When This Jazz Band Plays, It’s Not Just Music—it’s History
The musicians who make up the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra specialize in re-creating classic performances from the past
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Across the Country, It’s All Happening at the Coffeehouse
In small towns and cities too, we’re seeking out neighborhood havens where one can savor an espresso and a sense of community
The Object at Hand
Edmonia Lewis’ masterwork, a portrayal of Cleopatra at the moment of death, included stints in a Chicago saloon and as a grave marker for a racehorse
While You’re Taking My Mailbox, Let Me Give You a Piece of My Mind
While you’re taking my mailbox, let me give you a piece of my mind
Smithsonian Perspectives
Coins from James Smithson’s bequest created the Institution; on our anniversary, commemorative coins from the U.S. Mint will help it to continue
If It Moves, Grab It, but Try Not to Get the End That Bites
That’s the advice researchers in Venezuela give volunteers who help them find and collect specimens of the world’s biggest boa
Rising From the Sea, the Mysterious Handwork of Giants
On the tiny Mediterranean islands of Malta, massive megaliths constitute a singular treasure: the oldest freestanding stone monuments
To Build a Bridge, You Must Cross Troubled Waters
When St. Paul needed to replace a bridge at a historic crossing of the Mississippi, just about everyone in the city had an opinion
The Gunks’ Are a Rock Climber’s Dream of a Cliffscape Paradise
The Shawangunks, a ridge in New York State, is a mecca for climbing enthusiasts who defy gravity using rope, “protection” and bravado
We Eat, Breathe and Dream Music. We’re a Bunch of Nerds Here’
Make that an international bunch of nerds. The Berklee College of Music, aka “the MIT of pop,” is respected all over the world
Family and Faith Fire the Spirit of Camp Meetings
Each year at hundreds of sites across the United States, devotees flock together to share a time of singing, sermons and fun
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An Art Museum That Can Go Wherever the Railroads Run
It started in 1971 in Michigan; now, Artrain is on a three-year nationwide tour, bringing an exhibition from the Smithsonian to 100 towns
Making Up for Lost Time: the Rewards of Reading at Last
At the age of 64, a Vermont farmer takes on the demanding task of learning his letters and discovers the new world found in books
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How a Weed Once Scorned Became the Flower of the Hour
The gaudy sunflower is the ornament of the Nineties, turning up everywhere and on everything, including baseball players’ faces
Smithsonian Perspectives
From its start, the Smithsonian had international interests, and it is now more than ever a global institution
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