Smithsonian

01/24/2025

The wait is OVER: the giant pandas have officially made their public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C.!

Ready to see Bao Li and Qing Bao in person? Reserve your free entry pass online at https://s.si.edu/3Fb8rTy. No additional passes are required to see the pandas!

01/23/2025

01/22/2025

“Snowy Day” was one of the first full-color American picture books to feature a Black child as its protagonist. Written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, the children’s book follows the adventures of Peter, clad in his iconic red snowsuit, as he explores his city neighborhood after a snowfall. ❄️

Keats used paper collage, fabric, stamps, and India ink to craft the unique look of the story’s wintry landscape. For his illustrations, Keats received the 1963 Caldecott Medal, one of the most prestigious American children's book awards

A copy of “Snowy Day” from 1962, when the book was first published, is in the collections of our Smithsonian Libraries and Archives at Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. These stamps are in our Smithsonian National Postal Museum's collection.

📫: © USPS; all rights reserved.

01/21/2025

Sweater weather means it’s time to revisit this historical heartthrob. ❄️ Over the years, you called him a mixologist. You said you’d seen him in Brooklyn. You asked for his @.

Though this photo had always been popular with our social media audiences, we didn’t know much about its unidentified subject. But then the internet did its thing. In 2020, one of our social media followers, who knew the man from her volunteer work with our Smithsonian Transcription Center, shared his name: Emil Bessels. Upon initial research, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives staff learned he was a German naturalist who spent some of his career doing scientific research with the Smithsonian. And after a little more digging, staff also discovered that Bessels was accused of murdering his ship’s captain, explorer Charles Francis Hall, during a scientific expedition to the Arctic in 1871.

Our Sidedoor podcast has that full story: s.si.edu/40mLIhb

01/20/2025

As a pastor and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was renowned for his powerful speeches and sermons on segregation, labor, and discrimination. In 1963, the same year this photo was taken, Dr. King delivered one of his most famous speeches, “I Have a Dream,” at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The legislation to recognize was first introduced in 1968, four days after his assassination. Civil rights activists worked for 15 years for it to be established by the federal government and an additional 17 years for the day to be recognized by all 50 states.

Today it is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities.

📷: Collection of Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture Gift of Kitty Kelley and the Estate of Stanley Tretick, © Smithsonian Institution.

01/20/2025

Update! Today, Monday, Jan. 20, our Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is open to visitors. The museum will offer more limited cafe and retail options than usual due to inclement weather. Also open today: Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum and National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute will open at 10 a.m.

Other museums in the Washington, DC, area are closed today due to security measures, road closures, and other restrictions for Inauguration Day.

01/19/2025

Their roles may be unofficial, but first ladies have influenced the White House and the nation throughout American history. In “The First Ladies”—an exhibition that features more than two dozen gowns from the First Ladies Collection—our National Museum of American History invites visitors to consider the changing roles first ladies have played over the last 200 years.

✨ Barbara Bush’s royal-blue gown with velvet bodice and asymmetrically draped silk satin skirt was designed by Arnold Scassi, who noted that Bush was suddenly “the most glamorous grandmother in the United States.” As first lady, she worked to increase literacy among adults across the country.

✨ Jacqueline Kennedy, ever the style icon, took part in designing this gown herself, sending her own sketch to Bergdorf’s Custom Salon. As a leader in the White House, she championed the arts and cultural preservation.

✨ Eleanor Roosevelt’s slate-blue silk gown may look simple, but the versatile dress features detachable long sleeves. Roosevelt transformed the role of first lady, advocating for equity and human rights.

✨ Helen Taft made history in 1912, when she donated this 1909 white chiffon gown appliquéd with goldenrod embroideries to the Smithsonian, beginning the tradition of first ladies donating their inaugural gowns to the Institution. As First Lady, Taft was interested in politics and focused on hosting social events in Washington.

✨ Lucretia Garfield wore this gown to the first-ever public event held at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building: President Garfield’s inaugural ball. During her brief time in the White House before her husband’s assassination, Garfield hosted receptions and dinner parties and lifted the ban on alcohol at the White House.

These inaugural ball gowns are in the collections of our National Museum of American History.

The portraits of these first ladies are from our National Portrait Gallery USA.
1. “Barbara Bush” by Diana Walker, 1989 (printed 2010). Gift of artist. © 1989 Diana Walker
2. “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” by Boris Chaliapin, 1960. Gift of Time Magazine. © Chris Murphy
3. “Eleanor Roosevelt” by Clara Sipprell, 1949.
4. “Helen Herron Taft” by Jacques Reich, c. 1899-1920.
5. “Lucretia Garfield” by Levin Coburn Handy, c. 1881

01/18/2025

Known as the “First Lady of the Black Press,” journalist and civil rights activist Ethel Payne was fearless in her coverage of U.S. presidents, the Vietnam War, and major moments of the Civil Rights Movement.

As a reporter for the Chicago Defender, one of the nation’s leading African American publications, Payne wrote about the experiences of Black Americans. And she wasn’t afraid to ask hard questions. In 1954, she prompted President Eisenhower about his stance on banning segregation in interstate travel. In a response that made front-page news, the president angrily dismissed Payne’s bold question. In recognition for her influential reporting on racial inequality, President Johnson invited Payne to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Throughout her career, Payne paved the way for future generations of Black journalists. She was only the second Black woman to join the White House Press Corps, and, in 1972, she became the first Black woman commentator to appear regularly on a national network—CBS. She filed stories from 30 countries over the course of her career, traveling the world to report on events that other American journalists were often not covering.

