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At the Smithsonian / From the Collections

“Inverted Jennies” grew in notoriety; as one writer note, they “blossomed into the Taj Mahal of stamps."

How the Inverted Jenny, a 24-Cent Stamp, Came to Be Worth a Fortune

Mark the centennial of an epic mistake at the National Postal Museum where several of these world-famous stamps are on view

Henrietta Lacks (HeLa): The Mother of Modern Medicine by Kadir Nelson (detail, above) is on view at the National Portrait Gallery through November 4, 2018.

Women Who Shaped History

Famed for “Immortal” Cells, Henrietta Lacks is Immortalized in Portraiture

Lacks’s cells gave rise to medical miracles, but ethical questions of propriety and ownership continue to swirl

The long-barreled pistols will be on view at the Postal Museum from May 25 through June 24.

Hamilton and Burr’s Dueling Pistols Are Coming to Washington, D.C.

Don’t throw away your shot to see these infamous flintlocks, and an incredible assortment of other Hamilton memorabilia, at the National Postal Museum

Voiced by Josh Brolin, the hulking alien aggressor Thanos moves and speaks precisely as Brolin did on set, thanks to state-of-the-art performance-capture technology.

How the ‘Infinity War’ Directors’ Childhood Gave Them the Guts to Pull Off That Ending

Marvel comes to D.C. to delve into Avengers spoilers and make a Smithsonian donation

A massive task force—150 full-time personnel from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service—hunted the Unabomber.

When the Unabomber Was Arrested, One of the Longest Manhunts in FBI History Was Finally Over

Twenty years ago, the courts gave Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences, thereby ending more than a decade of terror.

Fossil ostracods on a slide from the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The science team behind the recent Nature paper relied heavily on this collection for their analysis.

What the Large Penises of Tiny Crustaceans Tell Us About Evolution

Massive male sex organs have their perks, but in the long run, a little modesty pays

In the minutes after giving birth, 15-year-old Calaya cradled her newborn in her arms.

First Infant Gorilla Born at the Zoo in Nine Years; Watch a Video of the Birth

Little Moke and his first-time mother Calaya are doing well

In the late 19th century, the Democratic Party (represented here by Grover Cleveland and his running mate Adlai Stevenson) was the party of free trade, while the GOP was the faction of harsh tariffs. By the late 20th century, these roles had completely reversed.

A History of America’s Ever-Shifting Stance on Tariffs

Unpacking a debate as old as the United States itself

The story of Laika (above, in a postage stamp from the Emirate of Ajman, now part of the UAE) lives on today in websites, YouTube videos, poems, and children’s books, at least one of which provides a happy ending for the doomed dog.

The Sad, Sad Story of Laika, the Space Dog, and Her One-Way Trip Into Orbit

A stray Moscow pup traveled into orbit in 1957 with one meal and only a seven-day oxygen supply

To demonstrate Tupperware's patented seal, Brownie Wise tosses a bowl filled with water at a party.

Women Who Shaped History

The Story of Brownie Wise, the Ingenious Marketer Behind the Tupperware Party

Earl Tupper invented the container’s seal, but it was a savvy, convention-defying entrepreneur who got the product line into the homes of housewives

On April 4, 1968, when his campaign plane reached Indianapolis on that night, Robert F. Kennedy (above: in a 1968 portrait by Louis S. Glanzman) learned of Dr. King’s death.

When Robert Kennedy Delivered the News of Martin Luther King’s Assassination

Months before his own slaying, Kennedy recalled the loss of JFK as he consoled a crowd of shocked African-Americans in Indianapolis

Zoo curator Bryan Amaral expects Spike will play nice with the other elephants. "For a bull elephant," he says, "Spike's a pretty amenable guy."

Meet Spike, the Affable Asian Bull Elephant Trucked Up From Florida to Join the National Zoo

With a new male elephant in the mix, zookeepers are hopeful babies will soon be on the way

Ali the Aardvark gets cozy as baby Winsol nurses at the Cincinnati Zoo. Ali is one of hundreds of animals whose milk samples are sent to the Smithsonian National Zoo’s milk repository for scientific research.

What Aardvark Milk Reveals about the Evolution of Lactation

Samples from the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Exotic Animal Milk Repository help scientists study the unifying trait of all mammals

Brown’s portable instrument, 40 inches high by 50 inches wide, had a signature flourish: silver trim.

The Electric Organ That Gave James Brown His Unstoppable Energy

What was it about the Hammond organ that made the ‘Godfather of Soul’ say please, please, please?

The King and Queen of Hearts wave from their parade float to crowds gathered for D.C. Capital Pride 2014. The next year, the Academy of Washington waved farewell after 54 years of service to the D.C. community.

These Newly Donated Artifacts Capture the Spirit of Washington, D.C. Drag

Mementos from the Academy of Washington drag organization add a valuable thread to the tapestry of American LGBTQ history

Newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, surrounded by children and grandchildren of members of Congress, holds up her gavel in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007.

Women Who Shaped History

This Historic Gavel Hammers Home the Achievements of Nancy Pelosi… and the United States

The congresswoman donates to the Smithsonian artifacts tied to her first day as Speaker of the House in 2007

President Lyndon Johnson constituted the Kerner Commission to identify the genesis of the violent 1967 riots that killed 43 in Detroit and 26 in Newark (above, soldiers in a Newark storefront), while causing fewer casualties in 23 other cities.

The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened

Released 50 years ago, the infamous report found that poverty and institutional racism were driving inner-city violence

Many of the fascinating stories tied to women across history are preserved in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

This Museum Tour Is the Perfect Guide to Celebrating Women’s History in Style

From the National Portrait Gallery to the Air and Space Museum, here’s where to find the stories of wondrous women come March

Malcolm X by Copain, c. 1967

Is It Time for a Reassessment of Malcolm X?

A Smithsonian Channel film, “The Lost Tapes,” challenges misconceptions about the charismatic leader

Norman Rockwell (above in a 1968 photograph by Garry Camp Burdick), who created more than 300 original covers for the Saturday Evening Post over the course of his long career, was already widely known for his rich visualizations of the American dream when he set about the challenging task of animating FDR's Four Freedoms.

Norman Rockwell’s ‘Four Freedoms’ Brought the Ideals of America to Life

This wartime painting series reminded Americans what they were fighting for

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