What's new this month?

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

The largest museum library system in the world, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives holds more than 2 million items. Guided by Smithsonian librarians Jane Quigley and Leslie Overstreet, visit three research collections normally accessible to members of the public by appointment only: the National Museum of Natural History Library, the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, and the John Wesley Powell Library of Anthropology. In addition to brief presentations about the collections, selected books—from 16th-century illustrated herbals and accounts of Captain Cook’s voyages to 21st-century works naming new species of plants and animals by Smithsonian scientists—are on display for browsing, questions, and discussion.

In-person Program: Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.

In-person Program: Go on an interactive exploration of the Natural History Museum and participate in hands-on crafts projects and games. Then roll out your sleeping bag and dream away in the darkened halls of one of the world’s most famous museums! Geared for children ages 8 to 14 years old, accompanied by an adult.

In 1664, England decided to invade the Dutch-controlled city of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island in New Netherland. The British had dreams of empire, and the Dutch were in the way. But Richard Nicolls, the military officer who led the English flotilla, changed his strategy once he encountered Peter Stuyvesant, New Netherland’s canny director general. Drawing on his new book, Taking Manhattan, author Russell Shorto reveals the founding of New York to be the result of creative negotiations that blended the multiethnic, capitalistic society of New Amsterdam with the power of the rising English empire.

The capture of Washington, D.C., on August 24, 1814, threatened the survival of the nation, but this event during the War of 1812 and the reasons behind it are little remembered. Historian Robert P. Watson examines the British campaign and American missteps that led to the fall of the city, as well how courageous young clerks and first lady Dolley Madison risked their lives to save priceless artifacts and documents, including the Constitution, from the flames.

The capital of the United States is underlain by rocks that have a history as turbulent as that of the nation itself. Geologist Callan Bentley explores the variety of rocks found in Washington, D.C., and what they tell us about geologic events stretching back a billion years into Deep Time.

In our modern world, arms and armor reign supreme in the fantasy realms of pop culture. One of the world’s largest private collections of arms and armor holds more than 6,000 objects, spanning 6,000 years. It includes pre-Middle Age Viking swords, a rare ancient Greek iron breastplate, and one of the best examples in the world of a Chalcidian bronze helmet (ca. 450 B.C.E.). Nick Richey, “keeper of the arms,” introduces the collection and discusses avenues of preservation that range from traditional restoration to cutting-edge digitization for a burgeoning metaverse.