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Arts & Culture

A high school soccer player remembers to keep her eye on the ball, even when soaring midair.

Celebrate the Women’s World Cup With 15 Stunning Soccer Shots

Achieve the goal of viewing these highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

Barbie's faithful sidekick, Ken, hit shelves in 1961.

There's More to That

Why the Ken Doll Will Never Truly Emerge From Barbie’s Shadow

The blockbuster film sparks a podcast discussion about why Ken can’t possibly be (k)enough

Robert Houle. Red is Beautiful, 1970. Acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 61 cm. Canadian Museum of History.

Making Strong Points Through Vivid Color Has Been Artist Robert Houle’s Life Work

The first major retrospective of the Anishinaabe artist in the United States shows how he combines ancestral design and abstract painting

The curious snack has definitely joined the ranks of food-on-a-stick favorites, including corn dogs, candied apples and deep-fried Snickers.

The Most Surprising Carnival Treat Might Just Be Pickle on a Stick

Pickles are having a moment, even at small-town fairs, where vendors are serving them up like popsicles

L to R: Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen pose on a tour bus in 1978.

Why Did Van Halen Demand Concert Venues Remove Brown M&M’s From the Menu?

An investigation of the rock band’s unusual concert rider suggests the stipulation was a savvy marketing move

Barbie has held more than 250 jobs since her debut in 1959.

When Barbie Broke the Glass Ceiling

The iconic doll traveled to space, flew with the Thunderbirds and joined the NBA, beating real-life women to an array of career milestones

This Queen Elizabeth II well dressing took eight people over 35 hours to create in late June in Hayfield, Derbyshire, England.

England’s ‘Well Dressing’ Tradition Features Striking, Elaborate Floral Murals

Also made with other natural materials, the artworks are used to decorate wells and water features around the Peak District

Dorothy Liebes (standing) had two studios in San Francisco before moving her business to New York City.

Women Who Shaped History

How the Mother of Modern Weaving Transformed the World of Design

Dorothy Liebes was committed to making quality textiles available to consumers of all classes

Who needs a spoon to enjoy this perfectly swirled chocolate-and-vanilla soft-serve ice cream served on a cone? Put the formalities aside.

Celebrate National Ice Cream Month With These 15 Mouthwatering Treats

These highlights from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest feature creamy frozen delights to help beat the summer heat

Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's newest film

Based on a True Story

The Real History Behind Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’

The “father of the atomic bomb” has long been misunderstood. Will the new film finally get J. Robert Oppenheimer right?

"1898: U.S. Imperial Visions and Revisions" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

See a Life-Size Portrait of Queen Lili‘uokalani, the Last Reigning Monarch of Hawai‘i

The William Cogswell painting, now on display at the National Portrait Gallery, was likely a means for the ruler to assert her right to the throne

The pop-top is a patently American invention.

How Popping Open a Can Became the Sound of Summer

More than 60 years ago, an unfortunate picnic set Ohioan Ermal C. Fraze on a path to inventing the first pop-top tab opener for canned beverages

“The sign has become a worldwide symbol of the Hollywood of the imagination,” says cultural historian Leo Braudy, “and its nine letters allow anyone who sees it to fill it with whatever meaning they want.”

The Hidden History of the Hollywood Sign

Now 100 years old, the iconic billboard started out as an advertisement for an upscale housing development

Johann Baptist Schmitt, The Hermit in Flottbeck, 1795

Ornamental Hermits Were 18th-Century England’s Must-Have Garden Accessory

Wealthy landowners hired men who agreed to live in isolation on their estates for as long as seven years

A Fuller-style geodesic dome known as Weatherbreak is gradually rising 25 feet in the air in the Flag Hall of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History on the National Mall.

The Architectural Genius of the Geodesic Dome and the Challenge of Putting It All Back Together

A new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History puts the engineering innovation back on display after decades in storage

In the exhibition, Basquiat’s art and objects are described not in esoteric art world terms but in loving, even playful ways, often from the perspective of his sisters, Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux

For Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Family, This Exhibition Was a Means of Grieving

Visitors to “Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure,” now in Los Angeles, walk through the late artist’s studio and connect with him on a personal level

A Southern Barbecue, a wood engraving from a sketch by Horace Bradley, published in Harper’s Weekly, July 1887.

The Evolution of American Barbecue

How America’s meaty tradition grew from Caribbean roots to the four distinct styles we know today

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (left) and Harrison Ford (right) in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

An Archaeologist’s Take on What Indiana Jones Gets Right—and Wrong—About the Field

The movie franchise speaks to ethical issues at the very heart of anthropological thinking

The 10th installment of the Renwick Invitational, "Sharing Honors and Burdens," is on display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. (Above: Memorial Beats by Lily Hope, 2021, thigh-spun merino and cedar bark with copper, headphones, and audio files, 16 × 4 × 10 in.)

Six Native Artists Share Their Honors and Burdens in This Year’s Renwick Invitational

The emerging and established Native American and Alaska Native creators bring innovation to traditional art practices

Losang Samten, a Tibetan American scholar and former Buddhist monk, will create, with the help of festivalgoers, a sand mandala.

The 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival Explores the Many Ways Americans Express Their Spirituality

Tibetan Buddhist monks, Yiddish musicians and many more creatives will share their cultural practices with visitors to the National Mall

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