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Stories from Roger Catlin

Harriet Tubman's Hymnal

What Makes the Underground Railroad Such a Rich Opportunity for Storytelling

On television and in the new Smithsonian museum, the path to freedom comes alive

Actor Kevin Spacey arrived at the National Portrait Gallery in character as President Frank Underwood for a "presidential" portrait unveiling.

Francis J. Underwood’s Presidential Portrait Goes On View at the Smithsonian

A portrait of actor Kevin Spacey, in his Netflix role as the world’s most devious president, proves that fiction is as good as real life

On the eve of Martin Luther King Day weekend, officials from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture are announcing the recent gift of one of the rare copies of the 1970 Charles Alston sculpture of Martin Luther King.

A Rare and Important Sculpture of Martin Luther King

As the nation pauses to honor the great Civil Rights leader, Charles Alston’s work at NMAAHC is one of his most prominent pieces

The distinctive black outfit, with topping ears, now held in the collections of the American History Museum, was made just for actress Julie Newmar, and clung to her frame.

When Batman Went “Bam!” and “Pow”

The original Catwoman, Julie Newmar recalls fitting into that distinctive costume—now at the Smithsonian

A pair of six-panel folding screens entitled Waves of Matsushima, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, early 1600s

A Renowned, But Forgotten, 17th-Century Japanese Artist Is Once Again Making Waves

Long neglected, the 17th-century Japanese artist Tawaraya Sōtatsu influenced Western art 400 years later

Grateful Dead, 2015, "Fare Thee Well" concert, Chicago

We’re Looking for the Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Photos. What’s in Your Collection?

For those who photograph rock, we salute you

When people come to the Smithsonian,” says lighting designer Scott Rosenfeld, (inside the gallery displaying the work of mixed media artist Gabriel Dawe) “they want to experience art. They don’t have to worry about spectrum.”

The Renwick’s New Lighting Saves Energy, Money, Art, and Your Eyes, All at the Same Time

There’s way more to it than just screwing in the bulb and the museum’s chief lighting designer is turning it into an artform

“If I go look for dinosaurs, I will find them, because there’s tons of them out there,” says Kirk Johnson, the director of the National Museum of Natural History and the star of a new Nova series "Making North America."

Smithsonian’s Kirk Johnson Steps Up to Be the Rock Star of Geology

The new PBS science series “Making North America” features the director of the National Museum of Natural History

Invisible, 1971, by Giovanni Anselmo

Playful Artworks at the Hirshhorn Get the Better of One Mystified Observer

A group of international mid-century artists built a number of kinetic experiments into their abstract art

The design for Margaret Crane's prototype home pregnancy test kit was inspired by a transparent plastic paperclip container.

The Unknown Designer of the First Home Pregnancy Test Is Finally Getting Her Due

Margaret Crane says it was a simple idea, but it met with enormous push back

Visitors apply aerodynamic principles to design their own virtual fighter jets and then race against other in a high-speed flying competition.

A Next Gen Museum Show Takes Aim at Inspiring Next Gen Ingenuity

Curators are betting high-tech playtime will turn today’s kids into tomorrow’s engineering visionaries

Smithsonian Takes a Giant Step with Its First Kickstarter Campaign to Fund the Conservation of Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit

On the 46th anniversary of the historic moonwalk, the spacesuit that made it possible is headed to the conservation lab

Entrance to the new "American Enterprise" exhibition at the National Museum of American History.

How Curators Wrestled With the Complex Story of American Business

The broad and sometimes difficult history of business in the U.S., its rogues, heros, successes and failures, is the dynamic story in a new exhibition

The remote broadcast set used in 1950s at the local 50,000- Watt Annapolis radio station is on view in the exhibition "American Enterprise," at the Smithsonian's American History Museum.

How Radio DJ Hoppy Adams Powered his 50,000-Watt Annapolis Station into a Mighty Influence

In post-war America, as advertisers discovered African American audiences, one local disc jockey drew top recording stars and a huge following

Stanford University Racing Team leader Sebastian Thrun celebrates with his team mates as their entry named "Stanley" is the first to cross the finish line at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 2005 Grand Challenge in Primm, Nevada.

Does the Future Hold the Prospect of Outsourcing the Human Brain?

Bold thinker Sebastian Thrun is receiving a Smithsonian Award this week, so he regaled us with some of his ideas for changing the world

“Table Bay Cape Town,” Table Bay in the 1790’s by Thomas Luny (1759-1837)

Smithsonian to Receive Artifacts From Sunken 18th-Century Slave Ship

In 1794, the Portuguese slave ship São José wrecked with 400 slaves aboard; iron ballast and a wooden pulley from that ship will come to Washington, D.C.

Yasuo Kuniyoshi, in his New York City Studio in 1940, is at work on the painting Upside Down Table and Mask, currently on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Meet the Iconic Japanese-American Artist Whose Work Hasn’t Been Exhibited in Decades

A reexamination of the inventive artist, who blended American and Japanese traditions, brings rarely seen works from around the world to the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center is the first museum in the world to employ the newest laser technology in its IMAX Theater. Its super sharp 4K laser system encased in two perfectly calibrated fridge-sized projectors is enhanced with a new 12 channel sound system with a sub-bass.

How the Big Screen IMAX Experience Just Took a Quantum Leap Forward

The Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center Airbus Theater is among the first to receive a cutting-edge technology makeover

In Camille Utterback's 1999 Text Rain, viewers become part of the artwork.

In this Exhibition You Can Play with the Artworks, Or Even Be the Art

A dizzying array of wildly unorthodox works from video games to computer codes makes up this summer’s blockbuster “Watch This!” show

Albert Einstein's Pipe, one of the museum's most requested artifacts, is on loan to Philadelphia's National Museum of American Jewish History.

Why Albert Einstein, the Genius Behind the Theory of Relativity, Loved His Pipe

Einstein reportedly believed that pipe smoking contributed to a calm and objective judgment, but his doctor said give it up

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