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Smart News / Smart News Travel

A view of the modified seating arrangement at the Berliner Ensemble

Covid-19

How a Berlin Theater Will Enforce Social Distancing

The venue removed more than half of its seats to keep audience members safely separated

Works by German artist Paul Klee are projected on June 3, 2020, at the Bassins de Lumières digital art center in Bordeaux.

Former Nazi Submarine Base Transformed Into Digital Art Gallery

The concrete bunker once housed Axis U-boats. Now, it features floor-to-ceiling projections of works by Gustav Klimt, Paul Klee

Photinus carolinus, or Synchronous Fireflies, are the only species in the U.S. that flash in coordinated bursts with one another.

Virtual Travel

Watch Fireflies Flicker From the Comfort of Home

Most firefly watching events are canceled this summer, but you can learn about and watch the flashy insects in this online event

A storm on the Great Salt Lake in Utah exposed the wreckage of what may be a 100-year-old boat.

Cool Finds

Storm Unearths Wreck of Century-Old Boat in Utah’s Great Salt Lake

The vessel may belong to a fleet used to construct and maintain a railroad causeway that crosses the briny body of water

Archaeologists found the well-preserved tiles while conducting excavations at a commune near Verona, Italy.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Mosaic Floor Unearthed Beneath Italian Vineyard

The intricate, multi-colored tiles likely date to the third century A.D.

In early March, a blockbuster exhibition marking 500 years since Raphael's death shuttered just three days after opening. In June, visitors returned—with restrictions.

Covid-19

Italy’s Museums Reopen With Vibrating Social-Distancing Necklaces, Limited Admission

A guard will “chaperone” groups of six through the Scuderie del Quirinale’s blockbuster Raphael exhibition

Shakespeare's Globe is a meticulous replica of the Elizabethan theater where the Bard's plays were once performed.

Covid-19

COVID-19 Shutdown Threatens the Future of Shakespeare’s Globe

The London theater—a replica of the original 16th-century venue—relies on proceeds from live events now on hold due to the pandemic

Installation view of the British Museum's "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum" exhibition

Trending Today

Take a Free Video Tour of Blockbuster Pompeii and Herculaneum Exhibition

Available to stream on YouTube and Facebook, the 82-minute film revisits the British Museum’s popular 2013 show

Concept art for the drive-in Vincent van Gogh exhibition in Toronto

Covid-19

In Toronto, a Drive-In Exhibition Immerses Visitors in Vincent van Gogh’s Art

The 35-minute sound-and-light installation will take place in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse

Olafur Eliasson's Wunderkammer collection brings the Northern Lights, a rain cloud, the sun, flowers and other AR objects into your home.

Virtual Travel

This AR App Brings the Northern Lights and Other Natural Phenomena Into Your Living Room

Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson has released nine virtual experiences for audiences to explore during quarantine

Rubble from the Museo de la Masacre de Ponce fell from the top of the building and caused the collapse of its second-floor balcony.

5.4-Magnitude Earthquake Damages Puerto Rican Museums

The Museo de la Massacre de Ponce and Casa Paoli were among the buildings affected by Saturday’s tremors

Enroll in Hogwarts classes, find out which house you belong in, and listen to the audiobook version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Education During Coronavirus

Hear Daniel Radcliffe Read the First Chapter of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’

The actor is one of 17 celebrities slated to participate in newly announced read-alongs of the series’ first book

Two skeletons unearthed in Lechlade, England, date back to around 2200 B.C.

Cool Finds

Bronze Age Chieftain’s Remains Found Beneath U.K. Skate Park

The Beaker man was buried alongside four cowhide “rugs,” an eight-inch copper dagger and a wrist guard made of rare green stone

The wreckage of a mid-19th century ship washed ashore north of Ludington, Michigan, on April 24.

Cool Finds

High Waters in the Great Lakes Reveal Two Centuries-Old Shipwrecks

In the month of April alone, the remnants of two historic vessels washed up on Lake Michigan’s shores

A virtual tour isn't the same as an in-person experience, but it can still afford some great views.

Nostalgic for the North? Take a Virtual Dogsled Ride in Fairbanks, Alaska

Armchair travelers can also enjoy 360-degree views of the city’s famed Northern Lights

Chincoteague ponies take a moment to graze after swimming across the Assateague Channel in 2015.

New Vaccine Offers Hope in Chincoteague Ponies’ Battle Against Swamp Cancer

Over the past three years, the disease has claimed the lives of seven of the famously resilient ponies

A tourist visits Mousa Broch, the tallest known Iron Age broch and one of Europe's best-preserved prehistoric buildings

Why Scottish Archaeologists Are Building a Replica of an Iron Age Stone Tower

By building a new broch, the project aims to better understand how and why the original structures were constructed

An example of the blue bioluminescence produced by microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates, which can chemically synthesize their own light

Dolphins, Surfers and Waves Sparkle in Bright Blue Bioluminescent Glow Off California Coast

A rare bloom of microscopic organisms capable of making their own blue light has transformed several of the state’s beaches

This fresco by Jacopo Ripanda depicts Hannibal crossing the Alps in 218 B.C. New research claims to have located the site of the general's first major victory in Spain.

Cool Finds

The Ancient Battlefield That Launched the Legend of Hannibal

Two years before the Carthaginian general crossed the Alps, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of the Tagus

Prickles, a barefaced merino sheep who went unshorn for seven years after fleeing her home in Tasmania during a spate of 2013 bushfires

Prickles the Sheep Returns Home After Seven Years on the Lam(b)

After missing years of shears, the voluminous creature had ballooned to about five times the size of a typical sheep

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