This Santa Cruz helmet was worn by downhill skateboarder Judi Oyama while racing during the late 1970's and into the 1980s. Oyama began skating as a teen and was sponsored by Santa Cruz Skateboards in the mid-seventies. She skated both vert and street but her passion was slalom and downhill racing w

Joseph Henry was one of America's preeminent 19th-century scientists, a pioneer in the investigation of electromagnetism and other fields of study, and the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. This video shows how Henry's research found practical application in

Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (1914-1981) lost his first bout with Nazi Germany's champion Max Schmeling in 1936, but the return match was a triumph for America. This towel was thrown in by Schmeling's handlers at Yankee Stadium, New York City, June 22, 1938, where Louis pummeled his oppo

This online exhibition highlights artifacts from the Smithsonian's sports collection, and will introduce students to the pioneering men and women who dominated their sports; championed their country, race, or sex; and helped others to achieve. Both on and off the playing field, these undaunted in

In this post, students will learn about Alice Paul, a suffragist who was jailed while working to get the vote for women. During her graduate studies in England, Paul became exposed to the confrontational tactics of the English "suffragettes," and when she returned to the United States she adapted