Sarah Vaughan by Herman Leonard, 1949

Jazz Has Never Looked Cooler Than It Does in This New Exhibition

These evocative images by photographer Herman Leonard call to mind a bygone era

This toy diplodocus fetches up to $600 on eBay.

This Man Claims He Has the World’s Largest Collection of Toy Dinosaurs, and He Loves Them All

Randy Knol’s stunning array chronicles our evolving knowledge about the prehistoric beasts

Babe Ruth by Nat Fein, 1948

Babe Ruth Hit a Home Run With Celebrity Product Endorsements

The Great Bambino was one of the first athletes to be famous enough to require a publicity agent to handle his affairs

Self-Portrait by Romaine Brooks, 1923

The World Is Finally Ready to Understand Romaine Brooks

An early 20th-century artist, Brooks was long marginalized, her work overlooked, in part because of her fluid sexual and gender identity

Basque craftsmen showed up with a 26 foot-long skeleton, oak timber and other traditional materials and set up shop on the National Mall to build a ship at the Smithsonian’s 2016 Folklife Festival.

There’s a Lot More to This Basque Boat Than Meets the Eye

The lost story of the Basque heritage is just waiting to be discovered and could be revealed just by watching craftsmen rebuild an ancient whaler

Ryan Demirjian, Saro Koujakian, and Mher Ajamian of Armenian Public Radio in Los Angeles.

Armenia

“Armenian Public Radio” Brings Nirvana Attitude to the Folklife Festival

An Armenian-American trio performs traditional folk songs with a modern American sensibility

The studio model of the Starship Enterprise from the original Star Trek TV series underwent extensive restoration.

Catch the Spiffy New Look for the Hall that Houses The Spirit of St. Louis, Bell X-1 and Other Famous Flyers

Just in time for its 40th birthday, the museum revamps its main exhibition hall and Star Trek “Enterprise” debuts

Maialen Lujanbio wears the large trophy txapela, or beret, after becoming the first female to win the National Championship in 2009.

What Is Bertsolaritza and Who Are the Basque Poets Who Know It?

At the Folklife Festival, be sure to catch the singing, improvisational poetry slam that’s keeping a language alive

Written in alternating lines of gold and black in Baghdad in 1307 for the Mongol ruler Uljaytu; the Qur'an was intended for his monumental tomb in Sultaniyya in northwestern Iran. (The monument is still standing today).

In a Historic First, a Large Collection of Islamic Qur’ans Travels to the U.S.

The art of the ancient Qur’an is showcased with the loan of some 48 manuscripts and folios from Istanbul, Turkey, and on view at the Smithsonian

“We know of only five scrolls of this heroic size by the artist Wen Zhengming [1470-1559] and this is the only known example with a personal poem,” says curator Stephen D. Allee.

When the Painting Is Also Poetry

A sublime new show honors the Chinese tradition of the ‘Three Perfections’—poetry, painting and calligraphy

Bower by Martin Puryear, 1980, Sitka spruce, pine, and copper tacks

Martin Puryear’s Hometown Retrospective Brings the World Renowned Artist Back to His Roots

After treks to Africa, Scandinavia and Japan, Puryear’s works go on display at the Smithsonian, where he first developed his curiosity for world cultures

Pozzi and her team at the Washed Ashore project, achieve a remarkable and convincing array of textures.

Age of Humans

There’s a Bunch of Animals at the Zoo this Summer Made Out of Ocean Garbage

Delightfully whimsical, the sculptures drive home the message that there’s a whole lot of trash washing ashore

Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) (video still), 2004

Six Critically Acclaimed African Artists Explore the Dimensions and Complexities of Time

Much more abstract than seconds, minutes and hours, time in the hands of artists becomes even more perplexing

Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor at the National Museum of American History discusses the dining traditions at the Supreme Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor Dig Into the History of Food at the Supreme Court

The American History Museum and the Supreme Court Historical Society brought the justices together to share tales from the highest court

Portraits of Infamy by Roger Shimomura, 2016

Commentary

The Public Puts Great Trust in Museums, and Now It’s Time Museums Trust the Public

A new exhibition, curated by the community, debuts this weekend at the Smithsonian

"One of the first questions I ask myself," says Washington, D.C.-based artist Linn Meyers is, "'How well can I approach the quirks of the architecture?'"

The Mesmerizing Results When a Museum Asks an Artist to Draw All Over Its Walls

Linn Meyers took on the monumental task of creating a 400-foot-long artwork at the Hirshhorn

Sewer in a Suitcase: This handy kit shows people where water goes after it goes down the drain.

These Kits Beautifully Explain How City Sewers and Zoning Laws Work

New York’s Center for Urban Pedagogy uses art and design to help people better understand complex laws and systems

Sculptor Anne Arnold and her husband, the abstract painter Ernest Briggs, owned a house with a barn in Montville, Maine, where they raised farm animals, including pigs, cows, and chickens, and kept many dogs and cats. Arnold frequently relied on photographs of her menagerie to create her lively sculptures of animals in metal and wood.

A Look at the Creative Process and What Makes an Artist Tick

A new exhibition delivers a better understanding of where artists find their inspiration

The 400,000-square-foot building has LEED Gold certification

Breaking Ground

Come Inside the New African American History Museum (Photos)

Take a peek behind the scenes to see how curators, architects and designers are prepping for the museum’s historic opening

Freedmen's Hospital Nurses, 1930

Do You Recognize Anyone in These Historical Photos? The Smithsonian Wants to Know

The American History Museum calls on the public to select images and identify subjects in photos pulled from the museum’s archives

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