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Arts & Culture / Music & Film

Fred Savage (right) and Josh Saviano (left) of "The Wonder Years" reunited at the American History Museum on December 2, 2014 to donate items, including the New York Jets jacket shown here in a publicity photo from around 1988.

Fred Savage and “The Wonder Years” Cast Reflect on Why Their Show Still Matters

The cast and crew of “The Wonder Years” reunited at the American History Museum today to donate costumes and other artifacts

From left: Princess Tiger Lily, Indian Chief and Peter Pan as depicted in the 1953 film.

The Racist History of Peter Pan’s Indian Tribe

Even in the early 20th century, though, critics saw Tiger Lily and her fellow “Picaninnies” as caricatures

Paleontologist Jack Horner served as scientific adviser on all of the films and is believed to have inspired the character of Dr. Alan Grant. Here, Horner in 1998.

The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer

We spoke with the paleontologist, who was an adviser on the Jurassic Park movies, about the science behind the franchise

Artist Yoshi Sodeoka envisions musical instruments carried in satellites orbiting the Earth that would be able to “neutralize nations at war."

How Will We Make Music in 200 Years?

A group of innovators were asked to imagine what music will be like in 2214. If they’re right, it could be pretty bizarre

After Bing Cros­by turned down “Rudolph,” Gene Autry’s recording became an all-time best seller.

It Could Have Been Reginald the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Inside the very shiny life of a marketing gimmick from 1939

Matthew McConaughey on a stark landscape. The real star of the film, says Lewis, are the panoramic vistas.

Why “Interstellar” Belongs in the Pantheon of the Best “Realistic” Science Fiction Films

The film follows a well-trodden path, says Smithsonian space historian Cathleen Lewis, who gives it a thumbs up

A hermit thrush perches on a branch in the Pennsylvania woods. Its songs have long been compared to human musical scales.

This Bird’s Songs Share Mathematical Hallmarks With Human Music

The hermit thrush prefers to sing in harmonic series, a fundamental component of human music

James Marsh Enters Stephen Hawking’s Universe

The director on his new film, The Theory of Everything

2014 Ingenuity Awards

Rosanne Cash on Discovering New Artistic Terrain

The singer-songwriter looked to her Southern ancestors to come up with a different kind of concept album

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of Jimi: All Is by My Side speaks about making living history from legend

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its classic catalog of songs about the Spanish Civil War.

Revisiting the Timeless Tracks of the Spanish Civil War

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its catalog of Spanish Civil War songs

Zero Mostel in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Six Things You May Not Have Known About Fiddler on the Roof

As the acclaimed musical turns 50 years old this week, relive the tradition with these interesting factoids

A standard 10-hole Hohner harmonica.

Industrial Espionage and Cutthroat Competition Fueled the Rise of the Humble Harmonica

How a shrewd salesman revolutionized the instrument industry

Joan Rivers passed away on September 4 at age 81. Here, performing in St. Charles, Illinois in 2012.

Smithsonian Curators Remember Joan Rivers

Entertainment curators from the Institution discuss the legendary comic who died yesterday

Debbie Harry on camera or a monitor during the video shoot for “Picture This,” c. 1978. Debbie was constantly asked, “How does it feel to be a sex symbol?” Literally exactly that question, over and over again.

Blondie Guitarist Chris Stein Shares His Secret Photographs of the 1970s and 1980s

Hearken back to the era of punk and new wave music with these snapshots

“We had ears open to all the influences that were around us,” Debbie Harry recently told Interview magazine.

What New Wave Brought to Rock ‘n’ Roll

There will always be a new music craze out to getcha, getcha, getcha

If there had been Academy Awards in the mid-1920s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s The Big Parade produced by Irving Thalberg, directed by King Vidor, and starring John Gilbert and Renée Adorée, would have swept the prizes.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Blockbuster World War I Film that Brought Home the Traumatic Impact of War

The blockbuster silent film The Big Parade is among the first to explore the psychological trauma of war

The creators of "Will & Grace" donated the pilot script and other items from the show to the National Museum of American History.

A Proud Day at American History Museum as LGBT Artifacts Enter the Collections

The creators of “Will & Grace” and others donated objects related to gay history

The National Portrait Gallery is installing Michael Dressler's Time magazine cover photo of Robin Williams following his untimely death.

The National Portrait Gallery Memorializes Robin Williams

The National Portrait Gallery installed a photograph of Robin Williams today following his unexpected death

The same week that Ella Jenkins turns 90, Smithsonian Folkways is releasing her 40th album.

At 90, Ella Jenkins, the First Lady of Children’s Music Has a New Album

Celebrate her birthday with her latest, a compilation of children’s songs from around the world

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