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Around the Mall

Panda Watch: It’s a Girl!

The National Zoo confirmed that Mei Xiang’s cub is female

This professional look for Joan Harris was inspired by the character’s new position at the beginning of season six.

Go Behind the Styles With Mad Men’s Emmy-Nominated Costume Designer

Janie Bryant talks about her design process, her upcoming reality show and Bob Benson’s shorts

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New Video of Mei Xiang’s Squawking Baby Panda

The National Zoo’s newest addition is already keeping mom up at night

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What Digitization Will Do for the Future of Museums

The Secretary discusses his new e-book about how the Smithsonian will digitize its collections and crowdsource its research

One-year-old cubs play at the nursery in Bifengxia, China

A Zoo Panda Keeper on His Trip to China and Why Mei Xiang is a Great Mom

Panda keeper Juan Rodriguez opens up about Mei Xiang’s first days with her new cub, as well as a recent trip to a partner panda facility in China

The Zoo reports that the “cub’s heart rate is steady and its belly was full.” Veterinarians report that they “could hear breath sounds from both lungs.”

New Baby: Giant Panda Gives Birth at the National Zoo!

The first cub is healthy and doing well. Mei Xiang gave birth to a second, stillborn cub on Saturday

Go-go legend Chuck Brown poses on the Big Chair, a downtown Anacostia landmark.

Bust Loose at Chuck Brown Birthday Party at American Art Museum

The museum remembers D.C.’s own “Godfather of Go-Go” with a concert today

Eugene Allen, inspiration behind The Butler, poses for a portrait by Roland Freeman.

Hear From the Real Butler of the White House, Eugene Allen

Smithsonian Folkways interviewed the man who inspired the new film starring Forest Whitaker

Three elephants will be coming to the National Zoo from Canada’s Calgary Zoo in the spring.

HUGE News From the Zoo: Three New Elephants Are Moving In

Three female Asian elephants will come to the National Zoo from the Calgary Zoo in spring of 2014

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The Civil War

Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and the War That Changed Poetry, Forever

The two titans of American poetry chronicled the death and destruction of the Civil War in their poems

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Leonardo Da Vinci’s Studies on the Science of Flight Come to the Air and Space Museum

“Codex on the Flight of Birds” reveals the Renaissance man’s fascination with flight

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Sumatran Tiger Cubs Born at the National Zoo

The Great Cats team at the zoo is celebrating a conservation victory with the birth of two Sumatran tiger cubs

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When America Entered the Modern Age

Obsolescence yaps at the heels of every dazzling invention, says curator Amy Henderson as she considers the birth of modernism a century ago

The panel at Food in the Garden’s August 1 event prepares to delve into the issues surrounding community garden and food education.

Can Gardening Change the World?

The American History Museum celebrates our country’s lush food history—and explores its food future—with the Food in the Garden series

Still from Chinatown Abecedario: A Folk Taxonomy of L.A.’s Chinatown (HD video, 2012) by Audrey Chan

Beyond the Korean Taco: When Asian and Latino American Cultures Collide

Smithsonian Asian-Latino Festival debuts a pop-up art show on Aug. 6-7 in Silver Spring

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What Makes Rita Coolidge the Musician for Every Era

Her collaborations with Joe Cocker and Kris Kristofferson made her famous, but hear her live at two free concerts in New York City and D.C.

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Landscape Through a Car Window, Darkly

A new exhibition presents 1970s photography that challenged the traditional American landscape

Pete Seeger performs at a peace rally in New York City, 1965.

Give Peace a Listen with Smithsonian Folkways Magazine

The new issue covers peace songs and spoken word from around the world

Classic Banjo, out August 6, features tracks by the best American banjo players over the past 60 years.

Finger-pickin’ Good: American Banjo Classics

Co-producer and banjo extraordinaire Greg C. Adams talks about Classic Banjo, a collection of American tunes that show off modern banjo’s diverse roots

Portrait of Jane Austen, from the memoir by J. E. Austen-Leigh.

Men Wore Corsets and 7 Other Unknown Things About the World of Jane Austen

Exploring the life and times of the beloved English novelist

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