Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

At the Smithsonian

None

The Best of the Smithsonian’s Answers to #AskaCurator Tweets

The best questions and responses as pulled from Twitter

The panda cub receiving her first veterinary exam

CUTE PHOTOS: Panda Cub is Thriving, More Than Doubles in Size

Today the Zoo’s veterinarians gave the giant panda cub a full exam and pronounced the cub healthy and thriving

This photo of a yellow goby appears in “Portraits of Planet Ocean: The Photography of Brian Skerry,” which opens in the Natural History Museum’s Sant Ocean Hall on Sept. 17.

New Exhibitions at the Ocean Hall Ask What You Can Do for Your Oceans

Three new exhibitions explore humans’ relationship to the ocean

Oceanographer Gareth Lawson, who studies pteropods, was able to identify Kavanagh’s sculptures to species, such as this Limacina helicina.

The Gorgeous Shapes of Sea Butterflies

Cornelia Kavanagh’s sculptures magnify tiny sea butterflies—ocean acidification’s unlikely mascots—hundreds of times

None

Bearing Witness to the Aftermath of the Birmingham Church Bombing

On September 15, 1963, four were killed in the Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama

Shoes worn by Maria Cecilia Benavente on September 11, 2001

Remembering 9/11: Maria Cecilia Benavente’s Sandals

Maria Cecilia Benavente escaped Tower Two barefoot; in shock, she held onto her sandals

Panda Watch: It’s a Girl!

The National Zoo confirmed that Mei Xiang’s cub is female

This professional look for Joan Harris was inspired by the character’s new position at the beginning of season six.

Go Behind the Styles With Mad Men’s Emmy-Nominated Costume Designer

Janie Bryant talks about her design process, her upcoming reality show and Bob Benson’s shorts

None

Why Don’t Lions Attack Tourists on Safari and More Questions From Our Readers

A Moon-less Earth, yoga history, climate change and human speech

Planet of the apps: The Cooper-Hewitt will release the code behind Planetary, enabling everyone to adapt the software.

How Does a Museum Acquire an iPad App for its Collections?

The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is making its first foray into design that you can’t actually see

None

Why the Smithsonian Just Can’t Quit Studying the Civil War

150 years later, the war is still in focus

None

New Video of Mei Xiang’s Squawking Baby Panda

The National Zoo’s newest addition is already keeping mom up at night

None

What Digitization Will Do for the Future of Museums

The Secretary discusses his new e-book about how the Smithsonian will digitize its collections and crowdsource its research

One-year-old cubs play at the nursery in Bifengxia, China

A Zoo Panda Keeper on His Trip to China and Why Mei Xiang is a Great Mom

Panda keeper Juan Rodriguez opens up about Mei Xiang’s first days with her new cub, as well as a recent trip to a partner panda facility in China

Smithsonian Buddha. (Digital image courtesy of the Smithsonian. Text by Vick Gan.)

This Life-Size Sculpture Gives You a Map to the Buddhist Cosmos

Get an up-close look at the Smithsonian’s stunning Buddha

None

Panda Cub Watch

The latest updates on the National Zoo’s new baby giant panda

The Zoo reports that the “cub’s heart rate is steady and its belly was full.” Veterinarians report that they “could hear breath sounds from both lungs.”

New Baby: Giant Panda Gives Birth at the National Zoo!

The first cub is healthy and doing well. Mei Xiang gave birth to a second, stillborn cub on Saturday

Go-go legend Chuck Brown poses on the Big Chair, a downtown Anacostia landmark.

Bust Loose at Chuck Brown Birthday Party at American Art Museum

The museum remembers D.C.’s own “Godfather of Go-Go” with a concert today

Eugene Allen, inspiration behind The Butler, poses for a portrait by Roland Freeman.

Hear From the Real Butler of the White House, Eugene Allen

Smithsonian Folkways interviewed the man who inspired the new film starring Forest Whitaker

Three elephants will be coming to the National Zoo from Canada’s Calgary Zoo in the spring.

HUGE News From the Zoo: Three New Elephants Are Moving In

Three female Asian elephants will come to the National Zoo from the Calgary Zoo in spring of 2014

Page 161 of 278