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Martin Luther King, Jr. is arrested for "loitering" in Montgomery, Alabama, in September 1958.

Even Though He Is Revered Today, MLK Was Widely Disliked by the American Public When He Was Killed

Seventy-five percent of Americans disapproved of the civil rights leader as he spoke out against the Vietnam War and economic disparity

Ten Summer Camps For Little Innovators

Forget swimming and archery. These camps will have your kids building robots, pitching business ideas, even fighting zombies!

Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, cities across the U.S. erupted in protests.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination Sparked Uprisings in Cities Across America

Known as the Holy Week Uprisings, the collective protests resulted in 43 deaths, thousands of arrests, and millions of dollars of property damage

Artist Titus Kaphar says that his 2014 Columbus Day Painting—which greets "Unseen" visitors in the first gallery—was inspired by his young son’s conflicted and confusing study of the putative discoverer of America.

Future of Art

Two Artists in Search of Missing History

A new exhibition makes a powerful statement about the oversights of American history and America’s art history

Hawking was known not only for his prodigious intellect but also for his passion in communicating what he knew to the world at large.

The Memory of Stephen Hawking Endures in Bold Black Hole Research Efforts

Smithsonian scientists hunting these supermassive objects reflect on the legacy of one of the world’s most inspiring intellects

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American South

This Is the Best Place in North America to See Synchronous Fireflies

Congaree National Park is accessible and doesn’t have a lottery system

Martin Luther King Jr.‘s dream – which alternated between shattered and hopeful – can be traced back to Hughes’ poetry.

In His Speeches, MLK Carefully Evoked the Poetry of Langston Hughes

To avoid being labeled a communist sympathizer, King had to distance himself from Hughes, but he still managed to channel the controversial poet

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944). Drawing of the little prince on the edge of a cliff. New York, 1942 or 1943. Pen and brown ink on onionskin paper. From Joseph Cornell’s Saint-Exupéry dossier.

The Beloved Classic Novel “The Little Prince” Turns 75 Years Old

Written in wartime New York City, the children’s book brings out the small explorer in everyone

A vintage ad for patent medicines, which usually didn't list their active ingredients. We now know that many contained morphine, cocaine, opium and more.

How Advertising Shaped the First Opioid Epidemic

And what it can teach us about the second

Primes still have the power to surprise.

Why Prime Numbers Still Surprise and Mystify Mathematicians

2300 years later, new patterns continue to show up in these indivisible tricksters

The emotional interface tracks physiological signals associated with emotional states and translates them into music.

Can Biomusic Offer Kids With Autism a New Way to Communicate?

Biomedical engineers are using the sound of biological rhythms to describe emotional states

Senator Edward Kennedy, pictured here on July 22, 1969 after the Chappaquiddick accident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. The new film "Chappaquiddick" recounts the events of that week.

Why the True Story of ‘Chappaquiddick’ Is Impossible to Tell

In 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy careened a car off a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, but the story of the night’s events remain muddled today

On April 4, 1968, when his campaign plane reached Indianapolis on that night, Robert F. Kennedy (above: in a 1968 portrait by Louis S. Glanzman) learned of Dr. King’s death.

When Robert Kennedy Delivered the News of Martin Luther King’s Assassination

Months before his own slaying, Kennedy recalled the loss of JFK as he consoled a crowd of shocked African-Americans in Indianapolis

Armenia

Yerevan’s Mirzoyan Library Combines Cutting Edge Photography with Hypnotic Beats

Marvin, a trailblazer in more ways than one, surveys the Antarctic terrain on her meteorite-hunting expedition of 1978-79.

Women Who Shaped History

The Rockstar Geologist Who Mapped the Minerals of the Cosmos

A professor told Ursula Marvin she should learn to cook. Instead she chased down meteorites in Antarctica

Shrumen Lumen by FoldHaus, 2018

Future of Art

How One Museum Curator Is Bringing Burning Man Out of the Desert

The outré scene of unrestrained revelry and cutting-edge art in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert comes to the Renwick Gallery

When persons with dementia engage with others who share their passion for the game, colorful memories can emerge.

A New Therapy Has People With Dementia Sharing Baseball Memories

Where were you when Willie Mays made ‘The Catch?’ Chatting with other fans, watching footage of old games and even playing wiffle ball can be therapeutic

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