African American history. It has no building in Washington, D.C., to visit just yet, but the Smithsonian's newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, does have a Web site brimming with interesting facts, online exhibits, images and information. One key feature is The Memory Book, which allows visitors to upload their memories in the form of a story, an image or an audio recording. These memories will become part of the museum's first oral history collection and give site visitors an opportunity to participate in the museum’s development. Information and details on current and future programs also can be found here, including Save Our African American Treasures, a series of workshops being held in key cities across the country; the African American Legacy Recordings, a series of compact disc recordings showcasing the music and words of a variety of artists and scholars; and the StoryCorps Griot Project, a yearlong initiative to gather and preserve the life stories of African American families. The Museum of African American History and Culture will open in 2015; until then, this site will serve as a vibrant, virtual gathering place.—www.nmaahc.si.edu

Beaked whales. They make up nearly a quarter of all known species of whales, dolphins and porpoises, yet beaked whales—called ziphiids by scientists—remain shrouded in mystery. Little reference material exists on these reclusive marine mammals that are characterized by their extended snouts. Close similarities among the 21 different species of beaked whales make them extremely difficult to identify—even for experts. Now, researchers from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History have created an online identification guide to beaked whales based on the museum's extensive collection of specimens, data archives, photographs and bibliographic material. To identify a beaked whale specimen or skull, users can click through an illustrated series of questions about the physical characteristics of the animal's beak, teeth, mouth and skull. Global maps featuring the geographic location where each species is believed to live also is a feature of this site. Detailed Web pages devoted to each species, associated research data and links to other beaked whale Web sites make this a comprehensive, easily accessible guide to the world’s beaked whales.—www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/mammals