Bao Bao The Giant Panda Cub Smithsonian's Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute Black, white, and cute all over Almost a year old, Bao Bao is often seen climbing trees in her yard.  Her birth via artificial insemination is a conservation success story and builds on the Zoo’s leading scientific reproduction research to increase the population of the endangered Giant Panda, which numbers as few as 1,600 in the wild. Vote for Bao Bao and join the Zoo in its mission to save species.   Star Spangled Banner Flag National Museum of American History Just turned 200 years old. Originally the length of a school bus, the flag was made in a brewery with the help of four teens. Francis Scott Key saw that it was “still there” after the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, inspiring him to pen the lyrics that begin, "O say can you see..."    "This Land Is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie (Full Version) Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Definitive recording of America's iconic folk song Woody Guthrie’s best-known song, and perhaps one of America’s. This 1944 master recording of the protest song-turned-anthem is one-of-a-kind, but also fits atop the soundtrack for the American experience. It’s often called “America’s second national anthem.”    George Washington (Lansdowne Portrait) National Portrait Gallery One of the best known full-length images of Washington The Portrait Gallery has the only complete collection of presidential portraits outside the White House and this one is our most famous. Washington hated sitting for his portrait, even by one of the best portraitists in America, so reward him by voting for this painting!    Space Shuttle Discovery National Air and Space Museum Space Shuttle Program’s most frequent flyer I am the champion of the space shuttle fleet! The longest-serving orbiter, I flew more missions, carried more astronauts, and visited the International Space Station more times than any of my sister ships. Plus, I dazzled thousands flying atop a 747 on my way to my permanent home, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. I am Discovery.   The Nation's T. rex National Museum of Natural History I’m 38 feet long, but have arms shorter than yours I am the tyrant lizard king, the top of the food chain, and the star of blockbuster movies. I inspire dreams, haunt nightmares, and I rule the biggest natural history museum in the world. I’m one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century and research about me continues today.   Smithsonian Folklife Festival Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Over 90 nations represented in 47 years and still going strong An Indian village, a Japanese rice paddy, and a New Mexican adobe plaza. All were built on the National Mall for the Folklife Festival. Founded in 1967, this two-week international exposition of living cultural heritage has brought more than 23,000 artists, performers, craftspeople, cooks, and others to the National Mall to demonstrate traditional skills and knowledge to one million visitors a year.    Wile E. Coyote from “What’s Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones" Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) A wolf that can’t catch a break! I’ve been running after a pesky bird since 1949.  I was created by animator Chuck Jones for the cartoon “Fast and Furry-ous” and am constantly being outsmarted by the Road Runner (and gravity).  I was inspired by author Mark Twain’s description of the coyote as "a long, slim, sick and sorry-looking skeleton" that is "a living, breathing allegory of Want."    The Peacock Room Freer and Sackler Galleries This masterpiece not only fills the room—it IS the room Stunning to behold, the Peacock Room also has a juicy backstory. Along with lush tones of blue and gold, the room features a motif of fighting peacocks—representing the squabbles over its creation.    Hirshhorn Building Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Brutalist, Round, and Free Hard and forbidding on the outside, shot through with light on the inside, Gordon Bunshaft’s monumental concrete doughnut is a metaphor for the difficulty and depth of modern and contemporary art.    Segregation-era Southern Railway Car No. 1200 National Museum of African American History and Culture 80 feet long. 77 tons. 44 seats. 2 separate sections. This 44-seat railway car was a segregated passenger car from 1940-1960 – white and “colored” passengers were separated by a divider. Because tangible remnants from America’s segregation era are rare, this rail car will help the Smithsonian tell the important story of Jim Crow-era segregation laws.    James Smithson's Will Smithsonian Institution Archives Generous Englishman Founds World’s Largest Museum Complex In James Smithson's will, the English scientist bequeathed his fortune to a country he’s never visited, to found an “establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” AKA the Smithsonian. Nothing’s more Smithsonian than that!    