People
These influential artists, celebrities, leaders and scholars have shaped our worldAmazing 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
Benjamin Franklin’s Phonetic Alphabet
One of the founding father's more quixotic quests was to create a new alphabet. No Q included
May 10, 2013 |
By Jimmy Stamp
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
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
Will the Real Great Gatsby Please Stand Up?
F. Scott Fitzgerald couldn’t resist putting his own life into his novels, but where’s the line between truth and fiction?
May 07, 2013 |
By Sarah Laskow
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
Life in the City Is Essentially One Giant Math Problem
Experts in the emerging field of quantitative urbanism believe that many aspects of modern cities can be reduced to mathematical formulas
May 2013 |
By Jerry Adler
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
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
Mona Eltahawy on Egypt’s Next Revolution
The Egyptian-American activist speaks out on the dangers women still face in a changing Mideast
May 2013 |
By Ron Rosenbaum
We Had No Idea What Alexander Graham Bell Sounded Like. Until Now
Smithsonian researchers used optical technology to play back the unplayable records
May 2013 |
By Charlotte Gray
How the Ford Motor Company Won a Battle and Lost Ground
Corporate violence against union organizers might have gone unrecorded—if it not for an enterprising news photographer
April 30, 2013 |
By Gilbert King
Events April 30-May 2: Origins of the Renaissance, Native Crafts and History Reanimated
This week, hear how a Roman emperor may have started the Renaissance, make your own Native art and meet digital animation artist Kota Ezawa
April 29, 2013 |
By Paul Bisceglio
The Strange Beauty of David Maisel’s Aerial Photographs
A new book shows how the photographer creates startling images of open-pit mines, evaporation ponds and other sites of environmental degradation
April 26, 2013 |
By Megan Gambino
The Eyes Have It
In the wake of the Boston bombing, Amy Henderson explores parallels between Edison's revolution of electricity and today’s mediascape that helped solve the crime
April 23, 2013 |
By Amy Henderson
Before and After: America’s Environmental History
For the EPA's State of the Environment Photography Project, people are returning to sites photographed in the 1970s. They are snapping the scenes yet again—to document any changes in the landscape
April 22, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
Curses! Archduke Franz Ferdinand and His Astounding Death Car
Was the man whose assassination began World War I riding in a car destined to bring death to a series of owners?
April 22, 2013 |
By Mike Dash


