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NEWS ABOUT: Smithsonian

Bird Expert Convicted in Cat Poison Bid

Researcher wrote on the feline menace to birds

(Newser) - A Smithsonian bird researcher has been convicted of animal cruelty after she tried to poison the local cat population. Nico Dauphine, 38, was caught on a security tape standing in front of a bowl of cat food outside a DC apartment building, the Los Angeles Times reports. She said she... More »

Righty Blogger Infiltrates DC Protest, Ignites Uproar

Spectator pulls writer's claim that he was most effective protester

(Newser) - A right-wing journalist infiltrated the DC protest that ultimately closed the Air and Space Museum this weekend and emerged with the latest scandal to grip the blogosphere: American Spectator writer Patrick Howley wrote that he played the role of agent provocateur, leading the charge against guards at the museum in... More »

P-Funk Spaceship Lands at Smithsonian

Classic funk stage prop to anchor new museum

(Newser) - The Smithsonian is about to get a whole lot funkier. The Parliament-Funkadelic Mothership is going to anchor the music collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture when it opens in 2015, reports the Washington Post . While not the original, 1,200-pound aluminum spaceship—that... More »

Farrah's Swimsuit Donated to Smithsonian

Iconic swimwear takes its place in American culture archive

(Newser) - The red swimsuit—you know, that one—worn by Farrah Fawcett on a pinup poster that sold more than 12 million copies in the '70s has been donated to the Smithsonian Institution, the LA Times reports. Ryan O'Neal and Nels Van Patten—a friend who was present when the photo... More »

Smithsonian Boss: I Regret Yanking Video So Quickly

G. Wayne Clough now says he was too hasty on crucifix film

(Newser) - The head of the Smithsonian said he's now sorry he so quickly yanked a video from a museum exhibit featuring gay artists because of warnings by Republican Party leaders that it could trigger "budgetary consequences." It's "the most painful thing I've ever done," G. Wayne Clough... More »

Smithsonian Could Lose Funding Over Jesus Video

Warhol Foundation wants video restored

(Newser) - The Smithsonian Institution could lose some of its funding over the uproar that ensued after the National Portrait Gallery removed a controversial video. The video by David Wojnarowicz, featuring ants crawling on a crucifix, was pulled after complaints by the Catholic League and some House Republicans. The Andy Warhol Foundation,... More »

Smithsonian Exhibit Uproar Shows Homophobia's OK

National Portrait Gallery in throes of old 'culture wars'

(Newser) - The Smithsonian’s removal of a video that showed ants crawling on a crucifix amounts to Washington “gay bashing,” writes Frank Rich in the New York Times . Gay artist David Wojnarowicz's artwork wasn’t taken down because it offended Christians—that was just a “perfunctory cover for... More »

Ant-Covered Crucifix Video Moves to NYC, Critics Follow

Battle moves from DC

(Newser) - A battle over an ant-covered crucifix has moved to New York City. The Smithsonian bowed to pressure by top Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor, and dumped an art exhibit video showing ants crawling over a crucifix. The "Fire in My Belly" exhibit, by artist David Wojnarowicz, who died... More »

Were 'Hobbit Humans' Eaten by Giant Storks?

Bones of tiny people found in gathering spot of 6-foot birds

(Newser) - The remains of hobbit-sized humans in a gathering area of extinct giant storks is leading scientists to conclude that man may have once been bird food. The carnivorous 6-foot-tall Leptoptilos robustus stork, among the largest bird to ever walk the earth, was likely a "ground-bound hunter, as its bones... More »

Gallery Pulls Jesus Video After Cantor, Boehner Object

Smithsonian-run museum pressured over 'sacrilegious' image

(Newser) - Bowing to pressure from top Republicans John Boehner and Eric Cantor, the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery has removed artwork containing a 4-minute video showing ants crawling on a crucifix, CNS News reports. Cantor had demanded the artwork be "pulled," calling it "an outrageous use of taxpayer money... More »

Up for Grabs: Free* Space Shuttle *$29M Postage & Handling Required

Museums vie for soon-to-be-retired spacecraft

(Newser) - NASA is preparing to give away its space shuttle fleet to institutions willing to cough up $28.8 million per spacecraft for cleaning and transportation. Atlantis will be retired after returning from its final mission today and some two dozen museums and other institutions around the country are vying to... More »

Gates Donates 'Beer Summit' Handcuffs to Smithsonian

Museum on black history now has them

(Newser) - The "beer summit" is now a little piece of American history. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. has donated the handcuffs used to arrest him to the new museum on black history at the Smithsonian. Last summer's arrest set off a racial brouhaha that led to the so-called summit... More »

Nation's Top Museums Free Tomorrow

Smithsonian Museum Day offers free online passes for 1,200 sites

(Newser) - Admission to over 1,200 museums across America will be free tomorrow as part of the Smithsonian's annual "Museum Day." The event is aimed at promoting culture and removing  "any  economic barrier" keeping people from enjoying museums, a Smithsonian exec tells USA Today. Museum-goers will need a ... More »

8 Offbeat Library Collections

Hidden treasures abound in local libraries across the country

(Newser) - Your local library may be home to an odd or wonderful specialized stash of artifacts. The Smithsonian compiles a list of the nation’s most unusual library collections:
  • The Cleveland Public Library sports perhaps the world’s largest collection of chess- and checkers-related material, with more than 30,000 items
... More »

For Sale: Space Shuttle, $42M

NASA seeking museums to purchase spacecraft after retirement

(Newser) - NASA is taking the unprecedented step of offering to sell the three space shuttles to museums when the workhorse vehicles are retired some time after 2010, reports the Orlando Sentinel. The space agency is seeking at least $42 million—including $6 million for shipping and handling, and the cost of... More »

Smithsonian Picks New Leader

Museum returns to academia roots, selects Ga. Tech president

(Newser) - The Smithsonian Institute today handed its top job to Georgia Tech President G. Wayne Clough, marking a return to the museum’s academic roots, the AP reports. Clough follows the troubled tenure of businessman Lawrence Small, who came under fire for raising executive salaries and for focusing more on money... More »

Smithsonian Enshrines Colbert

Portrait hangs near the bathroom, but still

(Newser) - Stephen Colbert has finally been enshrined as the “national treasure” he insists he is. His portrait now hangs in the Smithsonian, the LA Times reports. OK, so it’s next to the Portrait Gallery bathroom, but that just means that, in Colbert’s words, “There has never been... More »

When Bird Meets Plane, Air Force Takes Action

It studies spatters to avoid collisions

(Newser) - When a bird smacks into a military plane, it is not a pretty picture, neither for bird nor plane. It is, however, a serious, if messy, problem, and one that jeopardizes the safety of pilots and some very expensive Air Force hardware. The Wall Street Journal visits a base in... More »

Smithsonian Fudged Global Warming Facts 'for Politics'

Accused of downplaying global warming

(Newser) - Government scientists claim officials at the Smithsonian National Museum downplayed global warming for political reasons in a 2006 exhibit on climate change in the Arctic. The museum's director insisted statements about the "scientific uncertainty" of climate change be included in the exhibit, reports the Washington Post. The director is... More »

Houston, MoMA Tops in Arts $$$

Tops in donations: Houston's Museum of Fine Arts, NYC's MoMA

(Newser) - A surge in private arts funding boosted the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston last year with $185.8 million, making it the top US recipient of private arts donations. Runners-up were New York's MoMA, with $133.5 million; the Smithsonian, with $131.2 million; and Boston's MFA, with $130.... More »

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