Latest Smithsonian Stories
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Whipsaw, Inc., a design firm specializing in creating innovative products for companies around the globe, announced the inclusion of their Eton FR600 radio in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial: Why Design Now? exhibit, opening May 14. Whipsaw's Eton FR600 radio is an emergency radio charged via hand crank or solar panel, which works when the grid fails to function. "The Eton FR600 radio uses design to combine multiple functions into a...
WASHINGTON and COOPERSBURG, Pa., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- In a special donation ceremony today, Joel Spira, inventor and developer of the solid-state electronic "dimming device" and chairman and founder of Pennsylvania-based Lutron Electronics, will donate materials related to the company's 50-year history to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The donation includes an early version of the original solid-state (devices using transistors) Capri dimmer manufactured by...
When it comes to attracting a mate, flowers and sweets often do the trick"”even for one of the world's smallest birds"”the purple throated carib, a hummingbird species native to the mountainous islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Scientists recently discovered that it is in the best interest of male purple-throated caribs to defend and maintain a territory with a high density of nectar-producing flowers. Why? Because it is the quality of this territory"”rather than flashy plumage or...
The song says that "diamonds are a girl's best friend," but scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory are finding that diamonds are a researcher's best friend too. NRL, which has been involved in pioneering work involving chemical vapor deposition of diamond and the use of diamond materials in advanced technologies relevant to the Department of Defense since 1987, has recently undertaken some new projects in diamond research. In collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution...
WASHINGTON, March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- A new exhibition hall dedicated to the discovery and understanding of human origins opens March 17 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Based on decades of cutting-edge research by Smithsonian scientists, the David H. Koch (pronounced "coke") Hall of Human Origins will open to the public in a special preview from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, which also marks the 100-year anniversary of the museum's official opening on the...
Costume from Alvin Ailey Joins the Museum's Permanent Collection WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a special ceremony tonight at The Kennedy Center, Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will donate her costume from the 1975 ballet, The Mooche, to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The dazzling red dress, designed by Randy Barcelo, was worn by Jamison during the ballet created as part of Alvin Ailey's legendary...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T* today announced the activation of indoor third generation (3G) wireless broadband network systems in nine of the Smithsonian Institution's most heavily trafficked museums in the District. Located on the National Mall, the Smithsonian is the world's largest museum and research complex and received more than 30 million visitors last year. AT&T customers can now talk and simultaneously search the web while visiting the National Museum...
Reports of a "mango-sized" meteorite crashing into a doctor's office at more than 200 mph in Virginia surfaced this week. The space rock smashed through the roof, an internal wall and an upper floor before shattering into several pieces on a concrete slab.Dr. Marc Gullani told local TV station WUSA9 said that it literally felt like an explosion went off.His colleague, Dr. Frank Ciampi, said it came from the roof, through the firewall, through the ceiling and hit the ground."It...
NEW YORK, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bill Moggridge, designer of the first laptop computer in 1980 and co-founder of IDEO, the renowned innovation and design firm, has been named director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York, effective March 2010. Moggridge has a global reputation as a designer, having pioneered interaction design and integrated human factors into the design of computer software and hardware. "Bill Moggridge is an entrepreneur,...
NASA has extended a contract with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., to provide science and operational support for the Chandra X-ray Observatory, a powerful tool used to better understand the structure and evolution of the universe.The contract extension with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory provides continued science and operations support to Chandra. This approximately $172 million modification brings the total value of the contract to approximately...
