National Museum of Natural History
The List: Five Volcanoes to Watch
On the anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the ATM blog team, has compiled a list of five volcanoes that currently threaten population centers
May 18, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Don’t You Wish You Could Wear the Hope Diamond?
But not many people have gotten to wear the Hope Diamond. So when Smithsonian reader John Langlois sent us this 1944 image of his mother, Ethel Galagan, with it around her neck, we were intrigued
May 17, 2011 |
By Jeff Campagna
A New App Called Leafsnap
In fact, Columbia University, the University of Maryland and the Smithsonian Institution have announced that Leafsnap, an iPhone, iPad and Android app that will identify a plant based on a leaf's silhouette, will be released this summer
May 13, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
The List- Five Must-See Butterfly Spots Around the Mall
It is said that April showers bring May flowers. So what do May flowers bring? Pollen, which attracts bees (and attacks the sinuses), and nectar which feeds the butterflies, emblematic of the welcome change in seasons. We know it's spring when we start to see butterflies again, but how do butterfli...
May 12, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
Events for May 9-May 13: Harry Potter, Cultural Dialogue, "Cosmic Collisions"
Monday, May 9 -- Beautiful butterfliesWith new summer hours in place, you can stroll through this special butterfly exhibit with exotic plants and live butterflies from around the world until the last entry at 6 PM. Tickets are required, however and rates are as follows: $6 for adults; $5.50 for ...
May 09, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
An Old Favorite Returns to the National Zoo
If you've had the occasion to visit the National Zoo lately, you might have noticed that something was missing. Not sure? Ok, I'll give you a hint. He's 27 feet long, was named after a dinosaur in the 1956 children's book The Enormous Egg, by Oliver Butterworth, later appeared in the 1967 NBC TV ad...
May 03, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
May 2-6 Events: Written in Bone, Smithsonian Garden Fest and More
Monday, May 2 Written in BoneFamily-friendly and hands-on. Forensic anthropology is not just for scientists! Meet at Natural History in the exhibition, "Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake," and learn to use human bones to solve mysteries. In no time at all, be an expert ...
May 02, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Events: Youth Culture, My Dog Tulip, Poetry and More
Monday, April 25 Born to be Wild 3D features the conservation efforts of primatologist Birute Galdikas with orangutans in Borneo, along with that of Dame Daphne Sheldrick‘s work with elephants in Kenya. Both women live near the animals, rescuing them and returning them to live in the wild. Film ...
April 25, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
One Year Later: Deepwater Horizon
Tomorrow, April 20, marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana. The blast resulted in the release of more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of the next three months. To revisit what hap...
April 19, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Events: Peacock Room Reopens, Earth Day Celebrations
Monday, April 18 Peacock Room Comes to America: A new view of Whistler's Peacock RoomThe Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery is recently restored to its appearance in 1908, when the museum's founder Charles Lang Freer filled its shelves with ceramics he had collected throughout Asia. For those of yo...
April 18, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Weekend events: Latin Jazz, Coral Reef Family Festival, Meet the Artist
Friday, April 15: Latin JazzThe John Santos Sextet will perform jazz from Cuba, Puerto Rico and the United States. Santos, a four-time Grammy nominee, is an expert of Afro-Latino music and is known for his innovative use of traditional forms and instruments in combination with contemporary music....
April 14, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Facial Features of Men and Women Got More Similar?
Douglas Ubelaker of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is an expert at identifying human skeletal remains. To make identification easier, the physical and forensic anthropologist determines the standards for skull size and shape in specific populations.With anthropologists from Nort...
April 14, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Events: "Born to be Wild 3D," Smithsonian Craft Show, Disco at the Postal Museum
Monday April 11 Born to be Wild 3DBorn to be Wild 3D features the conservation efforts of primatologist Birute Galdikas with orangutans in Borneo, along with that of Dame Daphne Sheldrick's work with elephants in Kenya. Both women live near the animals, rescuing them and returning th...
April 11, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
The Smithsonian Museums and The National Zoo Are Open
All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are open.Don't miss out on all the events and happenings, all scheduled as planned. Tarantula feedings at the Natural History Museum. A special tour of the Kinsey Collections at American History. An Earth Day celebration at the American Art Museum.And he...
April 08, 2011 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Feeding the Tarantulas at the Insect Zoo
It's all about timing at the Insect Zoo at the National Museum of Natural History. When I heard that visitors could witness tarantula feedings there, I wanted to get it on video. (I am a journalism student studying this semester at the George Washington University Semester in Washington program, w...
April 05, 2011 |
By Madeline Andre
Events: FONZ Photo Club, Mad Science, Mars and More
Monday April 4: FONZ Photo ClubIf you’re a shutterbug with a penchant for snapping shots of critters, come on out to the National Zoo and participate in the Friends Of the National Zoo (FONZ) photo club’s monthly meeting. Share your photos, hear from speakers and learn about new techniques that may...
April 04, 2011 |
By Michelle Strange
Facebook Friends of Social Networking Scientists Help Identify Fish
Facebook friends provide a variety of uses in ones life—some relationships are beneficial, while others are trivial. At times, their posts can elicit responses from you in a way that no actual conversation with them ever has—amusement, chagrin, surprise, rancor, and even, as a group of scientists r...
April 01, 2011 |
By Arcynta Ali Childs
The List: March Madness at the Smithsonian
College athletics feature some of the most unusual mascots in all of American sports. Take the teams in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament for example. Mascots included the Peacocks (St. Peter's), Sycamores (Indiana State), Zips (Akron) and Gauchos (University of California, Santa Barbara...
March 23, 2011 |
By Ryan Reed
Events: Stargazing, Live Tarantula Feedings, Test Your Women's History Knowledge and More
Monday, March 21: March Film Screening: My Name Is KahentiiostaKahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman, took part in a 78-day armed standoff in 1990 as a part of a land dispute between the Mohawks and the Canadian federal government. Arrested and imprisoned, she was detained longer than her pe...
March 21, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Weekend Events: Pulitzer Prize Winning Biologist E.O. Wilson, Rachel Carson and the Art of Digital Buddhist Shrines
Friday, March 18: E.O. Wilson: Biologist, Naturalist, Writer, Professor and EnvironmentalistTwo-time Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E.O. Wilson played a key role in the development of the new field of chemical ecology in the 1950s and 60s. With William H. Bossert of Harvard University, Wilson cre...
March 18, 2011 |
By Jesse Rhodes
