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At the Smithsonian

Two-headed smooth-hound (Mustelus)

Shark Week

A Two-Headed Shark and Other X-Rayed Beauties at the Smithsonian

Sandra Raredon’s x-rays of fish specimens are critical records for scientists studying various species. And, as works of art, they are breathtaking

A page out of the diary of William H. Dall, one of the many documents being transcribed by the Smithsonian Transcription Center's small army of volunteers. At the ripe age of 21, Dall set off in 1865 to explore the Arctic on a Western Union Telegraph Expedition.

The Smithsonian Wants You! (To Help Transcribe Its Collections)

A massive digitization and transcription project calls for volunteers at the Smithsonian

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

William James Aylward depicted a soldier looking down at the grave of his bunk mate in His Bunkie..

This Riveting Art From the Front Lines of World War I Has Gone Largely Unseen for Decades

During WWI, the War Department sent American artists to Europe. The Smithsonian recently digitized the captivating artwork

A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in South Africa shows its jaws.

Shark Week

The State of Sharks, 40 Years After Jaws

We could be at a tipping point for conserving the infamous predators, if we can keep up shark-friendly practices

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

Bernard Kleina took rare color photographs of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Chicago Freedom Movement.

Breaking Ground

A Collection of Rare Color Photographs Depicts MLK Leading the Chicago Freedom Movement

The Smithsonian has acquired some of the only known images of Martin Luther King Jr. at the momentous protest

Amanda Lawrence gently removes the specimens for their photo session.

Mission Not Impossible: Photographing 45,000 Bumblebees in 40 Days

The Natural History Museum’s entomology department is making its bumblebee collection go viral

For "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," Larry and the gang travel to the British Museum in London.

Washington, D.C.

Here’s the Trailer for the Final “Night at the Museum” Installment

Last time, “Night at the Museum” came to Smithsonian. Now Larry and company are headed to London.

Wile E. Coyote caught in his own trap

What’s Up, Doc? Check Out the Work of Famed Animator Chuck Jones

As part of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Jones’ work will travel to 13 locations through 2019

Chris Raschka's new children's book tells the true story of Sun Ra, an eccentric jazz musician.

There Once was a Jazz Musician Who Came Here from Saturn

Author and Illustrator Chris Raschka wants his new children’s book to teach kids about the icons of jazz.

The ecology of the meat-eaters like Allosaurus fragilis were likely threatened by the decline of the plant-eating dinosaurs, making the "perfect storm" for a mass extinction

Why the Dinosaurs Could Have Had a Chance of Surviving the Asteroid Strike

A new study suggests it wasn’t just the asteroid that killed the dinos, but that other factors weakened their ability to survive it

Giant pandas Hsing-Hsing (left) and Ling-Ling frolic at the National Zoological Park near Washington, DC. Photo circa 1974.

Cool Finds

Don’t Worry Mr. Nixon, the National Zoo’s Pandas Figured Out How to Have Sex

President Nixon wanted to make sure Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing had enough time to “learn the ropes”

"Hawaii by Air" at the National Air and Space Museum explores the history of air travel to America's "most exotic state."

Surfers, Sunsets, and Dancing Girls: How Air Travel Came To Hawaii

“Hawaii by Air” opens today at the National Air and Space Museum, tracing the history of air travel to America’s “most exotic state.”

Maureen Yancey donated her late son’s Akai MIDI Production Center 3000 Limited Edition (MPC) and his custom-made Minimoog Voyager synthesizer to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Breaking Ground

The Legacy of Hip-Hop Producer J Dilla Will Be Recognized

The late producer’s mother announced she is donating his synthesizer and beat machine to the African American History Museum

Craig Robinson, left, as Maceo Parker and Chadwick Boseman as James Brown in "Get on Up", the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, from director Tate Taylor.

The Star and Director of the New James Brown Movie on What it Took to Capture the Larger-Than-Life Musician

Chadwick Boseman and Tate Taylor told us about the making of “Get On Up,” in movie theaters next month.

The descendants of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison donated ten items to the National Museum of African American History and Culture this month.

Breaking Ground

The Descendants of Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison Donate Family Heirlooms

Objects belonging to the anti-slavery advocate spent a century collecting dust in an attic. Now they’re on their way to the African-American history museum

2001 Anthrax Case

Washington, D.C.

Anthrax Letters, Now on View, Represent the Serious Threats Faced by the Post Office

The National Postal Museum’s “Behind the Badge” exhibit explores the history and legacy of the United States Postal Inspection Service

When the Last of the Great Auks Died, It Was by the Crush of a Fisherman’s Boot

Birds once plentiful and abundant, are the subject of a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum

Skulls of the genus Homo, including two from Homo erectus on the right

New Research

Ability to Adapt Gave Early Humans the Edge Over Other Hominins

Features thought to be characteristic of early Homo lineages actually evolved before Homo arose. Rather, our flexible nature defines us

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