The Carnegie Mansion Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum 112 years old and full of design, creativity, and innovation The Carnegie Mansion cannot wait to take off its hard hat and reopen its doors for the first time in three years on Dec. 12th! Revamped and redesigned, the Mansion brings design to life with creative technologies while remaining true to its roots.    Electronic Superhighway Smithsonian American Art Museum Great American road trip in 51-video channels and neon Artist and visionary Nam June Paik transformed technology into an artist's medium. His Electronic Superhighway captures the energy and diversity of America’s 50 states and our global creative culture.    Black Gold I by Yinka Shonibare MBE National Museum of African Art “I am here to protest, but I am going to do it like a gentleman.” – Shonibare Over 22 feet, this piece uses fabric made in Europe, but identified as African and places it on a splash of black referencing Africa’s contested oil resources. Shonibare's work is "a testament to the contemporary understanding of colonial and post-colonial African identity….It’s not about authentic African experience or the authentic British experience—it lies somewhere both between and separate.”    Inverted Jenny National Postal Museum The Million Dollar Stamp The USPS’s most famous error occurred in 1918. Only one sheet was printed of this airmail stamp showing an upside-down JN-4-H “Jenny” airplane before the error was caught. Rumor is that the postal clerk didn’t notice the mistake because he'd never seen an airplane. Today, this prized rarity has been auctioned at close to $1 million.    Pablo Picasso’s handwritten list of artists for the 1913 Armory Show Archives of American Art One of the few examples of Picasso’s handwriting at the Smithsonian Pablo Picasso knew modern art. Organizers of the 1913 Armory Show—the first international exhibition of modern art in the United States—sought Picasso’s advice on avant-garde European artists. This list is of Picasso’s recommendations. The Europeans stole the show: their works caused uproar in the press and attracted massive crowds. Art in the United States was forever changed.    Fur Coat worn by Marian Anderson at Lincoln Memorial Anacostia Community Museum She made history by singing anyway By 1939, Marian Anderson was a star in Europe. However, Howard University's request to the Daughters of the American Revolution to use Constitution Hall for an Anderson concert was denied due to her race. Instead, in a watershed moment in civil rights history, it was arranged for Anderson to give a public concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939.    Giant Magellan Telescope Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory World's biggest mirrors—18 tons each Size matters. The GMT is taller than a 20-story building, heavier than 1,000 Giant Pandas, and 100 times more powerful than the Hubble Space Telescope. It will search for alien life and reveal secrets of the universe.    Titanoboa Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute My name means "titanic boa" After dinosaurs became extinct, I lived in a South American swamp, eating giant crocodiles and Smart-car sized turtles. A Smithsonian researcher discovered my fossilized skull bones and vertebrae in Colombia, and their size led experts to estimate that I was the largest, longest, and heaviest snake to ever exist on land.    Enid A. Haupt Garden Smithsonian Gardens A 4.2 acre rooftop garden standing atop 3 Smithsonian museums Comprised of three smaller gardens, this gem of a garden has been delighting visitors to the Smithsonian since 1987 by celebrating of a diversity of plants. The Victorian parterre changes color and plantings with the seasons, the Fountain Garden cools off birds and people alike in the summer, and the Moongate Garden is a peaceful respite from the busy National Mall.   Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe National Museum of the American Indian Where else can you see, hear, smell, touch, and TASTE as you learn? The Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is the Smithsonian Institution’s only award-winning and Zagat-rated restaurant.  As an extension of the Museum’s exhibitions, the Cafe’s seasonally changing menu brings Native cuisine from the entire Western Hemisphere to one place – a truly uniquely delicious experience!    The Korean Taco Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and Smithsonian Latino Center Corn tortilla + Kimchi + Bulgogi: #AsianLatino cuisine is America in a bite Enter the Korean taco: an almost inevitable, edible and enviable invention after Asian and Latino communities spent decades marinating together, creating together, laboring together and organizing together. The Smithsonian Asian-Latino project spotlights this magnificent invention to offer tasty and profound insights into the American experience.    Wonder Woman #1 Smithsonian Libraries Nearly 75 years old and still a superhero! Great Hera! Wonder Woman #1 broke new ground with its hero’s winning combination of strength, smarts, and style. Her backstory has closely followed many of the major shifts in American history, merging fiction, modern technology, and early feminist morality. Today she continues to wield her signature Lasso of Truth, empowering her loyal fans both women and men alike.

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