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At the Smithsonian

3-D model of Head of Amenhotep III on Sketchfab

Education During Coronavirus

You Can Now Download 1,700 Free 3-D Cultural Heritage Models

A new Sketchfab collection brings models of fossils, artwork and more into the public domain

Teaching artist Mary Hall Surface stands in front of Edward Hopper’s 1939 painting Cape Cod Evening at the National Gallery of Art. Surface will lead a creative writing workshop for Smithsonian Associates at the Freer Gallery of Art on March 27.

A Creative Writing Workshop and 20 Other Smithsonian Associates Events in March

A Creative Writing Workshop at the Freer and 20 Other Smithsonian Associates Events in March

The exhibition presents the possibility that 3-D models (above: a digital rendering of Aleppo following the 2012 civil war in Syria), and the information extracted from them can be used for future restoration projects.

Take a Walk Through These War-Torn Ancient Cities

An immersive exhibition at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery uses technology to reconstruct historically significant sites in Mosul, Aleppo and Palmyra

Muhammad Ali speaks during a press conference held before his fight against Argentina's Oscar Bonavena.

This Exhibit Asks You to Caption Photos of People Caught in Mid-Sentence

National Portrait Gallery exhibit features snapshots of Muhammad Ali, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

The Smithsonian's “Outbreak: Epidemics in a Connected World” exhibition is joining other efforts to combat misinformation about COVID-19 on multiple fronts. Volunteers, public programs and forthcoming content updates are providing visitors with access to credible and relevant information.

Covid-19

How Museums Can Help the Public Make Sense of Pandemics

We can’t let fear overrun science, says Sabrina Sholts, the Smithsonian’s curator of biological anthropology

Vivid colors and images splash across a five-panel screen, bringing Joseph Banks and James Cook's voyage to life

250 Years Ago, Joseph Banks Documented Australia’s Glorious Botanical Bounty

A film on view at the Natural History Museum showcases the diversity of flora and fauna at the time of European arrival

Author-illustrator duo Jon Scieszka and Steven Weinberg debut How to Make a Collagasaurus, a how-to booklet inviting kids to transform the Smithsonian collections into zany new art forms.

Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain

The launch of a new open access platform ushers in a new era of accessibility for the Institution

Posed in Hampton, Virginia, Katherine Johnson stands before a backdrop of gathering clouds, "symbolic of the obstacles ... that she had to face in her career," says curator William Pretzer.

Women Who Shaped History

Smithsonian Curators Remember Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician Highlighted in ‘Hidden Figures,’ Who Died at 101

An African American woman who battled workplace discrimination, Johnson performed crucial calculations to send astronauts into space

The first two cheetah cubs born via embryo transfer

In a First, Cheetah Cubs Born Through Surrogacy at the Columbus Zoo

Zookeepers and Smithsonian scientists successfully transferred cheetah embryos, marking a major conservation milestone for the vulnerable species

“New Paths to Change: Undocumented Immigrant Activism, 2000 to the Present” is an curatorial effort to collect the stories community organizers across the nation (above: a 2017 immigration rally in San Francisco).

How the Smithsonian Is Documenting the Work of Immigrant Rights Activists

A new collecting initiative will tell the stories of the undocumented and their political organizing movements

The History of the Hard Hat

With some canvas, leather, shelac and black paint, inventor Edward Bullard helped America usher in a new era of workplace safety

Peaceful protestors march down Constitution Avenue and the National Mall on August 28, 1963.

This Virtual Reality Exhibit Brings Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech to Life

“The March” debuts on February 28 at the DuSable Museum in Chicago

When curators gather, the topics are lively. Did Dolley Madison save the day? Do astronauts eat freeze-dried ice cream? And where exactly did the Pilgrims land?

Smithsonian Curators Help Rescue the Truth From These Popular Myths

From astronaut ice-cream to Plymouth Rock, a group of scholars gathered at the 114th Smithsonian Material Culture Forum to address tall tales and myths

Oscillations originating deep inside the sun become detectable only on the surface.

How Do Scientists Record Sounds From the Sun? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions, we’ve got experts

Ken Gonzales-Day’s photograph of the Portrait of Shonke Mon-thi^ now resides in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Recognition of Major Osage Leader and Warrior Opens a New Window Into History

The story of Shonke Mon-thi^, a hidden figure in American history, is now recovered at the National Portrait Gallery

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See Indigenous Films at the Mother Tongue Film Festival

The four-day event shows more than 20 films featuring 28 languages from 22 regions

Grandma Moses Goes to the Big City (1946).

Women Who Shaped History

How the U.S. Government Deployed Grandma Moses Overseas in the Cold War

In 1950, an exhibition of the famed artist’s paintings toured Europe in a promotional campaign of American culture

The wingless Horten Ho 229 V3 on display with other Nazi aircraft.

Why the Experimental Nazi Aircraft Known as the Horten Never Took Off

The unique design of the flyer, held in the collections of the Smithsonian, has infatuated aviation enthusiasts for decades

The six CD set Pete Seeger: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings won a Grammy in the category for Best Historical Album. The set includes some well-known, not-so-well-known, and previously unreleased recordings spanning Seeger’s career.

Grammy Nod to Folkways’ Pete Seeger Collection Is a Fitting Tribute

The producers aim to inspire future generations to carry on the singer’s legacy

Three Cassiopea, or upside-down jellyfish, seen from above in a lab at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The cloudy matter floating above and to the left of the jellyfish is a mucus that they exude.

These Jellyfish Don’t Need Tentacles to Deliver a Toxic Sting

Smithsonian scientists discovered that tiny ‘mucus grenades’ are responsible for a mysterious phenomenon known as ‘stinging water’

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