For three nights—July 16, 17 and 18—a full-sized, 363-foot Saturn V rocket will be projected onto the east face of the Washington Monument, and on Friday and Saturday, a special show will commemorate one of the most stirring moments in our history. Continue reading Fly us to the moon and let us play among the stars.
Even if your closest brush with archaeology has been watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, you too, can savor the thrill of the hunt for hidden history. Continue reading Citizen scientists dig up the past at SERC
When we first went to the moon in 1969, we were pretty confident it wasn’t actually made of cheese, but we really didn’t know much more. Fifty years later, many lunar mysteries remain. Continue reading Sidedoor: Space Jocks and Moon Rocks
The National Zoo’s assistant curator of primates, Becky Malinsky, has an update on Moke, the Zoo’s baby western lowland gorilla. Continue reading #GorillaStory: Moke is becoming more bold
Everyone knows Betsy Ross made the Star-Spangled Banner, right? Well, everyone is wrong. Celebrate Flag Day by learning seven little-known facts about the flag that inspired the National Anthem. Continue reading Seven things you didn’t know about the Star-Spangled Banner
People have been oohing and aahing and blowing things up for millennia. Alexis Stempien shares the history of our love of things that go bang. Continue reading The evolution of fireworks
What better way to spend a sultry summer day than with a stroll down a garden path? Marisa Scalera leads a tour of Smithsonian Gardens’ “Habitat.” Continue reading The secret lives of bees…and birds and dragonflies and grasshoppers and gardeners
Once upon a time, there was a video game so horrible, so loathed, so incredibly bad, that every surviving copy was seized and buried in the desert (probably near Area 51.) Was it an alien attempt to sabotage the gaming industry? Continue reading Sidedoor: The Worst Video Game Ever?
A pounding drum, a wailing dirge, a lilting lullaby, a soulful love song–music conveys an infinite range of meaning and human emotion. See (and hear) how music can be a cultural touchstone at this weekend’s Folklife Festival. (Bring your water bottle! It’s going to be hot!) Continue reading The Social Power of Music
There was a time, not so long ago, when the police could break down your bedroom door and arrest you for what they thought you might be doing behind it. Continue reading A historic moment for LGBTQ civil rights
Watch footage from the Apollo 11 launch at the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia Continue reading Apollo 11 Launch Celebration July 16
Secretary Bunch checks in after his first two weeks on the job. Continue reading This place makes an impression on people
Michael Rubin introduces us to Rose Dunn, who brings her experience as an educator to her long career as a Smithsonian volunteer. Continue reading A rose by any other name would still be one of the Smithsonian’s most valued volunteers
No one can keep up with everything, so let us do it for you. We’ll gather the top Smithsonian stories from across the country and around the world each week so you’ll never be at a loss for conversation around the water cooler. During a week in which we prepared to celebrate humankind’s most triumphant… Continue reading ICYMI: Highlights from the week of July 8 – July 14, 2019
July 15,1886. Thomas Smillie becomes the first custodian of the first Section of Photographic History at the United States National Museum as well as its first photographer. Continue reading Today in Smithsonian History: July 15, 1896
