Smithsonian Sparks

Stories that spark curiosity from the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex.

Book open to pages for family records with handwritten names and dates
Smithsonian Sparks

This Bible Kept Record of One Family’s History After Slavery

During Reconstruction, newly freed African Americans embraced liberty by establishing families.
Valentine with a drawing of a girl holding a heart toward a boy holding a sign that reads Votes for Women
Smithsonian Sparks

These Valentines Pushed for a Woman’s Right to Vote

Send some love that supports the suffrage cause from the National Museum of American History.
Skeleton of a small rodent holding a nut
Smithsonian Sparks

Squirreling Away This Winter?

Meet the squirrel ancestor who lived millions of years before the last ice age.
An otter with snow on their nose.
Smithsonian Sparks

What Happens at the National Zoo When It Snows?

Some animals enjoy the winter weather, while others stay cozy in heated pools and dens.
Snowflake with six points
Smithsonian Sparks

How Do You Photograph a Single Snowflake?

More than 100 years ago, Wilson A. Bentley was the first person to capture an individual snowflake.
Room filled with red poinsettias
Smithsonian Sparks

See the Thousands of Poinsettias the Smithsonian Cares For

Explore the Smithsonian Gardens greenhouses and learn more about these festive plants.
Three stamps with designs featuring a stag, tree and snowman
Smithsonian Sparks

These Cozy Stamps Began as Real Knitting

Embrace sweater weather with the artwork behind these pieces of postage.
Marine reptile with a long tail
Smithsonian Sparks

This Thanksgiving, Try the Fossil Turducken

We’re serving up an extinct sea monster and facts about the dinosaur on your table.
Large gallery with glass cases. Letters over top spell FUTURES.
Smithsonian Sparks

These Smithsonian Objects Bridge the Past and the Future

Travel through time at the Arts and Industries Building.
Necktie with a landscape of haystacks during sunset
Smithsonian Sparks

Fall Fashion from Ira Tucker, Lead Singer of the Dixie Hummingbirds

Tucker performed for decades with the gospel quartet.
Large stone memorial with a grave marker next to it for James Smithson
Smithsonian Sparks

How the Smithsonian Founder’s Bones Made Their Way to D.C.

British scientist James Smithson’s final resting place is in the Smithsonian Castle.
Ceiling rotunda surrounded by windows
Smithsonian Sparks

Five Architecture Facts About the Arts and Industries Building

Tour dazzling design details of the Smithsonian's first museum.
Red pressure cooker with image of a world map carved in the side
Smithsonian Sparks

This Converted Pressure Cooker Makes a Global Statement

The artwork has a message about women’s representation around the world.
Painting of a line of trees with orange leaves behind a grassy slope
Smithsonian Sparks

Why Do Leaves Change Color in the Fall?

The start of fall brings cooler temperatures and shorter days that transform trees.
Painting of a farm with a large white house and barns. There is a group of people on the grass near a road.
Smithsonian Sparks

Grandma Moses Started Painting at Age 77

Born September 7, 1860, the self-taught artist painted nostalgic scenes inspired by her rural past.
Man leaning over to look at a clear cube
Smithsonian Sparks

How Do You Take Care of an Artwork That’s Full of Water?

Hirshhorn conservators keep the fungus out of Hans Haacke's "Condensation Cube."
A group stands at a large balloon. A couple is in the basket, with another man standing above them.
Smithsonian Sparks

19th-century Balloon Weddings

When flight was a novelty, these “destination weddings” became quite the spectacle.
Arts and Industries Building
Smithsonian Sparks

How the Arts and Industries Building Shaped the Smithsonian’s Future

Many museums started in a place built to explore big ideas.
Three giraffe sculptures in many bright colors
Smithsonian Sparks

Art Made from Ocean Debris

These giraffes are made from flip-flops washed up on the Kenyan coast.
Poster with the Olympic rings and text: "Montreal 1976"
Smithsonian Sparks

Go for the Gold

While you watch the Tokyo Games, explore Olympic history collections from across the Smithsonian.
Megalodon with its moth open, showing many sharp teeth
Smithsonian Sparks

Shark Week

Take a bite out of these species from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Two outfits of red, white and blue clothes featuring the word Vote.
Smithsonian Sparks

These Groovy Duds Encouraged Young People To Vote

The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 on July 1, 1971.
Glass sculpture of a blue hermit crab emerging from a brown and white striped shell.
Smithsonian Sparks

It Would Be Shellfish Not to Share These Hermit Crab Facts

This glass hermit crab is blue, which might mean it’s freshly molted.
Group of people holding a rainbow-striped banner across a city street. There is a parade behind them.
Smithsonian Sparks

Marsha Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and the History of Pride Month

The first Pride parades marked the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.

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