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At the Smithsonian

To boldly go where only a few men (and women) have gone before: “Moving Beyond Earth,” a permanent exhibit at the Air and Space Museum, has a replica of the waste collection system used aboard NASA’s space shuttles. This may be the fanciest toilet you will ever see.

How Do Astronauts Go to the Bathroom in Space?

A look at the space shuttle toilet and “the deepest, darkest secret about space flight”

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Why the Department Store Brought Freedom for the Turn of the Century Woman

Harry Selfridge, a London department store owner, may have opened the doors to more than just his retail store when he gave women a chance to power shop

Marianne Moore

Poetry Matters: Women’s Work: Toward a New Poetic Language

For Women’s History month, curator David C. Ward considers the steady ascendency of poets from Emily Dickinson to today’s Eavan Boland

A golden ticket from the 2005 film, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” is part of the donation of 30 objects from Warner Bros.

A Batarang, A Golden Ticket and a Green Gremlin: Treasures from Warner Bros.

Warner Brothers added to its collection of donated items with more than 30 new items to the American History Museum

An artist’s rendering of Curiosity, the rover that is currently exploring Gale Crater on Mars. Learn about the rover from the scientist in charge of its mission this Tuesday at the Air and Space Museum.

Events March 12-14: Missions to Mars, the Civil War in Art and a Meditation on Imaginary Landscapes

Meet the scientist behind the Mars rover, learn the civil war’s influence on contemporary art and watch films by European media collective Flatland

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The Cyrus Cylinder Goes on View at the Sackler Gallery

The Cyrus Cylinder makes its U.S. debut on March 9. It is considered one of the most important archaeological artifacts in history.

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What Happened the Last Time the Climate Changed

Smithsonian scientists investigate a sudden warming of the Earth 55 million years ago to understand how climate change will affect future ecosystems

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Two-Time Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Talks Big Dreams, Big Wins and Having Fun

Douglas discusses her recent donation of her leotard and other items from the 2012 London Olympics

Bette Davis and Henry Fonda star in Jezebel, the 1938 hit set in antebellum-era New Orleans. See it at the American History Museum this Friday.

Events March 8-10: An Old School Southern Film, an International Women’s Day Celebration and a Classical Concert

This week, watch Bette Davis in the 1938 hit Jezebel, join performance art that honors African women and listen to one of the world’s best pianos

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Snowy Day, But Smithsonian D.C. Museums Open, Zoo Closes

Bad weather threatens the metro area, but the Smithsonian museums Will Open, National Zoo is Closed

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Winged Migration: The 77-Carat Butterfly Brooch That “Glows” in the Dark

The piece by Taiwanese artist Cindy Chao has a surprise revealed only under ultraviolet light

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Women’s History Month at the Smithsonian

From a Confederate spy to a deepwater researcher, women are everywhere and the Smithsonian is telling their stories

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The Greatest R&B Singer Who Never Existed

How the make-believe alter ego of an imaginative teen in the 1970s won him the fame he always dreamed of 40 years later

Naseer Shamma, world-renowned ’ud (lute) player, performs at the Freer Gallery this with the Al-Oyoun ensemble Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Events March 5-7: Understanding Contemporary Art, Québec Microbrews and Lute Player Naseer Shamma

This week, learn how to interpret contemporary art, taste some Canadian microbrews and listen to one of the world’s best flute players

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Video: Panda Gets Randy, Keeper Reports on the Panda-monium

Breeding season for the giant pandas gets underway this month at the National Zoo

A habitable planet orbits a white dwarf. Here the ghostly blue ring is a planetary nebula—hydrogen gas the star ejected as it evolved from a red giant to a white dwarf.

E.T. Phone Home: New Research Could Detect Signs of Life in this Decade

Thanks to a proposal by astronomers Avi Loeb and Dan Maoz, we could find evidence of extraterrestrial life very soon

A mosaic of 60,000 bottle caps

Spotlight

Scientists understand color vision in nonhuman animals by studying the properties of cone cells.

Can Animals Decipher Colors and More Questions From Our Readers

Clouds, bluegrass, chipmunks and Picasso round out this month’s batch of questions

Off the Auckland Islands, a southern right whale moves in for a closer look at Skerry’s diving partner.

Brian Skerry Has the World’s Best Job: Ocean Photographer

The freelancer’s new exhibit at the Natural History Museum captures the beauty, and fragility, of sea life

How Two Women Ended the Deadly Feather Trade

Birds like the snowy egret were on the brink of extinction, all because of their sought-after plumage

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