Billie Jean King is the fifth recipient of the Smithsonian “Great Americans” medal.

Smithsonian Names Billie Jean King One of Its ‘Great Americans”’

The tennis icon chatted about her life and legacy in a wide-ranging conversation at the National Museum of American History

Before He Was a Musician, John Lennon Was a Philatelist

Marking the arrival of a new postage stamp, the musician’s boyhood collection is on view at the National Postal Museum

Thousands of migratory birds fly over Northern California in February.

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Lava Tentacles to Abandoned Car Lots, This Acclaimed Violinist Turned Aerial Photographer Captures Our World From 2,000 Feet Up

Jassen Todorov, a professor of music, shares his journey into the world of aerial photography

A.D. 200-300. A burning river of fire and other flaming torments described in the Apocalypse of Paul shaped medieval Europe’s understanding of damnation—and our own.

What Does Hell Look Like?

A new book imagines how the underworld may appear with these illustrations

Cathleen Naundorf’s signature style celebrates the Grand Palais’ dramatic design and the “sculptural” details of two dresses from Chanel’s 2010 collection.

A Vintage Take on High Fashion Showcases the Beauty of a Stitch in Time

Photographer Cathleen Naundorf mined Chanel’s archives for a majestic new book

Land Sea Sky by Sean Scully, 1999

Sean Scully’s Artworks Are a Study in Color, Horizon and Life’s Sorrows

With a return to the Hirshhorn following his 1995 retrospective, Scully presents his sublime Landlines series

German-Americans rally in New York in support of the Nazis in a news clipping from the Shamokin News-Dispatch

The Original Meanings of the “American Dream” and “America First” Were Starkly Different From How We Use Them Today

A new book from historian Sarah Churchwell examines the etymologies of two ubiquitous phrases

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City is just one of the many museums and cultural institutions offering free admission during this year's Museum Day, slated for September 22.

Over 1,500 Museums Across the U.S. Will Open Their Doors for Free This Saturday

Museums and zoos across the country are letting visitors in admission-free. Here are some highlights.

The Afterlife of Beetlejuice

The “Ghost with the Most” has been haunting movie watches—and one small Vermont town—for 30 years

The Artist Who Made Coloring Books Cool for Adults Returns With a New Masterpiece

Johanna Basford, whose fanciful, hand-drawn illustrations launched a worldwide craze, is back with flying colors

A modern retelling of the classic arrives in theaters September 28, while director Greta Gerwig plans another remake of the film for late 2019.

Why Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ Endures

The author of a new book about the classic says the 19th-century novel contains life lessons for all, especially for boys

A guest trims the excess foam off a baseball cap.

How to Make Your Own Cheesehead in Milwaukee

You can make your own iconic Cheesehead hat for this year’s football season at the Foamation factory in Milwaukee

The Box in a Valise/Boite en Valise (Series E) From or by Marcel Duchamp or Rose Sélavy by Marcel Duchamp, 1963

Hirshhorn Curator Explains the Significance of the Huge Marcel Duchamp Donation

Washington D.C. art lovers Aaron and Barbara Levine promise 50 important works to the museum

Interpreters of the artwork (above: four of the eight from left to right: Jahnel Daliya Slowikowski, Sadie Leigh, Briona Jackson, Lara Supan.) are “people that can hold space and have a connection” with the passersby, says the curator.

Don’t Be Surprised if a Woman Sings to You in the Hirshhorn’s Sculpture Garden

The Smithsonian’s first purchase of a performance art piece is happening now, but the artist requests no photos, please

Soldiers supporting the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet take cover as bombs are dropped on the Presidential Palace of La Moneda in Sept. 11, 1973.

An Eyewitness Account of Pinochet’s Coup 45 Years Ago

Smithsonian ethnomusicologist Dan Sheehy poignantly recalls the brutal outcome of a nation divided

Causing trouble from the get-go

The First Academy Awards Had Its Own Version of the “Popular” Oscar

The ceremony itself was rooted in union-busting, laying the basis for the art vs. mass acclaim debate we see play out today

Archaeologist eye to eye to with a sphinx underwater, Eastern Harbor, Alexandria, Egypt, 1st century BC; granodiorite; 27 9/16 x 59 1/16 inches; National Museum of Alexandria (SCA 450); IEASM Excavations; Photos: Jèrôme Delafosse © Franck Goddio / Hilti Foundation.

Check Out These 10 Must-See Fall Exhibits

Underwater artifacts and Winnie the Pooh take center stage at these new museum exhibits this fall

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Catalonia

Climb a 35-Foot Human Tower Through the Lens of a Photographer

Casteller and photographer Alex Nebot documents the fascinating Catalan sport of stacking people into elaborate towers

Nervous about how southern television viewers would react, NBC executives closely monitored the filming of the kiss between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner.

Fifty Years Ago, “Star Trek” Aired TV’s First Interracial Kiss

For actress Nichelle Nichols, the first black woman to have a continuing co-starring role on TV, it was the beginning of a lifelong career in activism

Objects Conservator Dawn Wallace examines the recovered pair of Ruby Slippers. Chief Conservator Richard Barden and Curator Ryan Lintelman also spent hours looking at the shoes in detail.

How the Smithsonian Helped Sleuth Out the True Identity of a Pair of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers

When the FBI asked museum conservators at the American History Museum for assistance, they discovered the two pairs are twins

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