Blogs

Coming Attractions for 2012: The Great Gatsby in 3D!!

Films both new and old that we look forward to in the coming year

January 12, 2012

Introducing Ask Smithsonian

Now, with ‘Ask Smithsonian,’ the magazine gives you the chance to ask your own questions—and have them answered by Smithsonian experts

January 12, 2012

Meet the Contenders for Earliest Modern Human

Scientists have several candidates for the title of earliest Homo sapiens

January 11, 2012

The Way of the Dinosaur

“Going the way of the dinosaur” is a popular phrase, but one drawn from bizarre 20th century ideas that dinosaurs were due for an extinction

January 11, 2012

A Q&A with Physicist and Author Lawrence Krauss

A renowned theoretical physicist comes to speak at the Natural History Museum

January 11, 2012

Tasting Shackleton’s Whisky

The replication of a historic whisky might reflect merely our fascination with artificial artifacts—-but the whisky yielded a surprise

January 11, 2012

Could the Death Star Destroy a Planet?

Students in England concluded that the Star Wars space station could easily have destroyed an Earth-like planet

January 11, 2012

Moving Sidewalks Before The Jetsons

The public’s fascination with the concept of “movable pavement” extends back more than 130 years

January 11, 2012

Waging War on Mammals in New Zealand

The family spent days in a cabin eating food, provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, which requested to stomp on kiwi-killing vermin

January 10, 2012

Dinosaurian Snorkels, Air Tanks and Tubas

Parasaurolophus is one of the most perplexing dinosaurs - what did it use its huge crest for?

January 10, 2012

The Hirshhorn Turns Labor Into Art with “Black Box: Ali Kazma”

Turkish video artist Ali Kazma captures the actions of a man who seems to be the most efficient stamper of paper ever at the Hirshhorn’s Black Box Theater

January 10, 2012

What Is Enriched Uranium?

Naturally occurring uranium doesn’t have enough of the fissile isotope U-235 to set off a nuclear reaction, but scientists found ways to increase the stuff

January 10, 2012

How to Plan a Party Based on Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party

I’m putting on my event planner hat to offer up the following ideas for a party inspired by an Impressionist painting

January 10, 2012

Prohibition’s Premier Hooch Hounds

January 10, 2012

Charles H. Sternberg’s Lost Dinosaurs

On December 6, 1916, a German military vessel sunk a highly-valued shipment of Canadian dinosaurs

January 9, 2012

A Preview of CES: When Cars Become Smartphones

Is the day coming when your car will talk to your alarm clock and also check your heart rate?

January 9, 2012

Events January 10-12: Mission Impossible, Talking about Andy, Webby Talk

This week, experience Mission: Impossible in IMAX, rediscover the iconic work of Andy Warhol, and learn about the most innovative work happening on the Web

January 9, 2012

Did Bigfoot Really Exist? How Gigantopithecus Became Extinct

Dental, dietary and environmental clues help explain why the world’s largest ape vanished

January 9, 2012

What Does Home Smell Like?

Salmon’s powerful, ingrained sense of smell allows them to return to the exact stream of their birth for spawning.

January 9, 2012

The Tallest Mountains in the Solar System

Mount Everest is a just a peewee when compared with such giants as Olympus Mons on Mars

January 9, 2012