This summer, Smithsonian reporters took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Freer Gallery and shot exclusive photographs of the building in its preparatory state.

Take an Exclusive Sneak Peek Inside the Renovated Freer Gallery, Reopening in October

Charles Lang Freer gifted this meditative haven for art lovers to the nation and was James McNeill Whistler’s friend and patron

Highly social, narwhals travel in pods, often broken off by sex, and communicate via complex vocalizations that seem to be specific to their herds.

Does the Narwhal’s Majestic Tusk Have a Point?

A Connecticut dentist, turned curator of a new exhibition, has long worked to solve the secrets of the whale’s characteristic horn

The Secret Ingredient in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Is Seventh-Day Adventism

America’s favorite processed breakfast was once the pinnacle of healthfulness—and spiritual purity

Amelia Ceja is breaking boundaries at Ceja Vineyards, which was founded by Amelia, Pedro, Armando and Martha Ceja.

Food, Glorious Food

¡Salud! to the Mexican-American Wine Revolution

Ceja Vineyards breathes new life into Napa Valley’s wine industry

What Kind of Footage Do Historical Colorists Like Best?

According to the historians and art directors from Composite Films who worked meticulously on America in Color, these were some of their favorite subjects

Why Hospitals Started Displaying Newborn Babies Through Windows

How peering at babies through glass became a feel-good staple of American maternity wards

Dream Of Motherhood by Pitseolak Ashoona (Inuit), 1969

Three Generations of Inuit Women Defy Exploitation by Visualizing Resilience and Love

A grandmother, a mother and a daughter, all took up pen and ink to tell their stories

Jackie Kennedy Was the Undisputed Style Icon of her Era

To Jackie Kennedy, appearance was everything

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal.

Canada

This Bridge Transforms Data on Weather, Traffic and Twitter Rants into a Beautiful Light Display

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal lights up the skyline with the mood of the city

How Sunbathing Became a National Craze in the 1930s

Tanning was big business in the 1930s, as people sought to recreate the sun-kissed California beach look

More than 300,000 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940, with help from ships like the "Medway Queen."

The True Story of Dunkirk, As Told Through the Heroism of the “Medway Queen”

Retrofitted by the British Navy, the paddleboat saved 7,000 men over many dangerous trips across the Channel

Great riot at the Astor Place opera house, New York on Thursday evening May 10th, 1849

When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British

In the deadly Astor Place Riot, how to perform Shakespeare served as a proxy for class warfare

One of the Boys by Stacy L. Pearsall, 2007

Six Artists Record the Vestiges of War in the Faces of Combatants

A look at a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, “The Face of Battle: Americans at War, 9/11 to Now”

Podnar shoots dry ice pellets, which sit at a frosty temperature of around negative minus-180-degrees Fahrenheit, at the object's surface

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Conservation of a Pair of Saint-Gaudens Goes al Fresco at the Freer

The beauty of dry ice cleaning is the efficient and environmentally safe process; but also the procedure was on view from the street

An earthship seems to rise out of the high plains at the foot of the mountains near Taos, New Mexico.

These Otherworldly “Earthships” Offer Visitors Unusual, Off-the-Grid Accommodations

Spend the night in an art house built from garbage

Jane Austen's brother, Edward, inherited this grand Palladian-style home from the wealthy relatives who raised him.

Take a Stroll Through Jane Austen’s England With This Interactive Map

A look at the houses and towns that shaped the life and writing of the famed author on the 200th anniversary of her death

Sam Kass explains the brewing process.

How Barack Obama Became the First President to Brew Beer at the White House

The former president and his staff crafted ales featuring honey from the White House garden

Criseyde and Her Maidens Listening to a Reading, by Warwick Goble, from The Complete Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1912.

The Timelessness of Millennial-Bashing

Even in the 14th century, writers blamed younger generations for ruining everything

From left: A pole on the grounds of a waterfront home on Haida Gwaii; wooden masks carved by the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation on display at the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, off Vancouver Island.

Canada

See Canada Through Fresh Eyes on a First Nations Tour

The mountains, forests and waters of British Columbia are given new meaning on a journey led by members of its indigenous communities

Les choses de Paul Poiret (Paul Poiret's Things), 1911

Esperanza Spalding: Jazz Musician, Grammy Award Winner and Now Museum Curator

The title of her latest album “D + Evolution” is also the theme of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt

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