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Arts & Culture

An attempt at a wingsuit world record over Skydive Perris in Southern California

Why I Still Skydive

The author found a new life’s calling in skydiving and continues to jump to this day, despite losing her life partner to the sport

Billy Strayhorn playing piano in a home, May 26th,1952.

This New Collection of 12,000 Photographs Chronicles the American Jazz Scene

A donation from the family of photographer and historian Duncan Schiedt captures the music’s “essence”

Depicted in Big Band are: Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Jerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Glen Miller, Charles Mingus, JJ Johnson, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis and Gene Krupa.

LeRoy Nieman Pulled Together a Dream Band for His Epic Portrait of Jazz Greats

The iconic artist’s large-scale painting of this century’s music greats debuts at the American History Museum, kicking off Jazz Appreciation Month

Farmers use the machine and provide feedback.

Farmers Can Shell Coffee in a Fraction of the Time With This Bike-Powered Machine

A team at an MIT International Development Design Summit is making coffee production a little easier for small-scale farmers in Tanzania

Duke Ellington with his orchestra.

What to Listen to and Watch for When Enjoying Jazz

For Jazz Appreciation Month, a guide to understanding the nuances, subtleties and surprises of America’s unique music

“I loved this sort of reference to a particular period in my upbringing as a kid," says the artist Nick Cave," and having these amazing, sort of outrageous Easter hunts."

There’s More to This Towering Pink Easter Bunny Than Kitsch

Evoking springtime and rebirth, African burial ritual, rhythm, and identity, the “soundsuit” by artist Nick Cave is packed with iconic themes

Actor Jon Hamm sporting the iconic fedora and gray suit of his alter ego, Don Draper, from the popular television show "Mad Men." Draper's suit and fedora, along with Betty Francis' yellow housedress and other props were donated to the Smithsonian.

Don Draper’s Gray Suit and Fedora Are Among “Mad Men Props” Donated to the Smithsonian

Members of the television show’s stellar cast, along with director Matthew Weiner, dropped off some significant “Mad Men” swag

Palazzo Italia

Smog-Eating Buildings Battle Air Pollution

Sunlight triggers chemical reactions in the façades of buildings in Mexico City and Milan to improve air quality

"Boogie Down" at the White House, Big D & Mingering, 1975

Journey to Mingering Mike’s Magical, Musical World

A new exhibition features the playful LP album covers of a man who built a make-believe musical empire filled with genius and joy

The highest summit of the Jade Dragon (Yulong Xueshan) from what in 1985 was close to the center of the old town of Lijiang, China.

Anthropocene

Why the World Needs to Go to Great Heights to Save Mountain Habitats

After 30 years working in mountain regions, Jack Ives argues that the world’s elevated habitats are essential

Angela Lansbury in her Tony Award-winning role as Madame Arcati, with Charles Edward as Charles Condomine, Simon Jones as Charles’s friend Dr. Bradman, Melissa Woodridge as the ghost wife Elvira, Charlotte Perry as the second wife Ruth, Sandra Shipley as Mrs. Bradman, and Susan Louise O’Connor as the maid Edith.

Dame Angela Lansbury Makes A “Spirit”-ed Return to the Stage

Noël Coward’s timeless play brings the actress back to the D.C. theater where she got her start 58 years ago

The Birth of Eve by Judith Schaechter, 2013 was recently added to the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery.

This Stained Glass Window, New to the American Art Museum, Is Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen Before

Artist Judith Schaechter is pushing the boundaries of her craft, adding her own twist to age-old techniques

John Wayne's dark-green 1971 Pontiac station wagon.

Make a Pilgrimage to the Brand New John Wayne Birthplace & Museum

Opening in April, a museum to match the movie star’s legacy

Etude 1, 1967- 1968, is a piece of Thermo fax paper with an image that looks like a four-leaf-clover, with four overlapping circles. Each circle has concentric inner circles composed of individual letters of the alphabet.

New Works by Nam June Paik Are Discovered at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

While inventorying the massive archival materials left by the artist, a researcher comes across forgotten works of art

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Meet Doris Raymond, the Fairy Godmother of Vintage Clothing

A Smithsonian Channel series features the team behind Hollywood’s beloved vintage boutique

This particularly charming street in Colmar, France looks straight out of a fairy tale.

The 11 Most Endearing Small Streets Worth Visiting

These tiny corridors around the world invite you in with their charm and surprising level of bustle

Art Meets Science

The Terrible Beauty of Glaciers Melting and Oceans Rising

Daniel Beltra’s aerial photographs reveal the human impact on nature

Houston's futuristic Astrodome is home of the first skybox and an animated scoreboard,150 yards wide.

Remembering the Astrodome, the Eighth Wonder of the World

Fifty years after its grand opening, the spectre of the Houston stadium still looms large

The details of the replica (under construction last year), its area nearly the size of a football field, are based on 700 hours of laser scanning in the actual cave.

Finally, the Beauty of France’s Chauvet Cave Makes its Grand Public Debut

A high-tech recreation of the immortal artworks shines a new light on the dawn of human imagination

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