse Shows Exactly What We’re Doing to Our Planet
28 years in just a few seconds, as seen from space
May 09, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Events May 10-12: Plant Potting, Super Science Saturday and a Musical Tribute to Mother’s Day
This weekend, celebrate the earth by playing in a garden, unlock the mysteries of astronomy and take mom to hear some great classical music
May 09, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Feel What It’s Like to Live on an Antarctic Icebreaker for Two Months
In February 2013 Cassandra Brooks, a marine scientist with Stanford University, landed at McMurdo Station, a U.S. research station on the shores of Antarctica’s Ross Sea. For two months she worked on a ship, the icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer, cruising through the Antarctic sea. Brooks documented her life on the ship for National Geographic, and now she’s [...]
May 07, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
U.S. Gives Mongolia Its Tyrannosauras Skeleton Back
The U.S. government is returning a Tyrannosaurus skeleton to Mongolia and the Metropolitan Museum of Art is giving two statues back to Cambodia
May 07, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Creepy or Cool? Portraits Derived From the DNA in Hair and Gum Found in Public Places
Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg reconstructs the faces of strangers from genetic evidence she scavenges from the streets
May 03, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
This Camera Looks at the World Through an Insect’s Eyes
With 180 individual lenses, this new camera mimics an insect's compound eye
May 02, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Want to See How an Artist Creates a Painting? There’s an App for That
The Repentir app reveals an artist's creative process by allowing users to peel back layers of paint with the touch of their fingertips
May 02, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
Events May 3-5: American Civil Rights, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Interactive Robot Games
This weekend, tour America's shift towards equality, meet local Asian Pacific American writers and celebrate Children's Day
May 02, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
PHOTOS: The Mind-Blowing, Floating, Unmanned Scientific Laboratory
Wave Gliders are about to make scientific exploration a lot cheaper and safer
May 2013 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Real Deal With the Hirshhorn Bubble
The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum looks to expand in a bold new way
May 2013 |
By Joseph Giovannini
Never Underestimate the Power of a Paint Tube
Without this simple invention, impressionists such as Claude Monet wouldn’t have been able to create their works of genius
May 2013 |
By Perry Hurt
How Do You Make a Painting Out of Sounds?
Jennie C. Jones has the answer. Her first solo museum show opens at the Hirshhorn in May
May 2013 |
By Jamie Katz
Spotlight
The latest Smithsonian exhibitions showcase Civil War photography, Buddhist figures and Time magazine cover portraits
May 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
Egypt’s Murals Are More Than Just Art, They Are a Form of Revolution
Cairo’s artists have turned their city’s walls into a vast social network
May 2013 |
By Waleed Rashed
Before There Was Photoshop, These Photographers Knew How to Manipulate an Image
Jerry Uelsmann and other artists manually blended negatives to produce dreamlike sequences
May 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio


