Arts & Culture

The family of Jaidyn MacCorison, 11 (at a New Hampshire gas station), goes back generations in the region.

The Mysterious Beauty of Robert Frost's New England

These stark yet stunning landscapes inspired the lyricism of the American titan of poetry

At the apex of the Walkman craze, 1987 to ’97, the number of people who reported that they walked for exercise rose by 30 percent.

The Walkman's Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural Revolution

In 1979, the new device forever changed the way we listened to music

Mary Ann Brown Patten, photographed by an unidentified artist, 1857

Women Who Shaped History

How the Camera Introduced Americans to Their Heroines

A new show at the National Portrait Gallery spotlights figures including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lucretia Mott and Margaret Fuller

Several years after traveling through the South with fellow writer Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes wrote an essay about an encounter with a young man escaping chain gang labor.

A Lost Work by Langston Hughes Examines the Harsh Life on the Chain Gang

In 1933, the Harlem Renaissance star wrote a powerful essay about race. It has never been published in English—until now

This Man Became the First Openly Gay Bishop in America

Commuters ride up escalators at the Dupont Circle Metro Station in Washington, D.C.

How the Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense of Space

Sure, the 19th-century invention transformed shopping. But it also revolutionized how we think about the built environment

LGBTQ Women Who Made History

One of Mae Reeves' "showstopper" hats

Entrepreneur Mae Reeves' Hat Shop Was a Philadelphia Institution. You Can Visit It at the Smithsonian.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture recreated one of the first businesses in the city to be owned by a black woman

A team from Howard University’s Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival recorded voices from the #DontMuteDC movement on June 6: (L to R) Donald Campbell, Ron Moten, Dr. Natalie Hopkinson, Dr. Brandi Summers, Tone P, Nico Hobson.

Hitting the High Notes: A Smithsonian Year of Music

The Social Power of Music Will Take Center Stage at the 53rd Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The D.C. tradition will hit the National Mall for two action-packed days this weekend. Here's what to know about this year's lineup

Drivers wait in the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Alhambra, California, on August 30, 2018.

A Crispy, Salty, American History of Fast Food

Adam Chandler’s new book explores the intersection between fast food and U.S. history

The By the People festival in Washington, D.C. brings artists and art lovers together in the spirit of shared community.

These Engaging, Immersive Works Erase the Line Between Art and Audience

The By the People art festival at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building is a feast for the eyes and the soul

The slogan on this button from the 1960s is attributed to astronomer-turned-activist Frank Kameny. After being barred from federal employment because of his sexuality, Kameny organized gay rights groups and protests starting years before the Stonewall riots galvanized the movement more broadly.

LGBTQ+ Pride

A Look at the Struggles and Celebrations of LGBTQ Americans

Artifacts from the National Museum of American History highlight the broader story of gay history and activism

Coconut mailing is part of the Hoolehua Post Office’s Post-a-Nut program, which began in 1991.

You Can Mail a Coconut to Anywhere in the World From This Post Office in Hawaii

Why send a postcard during your travels when you can 'post-a-nut?'

Chelsea Children by James McNeill Whistler, ca. 1997

After More Than Eight Decades, These Exquisite Whistler Watercolors Make Their Public Debut

Freer Gallery also revamps its popular Peacock Room, returning it to the way it looked a century ago

David Copperfield at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

David Copperfield Welcomes New Citizens With a Magic Show and a History Lesson

The master illusionist reunited the Star-Spangled Banner with its missing star in honor of a Flag Day ceremony at the American History Museum

A wooden canoe seat, carved with a spider's web, became noteworthy for being the very first of the 36,000 artifacts in NMAAHC’s collections.

Meet Juan García Salazar, the Man Who Championed Black Identity in Ecuador

Behind the very first artifact to enter the African American History Museum's collections resides a story about recovering the Afro-Ecuadorian experience

Slinky Dog and its cousin, Slinky Train, were allegedly inspired by inventor Helen Malsed's 6-year-old son, who wanted to see what would happen if his Christmas Slinky had wheels attached.

The Patents Behind Toy Story's Beloved Characters

The Pixar series is full of classic toys, from the Slinky Dog to the Speak & Spell, that sprung from the minds of clever inventors

Artists Hank Willis Thomas, Jim Ricks and Ryan Alexiev pose in front of The Truth Booth at a stop in Ireland.

A Globe-Trotting, Truth-Seeking Art Project Looks for Answers in D.C.

The Hirshhorn Museum hosts the ‘Truth Booth,’ a pop-up confessional where participants record honest reflections

The colors of the curry refer to political groups at odds in contemporary Thailand—the red for the rural activists, the yellow for the royalists and the green for the ever-pervasive military.

This Performance Art Piece Is Being Served Up With Tasty, Warm Bowls of Curry

Amid evolving images of protest and strife, Rirkrit Tiravanija’s art at the Hirshhorn satisfies both visually and nutritionally

Wayne Thiebaud's "Jawbreaker Machine" (1963) is just one of the nine artworks reimagined as mini golf holes at "Art Course," an interactive exhibition at The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

This Summer, Play Nine Holes at This 'Art Course' in Kansas City

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art takes inspiration from its vast collection to create an art-inspired mini golf course

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