Smithsonian Institution

Recognition for a reserved WWII vet

2013-05-16 17:40:00

Like many World War II veterans, he speaks modestly about his service. He is quiet and a polite listener, not the kind to draw attention to himself. But a few months ago, as he visited the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, other veterans noticed...

Smithsonian closing some spaces due to sequester

2013-05-01 12:08:00

The Smithsonian Institution museums in Washington have had to close some spaces due to the effects of the federal budget cuts known as sequestration, the organization announced this week. The budget cuts have resulted in a�reduction in a contract for...

New Autry chief executive saddles up for challenging task

2013-04-27 07:30:00

Recruiting a new leader for a big museum can take months — sometimes more than a year — involving search committees, consultants and rounds of interviews and negotiations. In the case of the Autry National Center of the American West,...

Southwest Museum's prospects for festive 100th birthday are dim

2013-04-28 11:34:00

Los Angeles’ oldest museum site, the Natural History Museum in Exposition Park, is celebrating its centennial this year with the debut of a new entrance halland outdoor nature center, capping a full makeover that’s already yielded new halls...

Obama's arts budget plan goes beyond restoring 'sequester' cuts

2013-04-15 06:00:00

President Obama’s budget proposal for the coming fiscal year would boost federal arts spending 10%� above where it stands at the moment, lifting it to $1.58 billion for the 2013-14 budget year that begins Oct. 1 and more than compensating for cuts...

Hopi masks auctioned in Paris amid outrage and legal objections

2013-04-12 13:53:00

This post has been corrected. See below for details. The gavel came down on 70 sacred Hopi Indian masks at the Drouot auction house in Paris on Friday, generating $1.2 million for the owners and auctioneers – and anger and emotional cries from...

How to make the most of a trip to the nation's capital

2013-03-17 00:00:00

A spring break in the nation's capital is a rite of passage for some families, but if the airfare from the West Coast to the East has stretched your vacation budget, take heart. Many places are free, thanks to government funding (although the sequester...

Metropolitan Museum of Art to stay open 7 days a week

2013-03-22 06:00:00

Patrons will have another day to browse the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of nearly 2 million works. The New York museum announced on Thursday that it will be open to the public seven days a week -- nearly 60 hours in total -- starting...

The Swoose

2013-03-18 00:33:35

Space shuttle gives California Science Center an attendance boost

2013-03-12 00:00:00

More than 1 million people have visited the California Science Center since space shuttle Endeavour made its debut just over four months ago, far surpassing officials' expectations for the Exposition Park museum. Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph...

Endeavour shuttle helps draw 1 million visitors to Science Center

2013-03-11 14:43:14

Hillary Clinton will give five artists medals for embassy art

2012-11-30 08:00:00

For 50 years the U.S. State Department has been deploying visual art as part of the art of diplomacy, via a program called Art in Embassies. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts to five...

Adam Metallo with the Smithsonian Institution Digitization Program Office holds an ABS plastic 3D print from an affordable printer. The blue head is hollow, but is available with infill. The original head is a life mask of Abraham Lincoln from the National Portrait Gallery.

2013-05-20 00:00:00

Adam Metallo with the Smithsonian Institution Digitization Program Office demonstrates and explains how "the laser bounces off the surface of an object (his hand) to capture thousands of measurements in a matter of seconds."

2013-05-20 00:00:00

Vince Rossi with the Smithsonian Institution Digitization Program Office is pictured next to a fossil whale about 5 million years old. He scanned it with a 3D laser in the Atacama dessert in Chile. The actual whale is 25 feet long.

2013-05-20 00:00:00