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Arts & Culture

James Corden is no common place mouser as he takes on the role of Bustopher Jones, "The Cat we all greet as he walks down the street; his coat of fastidious black."

Purrfect or A-Paw-Ling? Why ‘Cats’ Still Gives Some Theatergoers Paws

Experts disagree on the hit musical’s merits; four of the original production’s slinky, feline costumes are held by the Smithsonian

Maya Angelou’s breakthrough memoir, published 50 years ago, launched a revolution in literature and social awareness.

Published More Than 50 Years Ago, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ Launched a Revolution

Maya Angelou’s breakthrough memoir forever changed American literature and helped carve a new space for black self-expression

With the help of the Seeger family, Libba Cotten recorded an album, toured around the world, and eventually at the age of 90, won a GRAMMY.

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

The Magnificent Musical Life of the Upside-Down Guitar Player Libba Cotten

Musician and author Laura Veirs brings this musical icon back to the stage in her recent children’s book

The cubs are a male named Paitoon and a female named Jilian. They were born April 29 and March 24, respectively, at the Nashville Zoo.

The Smithsonian’s Ten Splashiest New Acquisitions of 2019

This year marks the arrival of a brilliant diamond, a hybrid space rocket, exciting paintings and two darling clouded leopard cubs

The list includes Wingspan, Letter, Jam, Parks and Dune.

Holiday Gift Guide

The Best Board Games of 2019

Take to the skies, the national parks and to the streets of Tokyo in these offerings perfect for family gatherings

Falling stars as seen on a balloon journey in pioneering aeronaut James Glaisher's book Travels in the Air. A record-setting balloon flight manned by Glaisher is the subject of the new movie The Aeronauts.

Based on a True Story

The True History of the Aeronauts Who Transformed Our View of the World Above

For early balloonists like James Glaisher, the sky was uncharted—and dangerous—territory

Boy Viewing Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, 1839

A Great Wave of Hokusai

The Freer Gallery—home to the largest collection of the popular Japanese artist’s paintings—unveils 120 rarely seen works

Stadshuskällaren is a restaurant located in Stockholm Sweden that serves historic menus from almost a century of Nobel Banquets.

This Restaurant in Sweden Offers Every Meal Served at the Nobel Banquet Since 1922

At Stadshuskällaren, in the basement of Stockholm’s City Hall, diners eat like Nobel Prize winners

Brooklyn by Mario Martinez (Pascua Yaqui), 2004

Long Sidelined, Native Artists Finally Receive Their Due

At the American Indian Museum in NYC, curators paint eight decades of American Indian artwork back into the picture

The Ten Best Children’s Books of 2019

This year’s top titles deliver strange animals, mouth-watering foods and biographies of unsung heroes

The Oosterscheldekering (Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier), between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the 13 ambitious Delta Works series of dams and storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding from the North Sea.

Cities Around the Globe Are Eagerly Importing a Dutch Speciality—Flood Prevention

Architects and planners from the Netherlands are advising coastal cities worldwide on how to live with water

Marcel Duchamp by Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1968

Marcel Duchamp Played With the Definition of Art and Now the Public Can, Too

Art connoisseurs Aaron and Barbara Levine amassed a formidable body of the artist’s works; they’d like nothing better than for you to see it

Playmobil is sold in nearly 100 countries worldwide.

How Playmobil Went From a Simple, Smiling Figure to a Worldwide Sensation

A new movie plays off the narrative nature of a toy that has been capturing imaginations for 45 years

The 1979 "Christmas Rappin'" was "so witty" says rapper Kurtis Blow (above in 2016 at the Art of Rap festival in Los Angeles). "I welcomed the opportunity to do it.”

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

Every Year Just ‘Bout This Time, Kurtis Blow Celebrates With a Rhyme

In a salute to “Christmas Rappin,’” hip-hop chronicler Bill Adler tells the tale of how the famous rap recording came to life

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Gift Guides

The Best Books of 2019

In our efforts to increase and diffuse knowledge, we highly recommend these 65 titles released this year

Students and teachers can download 3-D print-ready files of the Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops skulls.

Holiday Gift Guide

Ten Smithsonian Artifacts You Can 3-D Print

The list includes Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit, an Abraham Lincoln life mask and a coral skeleton

Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2019

Reading proved a bedrock in a year that saw a new Smithsonian secretary and celebrations of dinosaurs, Apollo 11 and women’s history

A view of the Feitsui Reservoir and Oolong Tea Garden in Taipei, Taiwan

How to Tea-Taste Your Way Through Taiwan

Experience Taiwan’s tea culture through these museums, plantations and tea houses

The Crock Pot’s legacy is that it encourages cooks of all experience levels to get into the kitchen.

A Brief History of the Crock Pot

More than eighty years after it was patented, the Crock Pot remains a comforting presence in American kitchens

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2019

These titles are bound to satisfy your cravings for delicious dishes and food knowledge

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