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Smithsonian Voices

Hear the Voices of America’s Artistic Community Recounting Despair, Resilience, Loss and Creation

During the summer of 2020, the Archives of American Art conducted 85 interviews with artists, teachers, curators and administrators

“Despite taking place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars introduced generations of fans here on Earth to outer space as a setting for adventure and exploration,” says the museum's Margaret Weitekamp.

Star Wars X-Wing Starfighter Lands at the National Air and Space Museum

Udvar-Hazy visitors can watch conservators give the film prop a careful exam before it goes on view in 2022

Ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath poses with students at the National Museum of American History in 2000.

Smithsonian Voices

Hear Voices of Women Trailblazers in Science, Technology and Innovation

Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath worked to bring healthcare to underserved communities and teach girls about STEM

Edmontasaurus, a duckbilled creature weighing around 7,000 pounds that could walk on two or four legs, was an average-sized dinosaur.

An Ode to the World’s Most Average Dinosaurs

They lacked the gargantuan size and spikes of the species museums often celebrate, but these species are how paleontologists learn about the Mesozoic

Reddy's two-story installation weaves human wisdom and intelligent technology together, forming a shimmering monument reflective of visitors' collective visions of the future.

Futures

A New, Interactive Sculpture by Suchi Reddy Illuminates Our Hopes and Fears About the Future

The A.I.-powered installation, a hallmark of the Smithsonian’s upcoming “Futures” show, promises something never seen or experienced before

Whether they are left- or right-handed, mothers tend to carry their babies on the left side of their bodies.

14 Fun Facts About the Science of Motherhood

A short list of the amazing changes and behaviors that transform both humans and animals on the journey of motherhood

Great white sharks travel hundreds of miles to specific locations in the world’s oceans.

New Evidence Suggests Sharks Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Navigate

Bonnethead sharks swam in the direction of their home waters when placed in a tank charged with an electromagnetic field

In 1891, Samuel P. Langley began experiments with large, tandem-winged models powered by small steam and gasoline engines that he called aerodromes. After several failures with designs that were too fragile and under-powered to sustain themselves, Langley had his first genuine success on May 6, 1896.

This Odd Early Flying Machine Made History but Didn’t Have the Right Stuff

Aerodrome No. 5 had to be launched by catapult on the Potomac River on May 6, 1896, but it flew unpiloted 3,300 feet

A virtual reconstruction of the child’s remains found in Panga ya Saidi cave in Kenya

Scientists Discover Oldest Known Human Grave in Africa

The unearthing of a tiny child suggests Africa’s Stone Age humans sometimes practiced funerary rites and had symbolic thoughts about death

Yvette, East Los Angeles Car Club, City of Industry, CA, August 14, 2015

The Vibrant History of Lowrider Car Culture in L.A.

With bright paint jobs and bouncy hydraulics, the ‘low and slow’ rides are an expression of cultural identity for the city’s Mexican American community

This 17-year Brood X cicada nymph is one step away from adulthood. After emerging from the dirt, cicadas typically crawl up the base of a tree to complete their final molt, expand their wings and fly away.

Smithsonian Voices

Will Animals at the Zoo Find Brood X Cicadas a Tasty Snack?

What will animals think of the impending bug buffet?

Fossil plants reveal information about the temperature and precipitation of past climates. Scientists use what they learn from fossil plants to inform their research on modern climate change

Smithsonian Voices

What Fossil Plants Reveal About Climate Change

Paleobiologists use fossil plants to reconstruct Earth’s past climate and inform climate change research today.

Norman Granz and Ella Fitzgerald at a microphone, 1950.

Smithsonian Voices

How Norman Granz Revolutionized Jazz for Social Justice

Often remembered for his artful management of legendary jazz musicians, but Granz also saw the potential for themusic to combat racial inequality

Some facets of the 1918 influenza pandemic echo today's crisis: There were mask mandates, campaigns against spitting and pleas for people to cover their mouths, and more than half a million Americans died. The decade that followed the pandemic, however, was marked by social change and economic prosperity—for some.

What Caused the Roaring Twenties? Not the End of a Pandemic (Probably)

As the U.S. anticipates a vaccinated summer, historians say measuring the impact of the 1918 influenza on the uproarious decade that followed is tricky

Smithsonian Associates Streaming presents surprising stories behind the jewels in the Smithsonian National Gem Collection.

Smithsonian Voices

Dive Into National Gems, Study Photography, Discover Women Architects in These 34 Online May Programs

Stream online multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours in these offerings from the Smithsonian Associates

An aerial view of Skaneateles, New York

Five Agritourism Destinations to Visit This Summer

Because we call could use a vacation right now

Through co-creation efforts with K-12 educators and Asian American community partners, the National Veterans Network, elementary and middle school educators, Asian Pacific American Center interns and National Museum of American History staff, learn more about the stories behind objects.

Smithsonian Voices

What’s Missing from Classrooms When Asian American and Pacific Islander Voices Aren’t Included?

When grappling with our current moment of increased hate and violence, AAPI students need the educational resources to contextualize what we are witnessing

This month's book picks include African Europeans, X Troop and Chasing the Thrill.

Books of the Month

African Europeans, Jewish Commandos of WWII and Other New Books to Read

These May releases elevate overlooked stories and offer insights on oft-discussed topics

A beaver peers out of a Hancock live trap after being captured by Molly Alves, a biologist with the Tulalip Tribe in Washington.

Scientists Are Relocating Nuisance Beavers to Help Salmon

When the rodents are moved from backyards to wild areas, they make their new watersheds better for fish

Elexia Alleyne and her family have lived in what they call “the barrio of Washington, D.C.” for three generations.

Smithsonian Voices

Coming of Age in Poetry: Meet Elexia Alleyne

Growing up in D.C.’s barrio, the young poet remembers a vibrant, tight-knit Dominican community.

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