Swipe to see Payne’s press pass to Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1957 from the collections of our Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum.

01/17/2025

One more week ‘til panda-monium. 🐼🖤 If you made it to the last slide—tell us. Are you more of a Bao Li or a Qing Bao?

We can’t wait to share more about the two bears next Friday, when they officially make their public debut at our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

01/15/2025

When he says he’s “just not a cat person.” 🐱💪

Beginning in the early 20th century, a blossoming generation of Japanese printmakers moved away from depicting nature and leisure scenes to experimenting with new techniques and incorporating abstract imagery. Artists of this new sōsaku-hanga (creative print) movement designed, carved, and printed works of art themselves. This new wave of creators fought for printmakers to earn a fair living and to gain recognition as legitimate artists.

Born in Tokyo, Tomo'o Inagaki was one sōsaku-hanga artist who developed a modern, signature style. He was also known for depicting a niche subject matter—cats.

See “Quarrel of Cats” and other prints by sōsaku-hanga artists in “The Print Generation” at our Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art.

🎨 : “Quarrel of Cats,” Tomo'o Inagaki, woodblock print, 1966. © Tomo'o Inagaki, National Museum of Asian Art.

01/13/2025

You know who didn’t need pocket handwarmers and thermal underwear to keep warm in the freezing cold? Woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius).

Here are a few ways these relatives of elephants survived and kept warm in the Pleistocene epoch’s frigid climate. Woolly mammoths had:

❄️ layers of fur, including a shaggy outer layer and a shorter undercoat
⚡ a thick layer of fat on their backs to store energy
👂 small ears, which minimized heat loss
🦷 long tusks that helped them dig through snow to find food

Woolly mammoths went extinct roughly 4,000 years ago due to a combination of shifting climate, changing food sources, and a new predator—humans. This woolly mammoth skeleton was collected in Alaska in 1952 and is currently on display in “Deep Time" at our Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

01/10/2025

It’s crock pot szn.

The modern slow cooker was invented by engineer Irving Nachumsohn, who had learned about the cooking practice from his Jewish relatives in Lithuania. Patented in 1940 and originally sold as the Naxon Beanery, Nachumsohn’s slow cooker allowed families to prepare a meal without turning on the oven.

When Nachumsohn retired and sold his business to Kansas City’s Rival Manufacturing, the slow cooker was rebranded with a new name—the Crock Pot. Now sold with a booklet of professionally-tested recipes, the appliance quickly gained popularity in the 1970s, as more and more women worked outside the home. Before leaving for work, busy home cooks could start a meal in the crockpot, knowing they would return home to a fully cooked, warm meal.

This slow cooker is in the collections of our National Museum of American History.

01/09/2025

Jimmy Carter was a former president longer than any of his predecessors. Following four years in the White House, President Carter spent four decades advancing human rights, combatting global health crises, and expanding democracy.

After leaving office in 1981, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Carter Center at Emory University to continue their public service. With the center, Carter led an international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm, observed democratic elections in more than 40 countries, and fought to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

Carter was also a devoted supporter of Habitat for Humanity, personally working alongside volunteers to build, renovate, and repair homes for 35 years.

For his work promoting peace and human rights, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

In memory of former President Carter, our National Portrait Gallery USA has added a drape to his portrait in the “America’s Presidents” gallery and invited visitors to share their reflections on his legacy in a comment book.

📷: Jimmy Carter, Ansel Adams, 1979. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of James Earl Carter, Jr.

01/08/2025

Planning a Smithsonian trip this month? Please note that Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC, will be closed on Monday, January 20, 2025, due to security measures, road closures, and other restrictions for Inauguration Day. Our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center will remain open to visitors.

If you're looking to fill your calendar, there’s plenty to do around the Smithsonian this month. Add these to your list!

🦚 see our Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art's Peacock Room in a new light when we open the shutters on Jan. 16

🐼 visit the new giant panda pair at our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute after their public debut on Jan. 24

🐍 stick around to celebrate Lunar New Year on Feb. 1 with our Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

01/07/2025

A frosted pumpkin treat at our snowy Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The National Zoo and Smithsonian museums in the Washington, DC, area are closed on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Yayoi Kusama’s "Pumpkin" (2016), installed in the museum's plaza. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts. © YAYOI KUSAMA. Collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

01/06/2025

This is not a drill. New giant panda snow day clips are here! ❄️ 🐼 Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao frolicked through their outdoor habitats this morning at our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Visitors are invited to meet the bears when they make their public debut on Jan. 24.

01/06/2025

¡Feliz día de los Reyes Magos! Happy Three Kings Day! Also known as the Feast of the Epiphany, the holiday commemorates the arrival of the three kings—Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar—to Bethlehem.

It's a festive tradition in Spain, Puerto Rico, and many Latin American countries, where children leave boxes of hay and bowls of water for the kings’ horses the night before and wake up to find gifts the three kings have brought them.

Puerto Rican artists usually depict the wise men riding horses, rather than camels, and the Black king Melchior is almost always shown on a white horse. This sculpture by the Caban Group is in the collection of our Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery.

Credit: Caban group, “Los Reyes Magos,” ca. 1875-1900

01/06/2025

Due to inclement weather, Smithsonian museums in the DC area, including the National Zoo, will be closed to the public on Monday, Jan. 6.

Enjoy these snowy photos from previous years, including the Smithsonian Castle, a friendly gnome in our Smithsonian Gardens, a red panda at our Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and our Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.