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At the Smithsonian / Exhibitions

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

The sensuous curves and subtle walnut grain of Maloof's rocker just seem to beckon and say “Come on in a sit a while.”

Famous for His Rocking Chair, Sam Maloof Made Furniture That Had Soul

A centennial appreciation for this master of mid-century modernism is underway with a California exhibition and an upcoming seminar

Joe (left) and Anthony (right) Russo at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Meet the “Mad Scientists” Behind ‘Captain America: Civil War’

In their latest film, directors Joe and Anthony Russo explore the morality of the Star-Spangled Avenger

The model arrived at the Smithsonian in 1974 lacking most of its lights, and replacements burned hot and gave off damaging ultraviolet light. Specialists Will Lee (left) and David Wilson work on ways to deploy new LEDs, which give off little heat and no UV light.

The Starship Enterprise Is Coming in for a New Landing at the Smithsonian

This artifact in the Air and Space Museum collections boldly returns to public view

Tara Locklear makes jewelry using recycled skateboards.

Calling All Those in the Market for Skateboard Jewelry, Czech Marionettes or Other Quirky Crafts

The annual Smithsonian Craft Show features 120 of the best craft artisans from around the country

Robin Williams by Michael Dressler, 1979

Harken Back to the Glory Days When ‘Time’ Magazine Was King

A new show honors the once powerful cover shot and the artists who made celebs shine bright

This conception of jazz as a means of bringing people together is manifested nowhere better than in Benny Carter (above, 1986).

It’s Springtime and Jazz Is In Bloom

This year’s Jazz Appreciation Month celebrates the singularly talented alto saxophonist Benny Carter

Untitled by Robert Irwin, 1963-65

To Truly Experience Robert Irwin, You Simply Must View His Artworks in Person

Part visionary, part magician, Irwin makes art that breaks all the rules

Wayne Shorter and McCoy Tyner at Shorter's April 29, 1964 session for "Night Dreamer" at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

These Rarely Seen Images Show Jazz Greats Pouring Out Their Hearts

Frank Wolff’s gritty portraits, the hallmark of Blue Note Records, became a visual catalog of jazz in action

Crisis, From the series Ashab Al-Lai/ Fault Mirage: A Thousand Lost years by Ahmed Mater, 2015

A Changing Mecca Is the Focus of the First U.S. Exhibition to Feature a Saudi Artist

The works of Ahmed Mater at the Sackler examine the stark collision of the sacred and profane

Independence Day Celebration by Lauren Good Day Giago, (Arikara/Hidatsa/Blackfeet/Plains Cree), 2012, antique ledger paper, colored pencil, graphite, ink, felt-tipped marker

For These Native American Artists, the Material Is the Message

A new exhibition traces the evolution of Plains tribes’ narrative art from the 18th century up through today’s contemporary works

Caja De Memoria Viva II: Constancia Clemente-Colon by Adrian "Viajero" Roman

Every Three Years, Artists Compete to Be On View at the National Portrait Gallery. Here Are the Winners

The 2016 show conveys an intensity, as if the artists and their subjects are demanding a conversation on the complex issues of our times

Explore the Magnificent and Mysterious Surface of the Moon in Pictures

At the National Air and Space Museum, beautiful images show how the moon’s pockmarked surface is rife with mystery

Left to Right: Mitch Pileggi, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and William B. Davis—there has been no official announcement about whether an 11th season will pick up where the recent cliffhanger left off.

I Want to Believe (In the Science of “The X-Files”)

In some scenes, the television show is theater of the absurd, but in others, you can bet the science is solid with biologist Anne Simon on the job

Actor Kevin Spacey arrived at the National Portrait Gallery in character as President Frank Underwood for a "presidential" portrait unveiling.

Francis J. Underwood’s Presidential Portrait Goes On View at the Smithsonian

A portrait of actor Kevin Spacey, in his Netflix role as the world’s most devious president, proves that fiction is as good as real life

A biocube is placed in Central Park's Hallett Nature Sanctuary in New York City.

You’d Be Astounded to Learn How Much Wildlife Can Fit Into One Cubic Foot

A whole new world opens up when you try to catalog every visible creature that moves in and out of a biocube set down on either land or in water

In the installation of Smell, The Beauty of Decay: SmellScape Central Park, designed by Sissel Tolaas, visitors touch the wall that has been painted with the special paint, releasing the scent.

Can Smell Be a Work of Art?

Scent artist Sissel Tolaas uses chemistry to explore the malodorous, yet beautiful, scent of decay in Central Park

A 19th-century illustration depicts a scene off the coast of Peru, where bird poop, or guano, was harvested as a valuable agricultural fertilizer.

How the Gold Rush Led to Real Riches in Bird Poop

The ships carrying gold miners to California found a way to strike it rich on the way back with their holds full of guano

The mausoleum of Cyrus in a cyanotype from a glass plate negative from the papers of Ernst Herzfeld.

How a German Archaeologist Rediscovered in Iran the Tomb of Cyrus

Lost for centuries, the royal capital of the Achaemenid Empire was finally confirmed by Ernst Herzfeld

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