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At the Smithsonian / From the Collections

Luisa Moreno, born to a wealthy Guatemalan family, struck out on her own at a young age, eager to alter the world around her for the better.

Guatemalan Immigrant Luisa Moreno Was Expelled From the U.S. for Her Groundbreaking Labor Activism

The little-known story of an early champion of workers’ rights receives new recognition

The science behind the uptick in cheetah births includes a new fecal hormone method to determine pregnancy in the animals.

Zoo Announces Another Seven Adorable Cheetah Cubs Are Born

With wild populations threatened, emerging and new techniques in the breeding science is growing ever more critical

Born June 30, the new scimitar-horned oryx is already beginning to explore her surroundings.

New Artificial Insemination Technique Successfully Breeds Critically Endangered Scimitar-Horned Oryx

This marks the first birth of an oryx through artificial insemination that did not rely on potentially fertility-compromising anesthesia

The National Zoo's female giant panda Mei Xiang, mother of three, will not give birth this summer.

Giant Panda Mei Xiang Will Not Give Birth

After a week and a half of waiting, the National Zoo confirms that Mei Xiang experienced a pseudopregnancy.

Izzy photographed with the two infants on her back on Friday, June 30.

National Zoo Reports Death of Infant Golden Lion Tamarin

The golden lion tamarin and its sibling were born on Friday, marking the first births of tamarins for the Zoo in a decade

John Wesley Powell by Edmund Clarence Messer, 1889

The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West, But Nobody Listened

Powell’s foresight might have prevented the 1930s dust bowl and perhaps, today’s water scarcities

Mei Xiang, the female panda in residence at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, may be pregnant with a cub to be born later this summer.

Pandamonium

A Primer on the Zoo’s Possibly Pregnant Giant Panda

In anticipation of a potential new cub, here’s a refresher on Mei Xiang and Tian Tian’s storied past

The first frozen margarita machine is in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

American South

The Uniquely Texan Origins of the Frozen Margarita

A Dallas restaurant owner blended tequila, ice and automation. America has been hungover ever since

The chevrons on the Panther's early suit, and the tessellated triangles on his later model, hint at the "sacred geometry" of triangular forms common to several African cultures.

King T’Challa’s Black Panther Suit, a Bold Statement of Afrofuturist Pride, Comes to the Smithsonian

Pounce on the opportunity to celebrate contemporary African-African filmmaking at the National Museum of African American History and Culture this fall

Scientists at the Smithsonian's Museum Support Center in Suitland, Maryland extract a giant squid from its original formalin preservative.

Operation Calamari: How the Smithsonian Got Its Giant Squids

After a decade on view, these cephalopod specimens have a growing fan base

Among the colorful characters immortalized in the colorless daguerreotype medium are (clockwise from upper left): writer Henry Thoreau, Seneca leader Blacksnake, Navy Commodore Matthew Perry, mental health crusader Dorothea Dix, showmen P.T. Barnum and Tom Thumb, and actress Charlotte Cushman.

How Daguerreotype Photography Reflected a Changing America

The National Portrait Gallery brings the eerie power of a historic medium into focus

Clockwise from upper right, the items Feliciano donated to the Smithsonian included: his beloved Concerto Candelas guitar, a Braille writer his wife Susan used, a pair of his trademark glasses, and a heartfelt embroidered note from a Japanese admirer.

For More Than Five Decades, José Feliciano’s Version of the National Anthem Has Given Voice to Immigrant Pride

The acclaimed musician offers a moving welcome to the newest U.S. citizens and donates his guitar

Saturated invites visitors to contemplate the essence of color, and the fascinating ways in which different hues interact.

Future of Art

How Newton, Goethe, an Ornithologist and a Board Game Designer Helped Us Understand Color

A new exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum explores the kaleidoscope of figures who shaped color theory

Robert F. Kennedy by Roy Lichtenstein,1989, after 1968 original

On the Eve of his Death, Robert Kennedy Was a Whirlwind of Empathy and Internal Strife

These unconventional portraits capture the man’s evolution from straitlaced politician to champion of the poor

Guam kingfishers tend to incubate for 21 to 23 days. This female emerged from her shell after 22.

This Royally Adorable Baby Kingfisher Perpetuates a Species Extinct in the Wild

A fine soon-to-be-feathered friend joins the menagerie at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Robert Indiana's Love (1967). The design has become a ubiquitous staple of contemporary Americana.

Archives Reveal Touching Stories on the Life of Robert Indiana, the Man Who Invented “LOVE”

Smithsonian curators reflect on the legacy of the iconic artist, following his death at age 89

“I knew I had to tell a story of the past,” says Don Flemons, the Grammy-winning co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Songster Dom Flemons Brings Back the Melodies of the Black Cowboy

The Latest from Folkways, a Label Marking 70 Years, revives music traditions from the African-American ranch crews of the West

On May 17, 2018, in a gift to posterity, the organizer, publisher and political strategist Mark Segal donated 16 cubic feet of personal papers and artifacts, including the poster above.

Mark Segal, LGBTQ Iconoclast, Activist and Disruptor, Donates Lifetime of Papers and Artifacts

Following the 1969 Stonewall Raid, Segal built a life around protest and the quest for equal rights for minority groups

When Paper Clothing Was the Perfect Fit

A war-weary world needed a new wardrobe, and this cheap, washable attire seemed to rise to the occasion

At its peak in 1948, the women’s pro baseball league attracted more than 900,000 spectators.

Seventy-Five Years Ago, Women’s Baseball Players Took the Field

An Indiana slugger was one of the athletes who “hit the dirt in the skirt” and changed Americans’ view of women

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