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Stories from Paul Bisceglio

Japanese taiko drumming, one of a panoply of performances from cultures around the world at this weekend’s Multicultural Festival.

Events January 18-20: A Multicultural Festival, the Voices of Emancipation and the Smithsonian Staff’s Best Photos

This week, travel around the world in one museum, celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation and see the world through the Smithsonian staff’s eyes

Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries building decorated for James Garfield’s inaugural ball, complete with string light garlands and patriotic buntings.

Party Like It’s 1881: President Garfield’s Inaugural Ball

Nothing says, “Welcome, Mr. President,” like 3,000 gas lights and a big hulking statue

Astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss is in the house on Monday to explain why our understanding of physics in the past 50 years has been based on a particle whose existence we couldn’t prove.

Events January 14-17: Higgs Boson, Up “Close” with President Obama, Modern Origami and Shiny Pots

This week, learn why the Higgs Boson particle matters, see a huge portrait of President Obama, discover modern origami and stand in DC’s most opulent room

An illustration of the variety of planets in our galaxy being detected by NASA’s Kepler spacecraft. Research on their frequency suggests one in six stars in the Milky Way is orbited by an Earth-size planet, which means there would be at least 17 billion planets on which life might exist.

17 Billion Earth-Size Planets! An Astronomer Reflects on the Possibility of Alien Life

The “Greensboro Four,” above immortalized on their North Carolina A&T State University campus, fought racial segregation by refusing to leave a local retail store when the staff would not serve them coffee. Learn to protest like a pro this weekend at the American History Museum.

Events January 11-13: Civil Disobedience, Farm-Fresh Foods and Arabic Calligraphy Lessons

This week, protest racial segregation in the 1960s, discover DC’s “slow food” movement and learn to write in Arabic

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