Articles: News & Features | Smithsonian Magazine

Presenters discuss the Peace Corps at the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

July 8: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

This morning, learn a thing or two about improvisation at the El Rumbiadero stage or immerse yourself in the culture of Colombia’s coffee region

July 8, 2011

Rhinos and pigs wallow and coat themselves in mud, which protects them from the sun and helps to keep moisture in their skin.

Ask an Expert: Do Animals Get Sunburned?

Staffers at the National Zoo clue us in to how animals like elephants and hippos protect themselves from harmful UV rays

July 7, 2011

The Air and Space Museum will be broadcasting live the last launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program on Friday.

Weekend Events July 8-10: Space Shuttles, the Nationals and Assassins

Watch the last space shuttle liftoff, take part in Nationals Baseball Family Day and take a peek into the Made in Hong Kong Film Festival

July 7, 2011

What’s the Most Dangerous Country?

Iceland is pretty much the least habitable of all the places that people have inhabited. But visiting it is like hiking through a geology textbook

July 7, 2011

Chuck Brown performs at the DC Vote Rally June 9, 2011

Go-Go at the Anacostia Museum this Saturday

July 7, 2011

Ask Your Questions about Fossilized Colors

Just a quick note that Science magazine’s website is running a live chat this afternoon at 3:00 about new techniques to reveal color in fossils

July 7, 2011

Weasel Coffee: You’re Going to Drink What?

I was looking forward to another great-tasting coffee experience—until I found out that “cut chon” is Vietnamese for “civet cat dung”

July 7, 2011

A Triceratops grill cover as seen in Granger, Washington

Dinosaur Sighting: Grilled Triceratops

The town of Granger, Washington has a dinosaur sculpture park as well as dinosaurs adorning various vehicles around town

July 7, 2011

Dancers from the National Hand Dance Association at the 2011 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

July 7: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

July 7, 2011

Janice Waugh eating a cricket on the Riviera Maya, Mexico

The List: Top 10 Tips for Solo Travelers

When you travel alone, you discover who you are when nobody’s looking, you learn what you’re capable of, and it’s incredibly empowering

July 6, 2011

A selection of the stamps featuring American inventions

U.S. Postal Service Honors American Designers

Twelve pioneering industrial designers, many of whom are represented in the Cooper-Hewitt’s collection, are featured on a new set of stamps

July 6, 2011

A restoration of Raptorex by Nobu Tamura

Has a Tiny Tyrant Been Dethroned?

A 2009 discovery of a new tiny tyrant has been called into question by a recently released study

July 6, 2011

Gourmand Syndrome

First identified by neuroscientists in the 1990s, the disorder is marked by “a preoccupation with food and a preference for fine eating”

July 6, 2011

At the exhibition "On the Water," learn about pirates.

Events Post July 4-8: a tour of Air and Space’s highlights, jury duty for the John Brown trial, a trip to the Ocean Hall, Pirates and the dancing Siletz

The week of July 4, join the Smithsonian Institution in offering you a look at the Air and Space Museum, an exploration of piracy, an Ocean Hall scientist

July 5, 2011

"What I like best about myself is my demeanor. I'm seldom ruffled," said Arthur Ashe following his five-set triumph in the men's final of the 1968 U.S. Open (above).

How Arthur Ashe Made Tennis History

On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe beat heavily-favored Jimmy Connors to become the first African-American man to win Wimbledon

July 5, 2011

The Food that Fueled the American Revolution

A steady supply of preserved meats and flavorless flour cakes played a vital role in American patriots defeating the British during the American Revolution

July 5, 2011