Arts & Culture

Indigenous cultures of Alaska have enjoyed the frozen treat known as akutuq for many centuries. An Inupiaq word meaning “to stir,” akutuq traditionally consists of animal fat mixed with seal oil, whipped together with handfuls of berries and freshly fallen snow to make a frothy, frozen concoction.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

What Is Eskimo Ice Cream?

Answer: Not your typical summer dessert

Does 'The Last Supper' Really Have a Hidden Meaning?

Could the painting actually contain a message from Leonardo?

Images are fast outpacing words as the major means of communication.

Commentary

How to Avoid the Pitfalls in the Politics of Graphic Messaging

The director of the National Portrait Gallery offers a few pointers on how to acquire visual intelligence

Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Commentary

Should We Hate Poetry?

It was precisely because poetry wasn’t hated that Plato feared it, writes the Smithsonian’s senior historian David Ward, who loves poetry

"Fading Thoughts" by Andrew Myers

Please Touch the Art: This Artist Creates Tactile Portraits for the Blind

Andrew Myers uses screws to make 3-D masterpieces for curious fingers

A typical night market in Taiwan.

The Best Night Markets for Midnight Snacking in Taipei

Go light on dinner, these magnificent markets add rich flavor to Taipei's nightlife

One of the ingredients of the ancient Roman burger? Ground pistachios.

Taste-Testing the History of the Hamburger

One intrepid reporter cooked three different versions of the burger to uncover just when, exactly, the sandwich was invented

Ten-year veteran of the Smithsonian's protective services office, Sargeant Nadia Tyler is master of the wildly popular Pokémon Go.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All on the National Mall

Sergeant Nadia Tyler, a security guard at Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, is collecting Pokémon creatures daily

Participants in "The Leading Strand" project share their prototypes with each other.

Art Meets Science

Here's What Happens When Neuroscientists and Designers Team Up to Explain Scientific Research

A new interdisciplinary project results in a moving sculpture, an animated piece, a song that evolves and more

What Gives "Seinfeld" Its Staying Power?

In a new book, pop culture writer Jennifer Keishin Armstrong analyzes how the show about nothing changed everything

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on His Love of History, Youth Sports and Which Books Everyone Should Read

The basketball legend has always had a writer's touch

The Brain-Freezing Science of the Slurpee

More than 60 years ago, a broken soda fountain led to this cool invention

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Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Eskimo Yo-Yos, Muskox Knitting Yarn and Other Unique Gifts to Buy in Alaska

Inspiration comes not only from nature but also from the instinct to use what’s close at hand

Self-Portrait by Romaine Brooks, 1923

The World Is Finally Ready to Understand Romaine Brooks

An early 20th-century artist, Brooks was long marginalized, her work overlooked, in part because of her fluid sexual and gender identity

Cool Finds

Photographer Captures the Enduring Grandeur of the Steinway Piano Factory

Christopher Payne's new book strikes a chord

Sunday services let out at the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

The Most Diverse Neighborhood in the U.S. May Surprise You

Abundant housing and job opportunities have brought people from all over the world to Mountain View, Alaska

Who will be the next Hamilton?

Which Great American Should Be Immortalized With the Next Big Broadway Musical?

<em>Hamilton</em> has caught the nation's attention. A panel of Smithsonian writers and curators suggest who's next.

Basque craftsmen showed up with a 26 foot-long skeleton, oak timber and other traditional materials  and set up shop on the National Mall to build a ship at the Smithsonian’s 2016 Folklife Festival.

There’s a Lot More to This Basque Boat Than Meets the Eye

The lost story of the Basque heritage is just waiting to be discovered and could be revealed just by watching craftsmen rebuild an ancient whaler

Ryan Demirjian, Saro Koujakian, and Mher Ajamian of Armenian Public Radio in Los Angeles.

Armenia

"Armenian Public Radio" Brings Nirvana Attitude to the Folklife Festival

An Armenian-American trio performs traditional folk songs with a modern American sensibility

A Coney dog

The Origin of the Coney Island Hot Dog Is a Uniquely American Story

They also have very little to do with the New York City amusement park

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