Museums

Costa Rican Minister of Culture and Youth Sylvie Durán (right) examines some of the newly returned artifacts.

Brooklyn Museum Returns 1,305 Pre-Hispanic Artifacts to Costa Rica

The NYC cultural institution sent the objects to the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica as an "as an unrestricted gift"

An installation view of "Automania" at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. The red car in front is a Cisitalia 202 GT Car (1946) designed by Italian firm Pininfarina; the green car in the background is a German "Beetle," a.k.a. a Volkswagen Type 1 Sedan (1949). The lithograph on the wall is Watch the Fords Go By (1937) by A. M. Cassandre.

How the Automobile Changed the World, for Better or Worse

New MoMA exhibition explores artists' responses to the beauty, brutality and environmental devastation of cars and car culture

Visitors explore during a sneak preview of the newly renovated Harry S. Truman Presidential Museum and Museum in Independence, Missouri. The $29 million expansion took 2 years to complete.

At the Harry Truman Library and Museum, Visitors Get to Ask Themselves Where the Buck Stops

Interactive exhibitions pose questions about the decision to drop the nuclear bomb, the Red Scare, Truman's foreign policy and more

The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover, Vermont, is worth the detour.

Eight Unusual Roadside Attractions Worth Stopping For

The stories behind these American road trip pit stops are as curious as the landmarks themselves

Inventive and egalitarian, the Arts and Industries Building is due to open in November after being closed for nearly two decades.

The Storied Past and Inspiring Future of the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building

It was once the Institution's most forward-looking museum. Soon it will be again

Two American bison grazed in a paddock behind the Castle. A few years later, in 1891, they joined the first animals at the new National Zoo.

Secretary Lonnie Bunch Reflects on the Smithsonian's 175th Birthday

The Institution's leader looks back on a vibrant history—and ahead to the next two museums

This pre-Inca chest ornament dates to between roughly 800 B.C. and 1 A.D. In 1986, the City of Cusco selected the disc's design as its official symbol and coat of arms.

A Golden Symbol of National Identity Returns to Peru

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian has sent an ancient, pre-Inca breastplate back home

Bronzino, Eleonora di Toledo and Francesco de’ Medici, c. 1550

Florence's Medici Family Used Portraits as Propaganda

A new exhibition at the Met reveals how the Italian banking dynasty drew on art to cement its power and legacy

The Forever Marilyn statue's June 20 unveiling attracted protesters who view Seward Johnson's 26-foot-tall sculpture as an outdated symbol of sexism.

Why a Newly Installed Statue of Marilyn Monroe Is So Controversial

In the era of #MeToo, some view the sculpture—now on view in California—as a symbol of sexism

Among the ways that the American History Museum has engaged visitors was the 2010 interactive play “Join the Student Sit-Ins,” starring actor Xavier Carnegie (above) at one of the iconic objects in the Smithsonian's collection, the Greensboro Lunch Counter, where on February 1,1960, four Black college students at North Carolina A & T University began a legendary sit-in for racial justice.

Why History Museums Are Convening a 'Civic Season'

History is complex, says the Smithsonian’s Chris Wilson; here's how to empower citizens with the lessons it offers

The mini museum is housed on the first floor of an Oakland, California, house whose exterior is decorated with a mural honoring the women of the Black Panther Party.

Mini Museum Honoring the Black Panther Party Will Debut on Juneteenth

A pop-up exhibition dedicated to the Black power organization is set to open in Oakland, California, on June 19

This jellyfish, Scolionema suvaense, was raised in the National Museum of Natural History’s Invertebrate Zoology “AquaRoom.” Here, the species is sinking through food with its tentacles spread wide.

Live Jellyfish Make a Splash in Marine Education

Smithsonian's AquaRoom helps scientists learn more about these animals’ lives and educate future generations about their marine neighbors

Anonymous, Enslaved Men Digging Trenches, c. 1850

Confronting the Netherlands' Role in the Brutal History of Slavery

A Rijksmuseum exhibition explores the legacy of colonialism and misleading nature of the term "Dutch Golden Age"

A close-up view of the Hartwell Memorial Window, a stained-glass panel likely designed by Agnes F. Northrop in 1917

Stunning Tiffany Stained Glass Debuts After 100 Years of Obscurity

The enormous, luminescent landscape spent nearly a century in Providence before its 2018 acquisition by the Art Institute of Chicago

“I am not setting out here to rehabilitate Nero as a blameless man,” curator Thorsten Opper says. “But I have come to the conclusion that almost every single thing we think we know about him is wrong.”

Was Emperor Nero Really as Monstrous as History Suggests?

A new exhibition at the British Museum introduces visitors to the man behind the mythical Roman ruler

Controversial collector Stuart Pivar discovered the painting at an auction outside of Paris. The Van Gogh Museum reportedly plans to authenticate the work.

Is This Landscape a Long-Lost Vincent van Gogh Painting?

A controversial art collector claims that a depiction of wheat fields in Auvers is the work of the famed Impressionist

After Yolande of Anjou, wife of Francis I, duke of Brittany, died in 1440, her husband had her likeness painted over with a portrait of his second wife.

Researchers Discover Hidden Portrait in 15th-Century Duchess' Prayer Book

The duke of Brittany had his second spouse's likeness painted over an image of his late first wife

Each year, Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute hosts 1,400 scientists from across the world at its Panama facilities.

The Global Reach of the Smithsonian

Expanding the Institution's reach and relevance requires collaborating with museums and researchers around the world

The newly released ID-Art app allows the public to easily identify and report stolen art.

Interpol's New App Combats Art Crime and Protects Cultural Heritage

Amateur sleuths, collectors and dealers can use ID-Art to access the international organization's database of 52,000 stolen artworks

L to R: Ward Lee, Tucker Henderson and Romeo were three of the nearly 500 captives illegally transported on the Wanderer.

This Yacht Trafficked Enslaved Africans Long After the Slave Trade Was Abolished

New exhibition in Louisiana details the story of the "Wanderer," the penultimate ship to illegally transport enslaved people into the U.S.

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