Smithsonian Institution
Latest Stories

SHUTTLE_20120419_0205.jpg
The NASA Space Shuttle Discovery sits on a road prior to a welcoming ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Va., on April 19, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

SHUTTLE_20120419_0200.jpg
The NASA Space Shuttle Discovery sits on a road prior to a welcoming ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly, Va., on April 19, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

SHUTTLE_20120417__5223.jpg
The space shuttle Discovery, carried on the back of a jumbo jet, flies over the Washington Monument in D.C., on April 17, 2012, en route to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Va. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Space Shuttle Discove_Lea.jpg
Space shuttle Discovery, atop a Boeing 747 carrier jet, departs from the Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its way to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum facility near Washington Dulles International Airport. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

20120329-172328-pic-649492628.jpg
The Smithsonian American Art Museum's exhibit "The Art of Video Games" looks at games' production art, the history of major gaming platforms and games such as 2010's "Mass Effect 2" (above), 2007's "Bioshock" (far left) and 2000's "Diablo II." (Photograph provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum)

20120329-172328-pic-120470673.jpg
(Photograph provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum)

20120329-172328-pic-785596089.jpg
(Photograph provided by the Smithsonian American Art Museum)

20120319-223631-pic-455243521.jpg
Washington resident Justin Pyles, painting the cherry blossoms Monday before going to work at the Smithsonian, catches the attention of two passers-by. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

20120223-170622-pic-477569512.jpg
How Old Is a Hero?" at Smithsonian's Discovery Theater.

Obama Smithsonian Bla_Lea(1).jpg
President Obama and former first lady Laura Bush (right) shake hands as first lady Michelle Obama looks on during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

20120220-190414-pic-932043602.jpg
Pansies behind the Smithsonian Castle brighten the Mall on Monday, and cherry blossoms shouldn't be too far behind, thanks to a mild winter and forecast for a warm March. Peak season for the cherry blossoms will be announced March 1. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

20120115-215105-pic-77825121.jpg
From left, Hunter Old Elk, 17, Calista Monroy, 13, Brooke Stevenson and Devin Kills Back, 15, get into Native American dress of the Crow and Northern Cheyenne tribes before performing at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012 as part of the Winter Storytelling Festival. The young women are part of the St. Labre Indian School Dance Troupe from Ashland, Mont. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

FIRSTLADIES_17.JPG
Gowns worn by American first ladies, long a popular feature at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, is part of the new "First Ladies" galleries there. The exhibit also focuses on how the presidents' wives have defined and changed that role. (Photo provided by Smithsonian National Museum of American History)

20111109-181339-pic-197822657.jpg
** FILE ** In this Dec. 2, 2010, file photo, protesters hold masks in support of artist David Wojnarowicz on the steps of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, after a video by Wojnarowicz was removed from exhibition at the museum, in Washington. The Andy Warhol Foundation said Monday, Dec. 13, 2010, it will withhold future funding to the Smithsonian Institution unless a video removed from the gallery after a Catholic group complained is restored.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

20110921-210606-pic-218678239.jpg
Steve Jabo, a fossil scientist with the Smithsonian Institution, digs out a dinosaur fossil discovered by Dave Hacker of Silver Spring, a volunteer at Dinosaur Park in Laurel. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

20110921-210606-pic-11826863.jpg
HANDLE WITH CARE: The Smithsonian's Steve Jabo (left) explains how to unearth a dinosaur fossil to volunteer Dave Hacker of Silver Spring, who made the discovery at the Dinosaur Park in Laurel. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

20110830-191452-pic-929007882.jpg
A tattered American flag recovered from World Trade Center debris is part of the Smithsonian Institution's upcoming special display of 9/11 "relics," positioned on tables rather than from behind exhibit glass. (National Museum of American History)

20110825-173819-pic-678227124.jpg
The exhibit: "George Ault and 1940s America" will be at the Smithsonian American Art Museum through Sept. 5