From the moment when, in 1963, Julia Child whisked up an omelet on the pilot for her new cooking show, The French Chef, Americans wanted that whisk for their kitchens, just as they came to want any tool or utensil that Julia used. Certainly, egg beaters of all sorts were common in American kitche

Abraham Lincoln came to understand that to achieve a lasting peace, slavery must end. He had always opposed slavery, but had never sided with abolitionists who called for its immediate end. Lincoln had sought solutions that would make slavery gradually fade from white society—limit its location

In the fictional universe of George Lucas' Star Wars films, robots called droids (short for android) come in many shapes and serve many purposes. Two droids--R2-D2 and C-3PO--have won enormous popularity for their supporting roles in all six of the series. In the collections of the museum are cos

“"It was now quick work," Maria Mitchell noted. "As the last rays of sunlight disappeared, the corona burst out all around the sun, so intensely bright near the sun that the eye could scarcely bear it." Maria Mitchell brought a team of Vassar graduates—"Vassar girls" as the press called

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast, curator Deborah Warner discusses the role of sugar and various sweeteners in American history. In addition to being a staple in the American diet, sugar's role in our nation's history touches on subjects of science and technology, labor and ca

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Curator Shannon Perich discusses how portraiture can be used in historical research. Shannon presents three historical portraits (including Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother), describing the historical context of each, while also providin

Use this guide to actively read September 12: We Knew Everything Would Be Alright, a very basic picture book about children’s reactions to September 11, 2001. Part of an OurStory module from entitled September 11, 2001, this activity includes discussion prompts and background

What do museums do? In this classroom activity, students will recognize the Smithsonian Institution and be able to explain what a museum does. This is accomplished through the use of discussion questions and activities in which they relate stories from prior museum visits or share ideas for a mus

Think about your favorite building in the world.If it's nearby, go out and take a picture of it, if not, pull a photo out of a book or off of the internet. Then use this picture to identify all of the geometric shapes you can see that make up the building, shapes the building's architect used to

Take a close look at two architectural drawings to learn about symmetry and scale. Part of an OurStory module entitled Building Beautiful Buildings, this activity includes step-by-step instructions, images of museum objects, and background information on architecture. OurStory is designe