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National Museum of American History

Rea Ann Silva with an oversized version of the Beautyblender sponge (Courtesy of Beautyblender)

How Rea Ann Silva Invented the Beautyblender—and Changed Makeup Forever

Silva’s work as a makeup artist on "Girlfriends" unexpectedly thrust her into the beauty products industry as an innovator and entrepreneur

Girlhood (It’s complicated) opened to the public on October 9, 2020. Artwork by Krystal Quiles for NMAH.

Why Did the Smithsonian Create an Exhibit About Girlhood?

The museum had a bold new idea—it was going to create an exhibition about girlhood

Rebecca Lukens (National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum, Coatesville, Pennsylvania)

How Rebecca Lukens Became the Nation's First Woman Industrialist

A sudden tragedy thrust Rebecca Lukens into the family business and into history, making her the first woman to run an iron mill in the United States

Robert Abbe's hourglass (NMAH)

Curing Cancer with a Single Gram of Radium

How a group of women gave radium as a gift to America

This glass tube, part of the museum’s collection, once contained a sample of helium. Its paper label reads, “HELIUM / SIR W. RAMSAY, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. / THOMAS TRYER & CO., Ltd. / STRATFORD, LONDON, ENGLAND.”

The History of Holding Helium

Helium is the second most abundant element in the universe, but how do you hold it?

Team USA stamps

The Science Behind a Faster, Higher, Stronger Team USA

The unsung heroes behind the Summer Olympics are the scientists and engineers whose inventions and innovations help athletes become “Faster, Higher, Stronger”

Cher Ami, April 1918–June 1919 (NMAH)

Solving a 100-Year-Old Mystery About a Pigeon

Animal hero celebrates its Smithsonian centennial

Museum visitors participate in a flag folding while singing (or humming) the anthem (NMAH)

Why is the National Anthem So Hard to Sing?

If people whose livelihood is singing can't do it, what are the untrained to do?

The first stanza of the national anthem is projected prominently on the wall above the Star-Spangled Banner in the museum. (NMAH)

Why is There a Question Mark at the End of the National Anthem?

When we sing the anthem, we don't end it questioningly, but with a firm, declarative (sometimes over-warbled) note

The Star Spangled Banner, the flag that inspired our national anthem (NMAH)

8 Things You Didn't Know About the Star Spangled Banner

There is more to the story of this flag than meets the eye

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