Interactives & Media

Visit the world of teenage consumers and see the diverse objects that lived in teenagers' bedrooms during the Consumer Era.

We will host a panel discussion connecting stories of teenagers in the past fighting to address systemic injustice to those of the present. The 2020 annual summit will be centered on the case study of Claudette Colvin—a 15-year-old Black student in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955. Colvin refused to g

Louisa Susannah Wells was a female colonist who was loyal to King George III, who was banished from America and returned to England after the War of Independence.  Listen to a dramatic reading of her narrative, and then study the supporting primary sources to answer the discussion questions.

The history of patenting higher-level organisms began in the mid-1980s with a little guy called OncoMouse. In this episode, host Tory Altman joins Mallory Warner of the Museum's Division of Medicine and Science to talk about the first animal patented in the United States, and some of the ethical

Special summer edition: Going on a road trip? Along the way, listen to this special edition of the History Explorer podcast series. It’s a compilation of some newer and older podcasts around the theme of perhaps the most common car ride entertainment—music.

Samuel Kelly was an English sailor, who recorded his experience of a voyage to Philadelphia in 1787.  Listen to a dramatic reading of his narrative, and then study the supporting primary sources to answer the discussion questions. This resource is part of a series called “Life at Sea: 1680

What do British cattle and Mexican cowboys have to do with the history of Hawaiian folk music? A lot, as it turns out. Slack Key guitar master Reverend Dennis Kamakahi explains in this episode of the History Explorer podcast series. The episode features songs Rev. Kamakahi played during a ceremon

Although we might think of fax machines as a relatively recent (if somewhat dated) technology, this episode uncovers the surprising history of the wireless fax machine. Host Tory Altman speaks with Hal Wallace, associate curator of the museum's electricity collection, about this 1930s device that

This series introduces you to the lives of 10 Latinas, as told by curators, scientists, and educators across the Smithsonian. Join them as they explore stories of labor organizing, fashion, music, science exploration, performance, and art that have shaped the United States. The Latinas Talk Latinas

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast, we go behind the "seams" to explore the many layers of the Museum’s latest acquisition—Elphaba’s dress from the Broadway Musical Wicked, which gave a new spin on L. Frank Baum’s well known book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.