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Around the Mall

Visitors from Mars Day 2008 get a 3-D look at the surface of Mars.

Mars Day Preview with Geologist Dr. John Grant

Get ready for Air and Space Museum’s Mars Day July 13 with geologist Dr. John Grant discussing findings, The Martian Chronicles and why he loves Mars Day

A backup duplicate of the original Telstar satellite, housed in storage at the National Air and Space Museum

Fifty Years Ago Today, the First Communications Satellite Was Launched Into Space

On this date in 1962, Telstar was launched, ushering in a new era of communications technology

Duke Kahanamoku, pictured here circa 1915, helped popularize surfing on the mainland and won several Olympic medals for swimming.

Amy Henderson: Team USA!

Guest blogger and Portrait Gallery historian Amy Henderson reflects on the Gallery’s Olympian collection

Works like this, Untitled by Jackson Pollock, can cause a fair amount of head scratching. So is it art? Find out Tuesday July 10.

Events July 10-12: Questionable Art, Crafty Mail, and the Battle of Shiloh

This week at the Smithsonian, debate the merits of contemporary art, craft your own stationery, and learn more about the Battle of Shiloh

In the grand tradition of college marching band tomfoolery, the Oregon State University Mars Rover cuts a path over marching band members and the OSU mascot.

July 8: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: laugh therapy, hunting for chocolate and African Heritage Dancers & Drummers

Working for The NAMES Project Foundation, Roddy Williams sorts through portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt stored in an Atlanta warehouse.

July 7: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: Grant Wood’s murals, historical cabins and cooking with honey

The “Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon” exhibit maps out a web of relatedness between Bacon and well-known artists, celebrities and historical figures.

It’s a Small World After All: “Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon”

“Six Degrees of Peggy Bacon” shows how one relatively unknown but well-connected artist was linked to many of art and society’s most influential people

Q Monts sits patiently at Nu Flava Ink while tattoo artist Charles “Coco” Bayron puts the finishing touches on Q’s tattoo reading “Time is Money, Money is Time.”

July 6: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: John Philip Sousa’s legacy, line dancing and stained glass crafts

Escape the Sunday heat for a little refinement with the American Art Museum’s Steinway Series concert.

Events July 6-8: Constellations, Silk Road Treasures and a Sunday Concert

This weekend, become a constellation, make your own Silk Road mirror and enjoy the Classical stylings of pianist James D’León

From the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ new digital collection, an image of two baby chimpanzees out for a stroll from Minnesota Longfellow Gardens Guide.

Lions, and Tigers and Bears: The History of the Zoo Goes Digital

Images of tea-sipping orangutans and baby chimps in strollers are part of Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ growing digital collection of zoo materials

Researchers at the USDA’s expansive Beltsville Agricultural Research Center test greenhouse gas emissions as part of the center’s work on climate change.

July 5: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: feeding the world, funk music and NPR’s Talk of the Nation

Local artist Jay Coleman works on one of his vibrant, evocative portraits in his studio in Northwest Washington, DC.

July 4: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Rock out on the Fourth with Max Impact, the premier band of the United States Air Force.

Events July 3-5: Flag Folding, Celebrate the Fourth, Explore the Heirloom Garden

Kick off the Fourth of July celebration this week with flag folding, a concert and a tour of the Heirloom Garden

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Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the Folklife Festival

Against a backdrop of Quilt blocks commemorating artists, The NAMES Performers present work showcasing community responses to HIV/AIDS in theater, music, dance, and design.

July 1: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: tea dance, African heritage dancers and drummers, and Hungarian roma music

George Clinton and crew brought the crowd to their feet on the opening night of the Festival.

June 30: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: Mississippi Hills cultural tourism, traditional Indiana cooking, and a tattoo workshop with Coco Bayron.

The Mother Ship Model, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” is on display in the Rockets and Missiles exhibition station at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Insider Tips for the Tourists in Town

Think you know all of the cool sights on the Mall? We bet you’ll find these insider tips from the Institution helpful this tourist season

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At the Portrait Gallery: “One Life: Amelia Earhart” Opens 75 Years After Her Disappearance

An artist works on a mural installation in the “Citified” program.

June 29: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: cooking with goat meat, seeing HIV/AIDS through photography, and an evening concert by Quetzal and La Sardina de Naiguatá

This Sunday, local artist Kristina Bilonick will hold a workshop on screen printing and t-shirt design in pop culture.

Events June 29-July 1: Remembering Amelia Earhart, the War of 1812, and Hands-On Screen Printing

This weekend, commemorate Amelia Earhart, observe the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and make your own graphic tee

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