This red knit cardigan was worn by Fred Rogers, creator and host of the children's program, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (PBS, 1968-2001). For more than thirty years, Rogers began each episode by changing into a sweater and tennis shoes and singing, "Won't you be my neighbor?" An o

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 costu

Sixteen-year-old Judy Garland wore these sequined shoes as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. In the original book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy's magic slippers are silver; for the Technicolor movie, they were changed to ruby red to show up more vividly against the yell

Born in New Orleans in 1901, jazz musician Louis Armstrong (d. 1971)was known for his distinctive trumpet-playing and vocal style. He often improvised jazz riffs using his voice rather than his instrument, “scatting” notes and melodies rather than singing actual words. Armstrong transformed t

Hear Smithsonian staff members discuss jazz, the jazz collection, and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. 

These shoes, worn by dancer Stella Abrera in a January 2018 production of The Nutcracker, have been pancaked to match Abrera's skin color. When they are dancing without wearing tights, dancers pancake their shoes to match their skin color.Stella Abrera joined the American Ballet Theatre in 1996 and

With the right resources, learners of any age can engage with the topics of nonviolence and civil rights. This webpage is a gateway to lesson plans, videos, family activities, and instructional media related to the nonviolent civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The content within these

Originally sold in 2001 by Apple Inc. as a portable music player exclusively for Macintosh’s operating system, the iPod’s market share began to grow as it included Windows operability in 2002 and introduced its iTunes Store in 2003. In June of 2004 this fourth generation iPod was announced, n

These ballet shoes were worn by dancer Misty Copeland at a January 2018 production of Black Swan, and have been pancaked (or colored) to match Copeland's skin color.

The Teatro Campesino was founded by Luis Valdez in 1965 to energize the political message of the United Farmer Workers of America using song, music, and drama. Modern, bicultural, and socially aware, the street theater of the Teatro Campesino is a touchstone of Chicano art. At first taking their