Play on: The goSmithsonian Trek Ends July 24

Our mobile adventure goSmithsonian Trek ends this Saturday, July 24. In its short one-month run, the goSmithsonian Trek has inspired players to explore, create and interact with Smithsonian Museums like never before. Trekkers are encouraged to answer questions, write haikus and slogans and take pho...
July 19, 2010 | By Jamie Simon

The Best of Smithsonian Magazine's Photo Contest on View at the Castle

This summer, come on out to the Smithsonian Castle where you can see a selection of the best and brightest photographs in Smithsonian Magazine's 7th Photo Contest. Over 4,500 photographs flooded in from all over the world—105 countries in all—to compete in five categories: Altered Images, Americana...
July 07, 2010 | By Jacqueline Sheppard

"Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection" Opens Friday

Yesterday morning, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright paid a visit to the Smithsonian Castle where she unveiled "Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection," an exhibition of over 200 of her famous brooches.During Secretary Albright's diplomatic career, lapel pins became her trademar...
June 16, 2010 | By Megan Gambino

Madeleine Albright on Her Life in Pins

The former Secretary of State reflects on her famous collection of brooches and pins, now the subject of an exhibition
June 2010 | By Megan Gambino

Lights Out at the Castle

The National Mall was more dark than usual on Saturday night, when buildings around the city and the world—including the Smithsonian Institution's Castle and the Reynolds Center—turned off the lights for 60 minutes as part of Earth Hour, a global effort by the World Wildlife Fund to draw attention ...
March 29, 2010 | By Erica R. Hendry

Earth Hour: Lights Out at the Castle and Reynolds Center

This Saturday, promptly at 8:30 p.m., all the lights at the Smithsonian Castle will be turned off. Half a mile north of the Castle, at the very same moment, the Reynolds Center, which houses the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, will go completely dark.George Washington...
March 24, 2010 | By Megan Gambino

Dan Brown's Smithsonian: Fact or Fiction?

Towards the beginning of his new thriller The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown introduces his main character Peter Solomon, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Peter’s phone number is mentioned twice in two pages (a detail that struck this reader as odd). And if by chance you should happen to call the ...
October 14, 2009 | By Megan Gambino

Cooper-Hewitt's National Design Awards; Events on the Mall

A 10th anniversary is at hand. The Cooper-Hewitt's much vaunted National Design Awards turns 10. To celebrate, the New York City-based museum is bringing to Washington, D.C., a number of free public programs, featuring guest appearances from some of this year's award winners, design mavens such as ...
July 14, 2009 | By Abby Callard

Smithsonian Magazine 6th Photo Contest: Winners Go on View in the Castle

In 2003, Smithsonian magazine launched its first photo contest, which garnered 12,000 entries from all over the world and the contest has since been a forum for people to share their artistic vision with us. Last week, an exhibition of the 50 finalists' eye-popping entries opened at the Smithsonian...
July 08, 2009 | By Jesse Rhodes

Text President Lincoln

Back in January, the New York Post reported that a 13-year-old girl in Silverado Canyon, California, sent 14,528 text messages in one month. (The average number of texts per month for 13- to 17-year-old cell phone users is 1,742.) And in March, two Pennsylvania men attempted to set a world text-mes...
June 17, 2009 | By Megan Gambino

Weekend Events: Byzantine Music, Garden Fest and Hawaii!

Friday, June 12: Dimitre Cantemir: A Life in MusicNot a fan of today's over-sexualized, pyrotechnic-laden popular music performances? For those of you longing for the music of a simpler—but nonetheless glorious—age, come on out to the Freer where you can enjoy the hit parade of the Ottoman Empire! ...
June 12, 2009 | By Jesse Rhodes

American Idol Desk Goes to the Smithsonian

I tuned in to American Idol last night, waiting on bated breath to hear whether Danny Gokey or Kris Allen (Adam Lambert was a shoo-in) would be moving on to next week's finals. But instead of squeaky clean Ryan Seacrest, Ben Stiller was the first to grace the screen. Soon joined by fellow Night at ...
May 14, 2009 | By Megan Gambino

Smithsonian Events, 2/2-6: Buddy Holly and Black History Month

Monday, February 2: Nothing SpecialThere's nothing special planned for you today, so come on out and enjoy the collections at any of the museums. Just please, keep off the grass and don't feed the volunteers working the Information Desk.Tuesday, February 3: Buddy Holly: The Day the Music DiedBuddy ...
February 02, 2009 | By Jesse Rhodes

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

What was James Smithson smoking?

In his tobacco pipe, James Smithson used to smoke clay dotted with tiny bits of rock.The mineral expert, who left a small fortune in his will to establish an institution for the "diffusion of knowledge," wasn’t just a British eccentric; he was actually a pioneer in microchemistry. To study minute s...
January 31, 2008 | By Kenneth R. Fletcher

Calculating History

I was remembering the robin’s egg blue TI-36 scientific calculator that I had before upgrading to the TI-82 graphing calculator. I envied those who had the newer TI-83, and the much coveted TI-83 plus, both of which played games. That's when one of the inventors of the hand-held calculator, Jerry ...
September 26, 2007 | By Megan Gambino

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