Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Movies

Paleontologist Jack Horner served as scientific adviser on all of the  films and is believed to have inspired the character of Dr. Alan Grant. Here, Horner in 1998.

The Scientist Behind “Jurassic World”, Jack Horner, Breaks Down the Movie’s Thrilling Trailer

We spoke with the paleontologist, who was an adviser on the Jurassic Park movies, about the science behind the franchise

The Hunger Games cornucopia from the first movie.

The Architecture of the Hunger Games’ Horns of Plenty

What inspired the architectural object at the center of the Hunger Games arena?

The few remaining scientists at NASA are hard at work on Earth trying to "solve gravity."

Think Big

Would Astronauts Survive an Interstellar Trip Through a Wormhole?

Well, it depends on your definition of “wormhole” …

Smaug now resides at the Wellington airport.

Cool Finds

Smaug the Dragon And Other Unexpected Airport Surprises

There’s more to the world’s airports than newsstands and food courts

James Marsh Enters Stephen Hawking’s Universe

The director on his new film, The Theory of Everything

Cool Finds

Movie Theaters Boycott Netflix’s First Feature Film

AMC, Regal, Carmike and Cinemark thumb their nose at Netflix’s upcoming sequel to “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

New Research

Action Movies Encourage Charged-Up Viewers to Overeat

People watching action flicks ate nearly twice as much as those viewing a talk show

A Lost Chapter From Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Was Just Released

The chapter was removed after being deemed “too wild” and subversive

The hand-axe, reimagined.

Designers Remake Our Oldest Tool Using Our Newest Tool

More than a million years old, the hand axe is over due for an update

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

Cool Finds

Quentin Tarantino And Judd Apatow Agree: Kodak Film Can’t Disappear—They Need It

Some of Hollywood’s most famous directors are pressing studios to buy Kodak film—before it’s too late

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.

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.

Actor Andy Serkis's motion-capture performance rendered into a photo-perfect computer-generated ape.

How New Motion Capture Tech Transformed Actors Into Creatures for “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”

The special effects team behind Gollum and King Kong took on its most-challenging feat yet: animating 2,000 apes in a real forest

Trending Today

Sell an Oscar, Get Sued

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences takes the sanctity of its golden trophies very seriously

An Early Script of The Wizard of Oz Offers a Rare Glimpse Into the Creation of the Iconic Film

Seventy-five years after its Technicolor premiere, trace the earliest steps on the yellow brick road

Trending Today

Katniss Everdeen’s Three-Fingered Salute Has Become a Real-Life Symbol of Resistance in Thailand

In “The Hunger Games,” a three-fingered salute indicated resistance. Now it does in Thailand, too.

Watching a movie on a DVD requires more energy than streaming it over the Internet, a new study finds.

New Research

Streaming a Movie Uses Less Energy Than Watching a DVD

Getting rid of DVD players could reduce carbon dioxide emissions, researchers find

Maya Angelou by Ross Rossin, 2013.

Trending Today

Maya Angelou Was One of the Most Influential Voices of Our Time

Maya Angelou was poet, novelist, educator, producer, actress, filmmaker, dancer and civil rights activist

Larry Kramer and his dog, Charley, in 2011.

Cool Finds

Larry Kramer Waited 30 Years for His Play About the Early Years of AIDS to Be a Film

Kramer hopes “The Normal Heart” inspires a new generation of activists

Page 30 of 41