National Museum of American History
The Stories Behind Holiday Songs
This past Sunday, on a stage in the foyer of the National Museum of American History, three theatrical performers sang a version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" I had never heard before—the original version. "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we ma...
December 23, 2008 |
By Megan Gambino
Smithsonian Weekend Events December 12-14
Friday, December 12: Bootleg FilmThe best of friends, a gangster and a cop go on a road trip to attend the funeral of a woman who was married to one and had a "bit on the side" with the other. A darkly comic road trip movie with some unexpected twists and turns. In Japanese with English subtitles. ...
December 12, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Smithsonian Events Week of December 8-14
Monday, December 8 Tour Arts of JapanIf you only know Japanese art by way of manga, broaden your horizons by coming on out to the Freer Gallery for a guided tour of its extensive collection of screens, paintings, lacquerware, prints, ceramics and sculpture. Free. Meet at Info Desk. Freer Gallery of...
December 08, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Guess the Crowd at American History Museum
Visitors over the Thanksgiving holiday rocked the house over at the newly re-opened National Museum of American History. At one point on Friday, Nov. 28, access to the building had to be "pulsed," in other words, you couldn't get in, unless someone came out. Visitors gamely lined up on the National...
December 02, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Sneak Peek at the film Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Why are we Around the Mall bloggers so excited about the upcoming Dreamworks 20th Century Fox film, Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian, set to be released next May? It’s all about ego. Here we have an opportunity to sit in a darkened theater and nitpick over all the inaccuracies.So, le...
November 28, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Top 10 Reasons to Visit the National Museum of American History This Weekend
10. To revel in the $85 million renovation. Peruse the 400 hand-selected artifacts from the museum’s collection of three million in its new five-story sky-lit atrium.
9. To be the first of 1,814 visitors (the year Francis Scott Key saw the flag fly over Ft. McHenry) through the...
November 21, 2008 |
By Megan Gambino
American History Transformed, Watch the New Museum Evolve
All week long we've been writing about tomorrow's grand reopening of the National Museum of American History, and now you can get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the building as it is transformed. Watch the above video to see the stark differences between the museum of old and today's stun...
November 20, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
There's Nothing Like a Spark!Lab to Ignite the Imagination
Steven Madewell's official title is interpretive exhibits coordinator, but he prefers "Resident Eccentric," a title he proudly points to on a badge he has pinned to his white lab coat.When the National Museum of American History reopens on Friday, visitors are likely to find Madewell and Tricia Edw...
November 19, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
The Ruby Slippers Return to the Museum of American History
For nearly 70 years the motion picture The Wizard of Oz has given faithful service to its evergreen fashion philosophy: there is nothing more important than owning the right pair of shoes.Indeed, the ruby slippers were absolutely my "must-see" whenever I visited the Smithsonian. After a two-year va...
November 18, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Make Campaign History, Share McCain/Obama Election Night Memories and Stories Here
Across the Smithsonian Institution, historians are collecting artifacts from the campaign and that historic night, Tuesday, November 4, 2008.
Smithsonian curators Larry Bird and Harry Rubenstein from the National Museum of American History have been carefully collecting artifacts throughout the pri...
November 14, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
American History Museum: Pieces of Our Past
Smithsonian curators probe the meanings of telltale objects
November 2008 |
By Anika Gupta
Bill Viola: The Mind's Eye
Video artist Bill Viola dropped his notes on his way up to the podium last Wednesday night at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. With a shrug, he joked that his lecture—the pages now scrambled—would lack order. But the traditional organization one expects from a story or a narrative is decidedly...
September 16, 2008 |
By Megan Gambino
Believe it: "The X-Files" are at the Smithsonian
I started watching The X-Files circa 1997. I was in middle school, finally old enough to stay up until ten on a school night, and oh buddy, did I get hooked. The bizarre tales of paranormal activity instantly made for fascinating viewing, but the show’s tone—which ranged from the frightening to the...
July 17, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Golden Grail
Few U.S. coins are rarer than the never circulated 1933 double eagle, melted down after the nation dropped the gold standard
June 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
Ivory Merchant
Composer Irving Berlin wrote scores of hits on his custom-built instrument
May 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
Celluloid Cynicism
The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s film noir series commenced last Wednesday with a screening of Billy Wilder’ s pitch-perfect 1950 Hollywood satire, Sunset Boulevard. The crowds stayed away, but all six of us movie mavens in attendance were enthusiastically glued to the screen.
After all, we...
April 18, 2008 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Stephen Colbert Declared A National Treasure
Last night marked a new chapter in the Stephen Colbert—Smithsonian saga. American History Museum director Brent Glass has had a change of heart. Stephen Colbert, he says, is a National Treasure.It started back in January, when the Comedy Central satirist met with Glass and lobbied him to include a ...
April 02, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
Daredevil
Evel Knievel took risky behavior (and showboating) to new heights
March 2008 |
By Owen Edwards
Rose Marie's Black Bow Now in the Smithsonian
The American History Museum, under renovation and due to reopen this fall, now has the typewriter from "Murder She Wrote" and Catwoman's skin-tight suit.That's the result of a cache of recent donations by nine actresses whose pioneering work on stage and screen peaked from the 1920s to 1970s.These ...
February 28, 2008 |
By Kenneth R. Fletcher
The Horns Got Hot at the Pyramids
It was a swinging good time at the Pyramids this past week and no, we're not talking about a bluesy New Orlean's juke joint, we're talking the real thing, the Great Pyramids of Giza.The 17-member Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra (SJMO) is just back from a whirlwind, seven-night festival that ...
February 25, 2008 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
