A quirky 18th-century international dispute over natural history quickly took on political overtones. Thomas Jefferson wanted to refute a French naturalist’s theory that all life in America was degenerate and weak, so he asked that a large dead moose be shipped to France. The theory, however, continued to have scientific, economic, and political implications for 100 years. Evolutionary biologist Lee Alan Dugatkin highlights this fascinating tale.
Ages 7 to 11. Learn about the systems which built and shape our Mother Earth from her molten beginnings to her many ecosystems of today!
An ambitious expedition left central Mexico in 1540 as Francisco Coronado led nearly 2,000 Spaniards north in search of mythical golden cities. Instead of wealth, they confronted the vast, unmapped American West and formidable Indigenous nations who controlled it. Over two years, the expedition crossed more than 2,500 miles. Hard terrain, starvation, internal collapse, and Indigenous resistance devastated the force: nearly 90 percent never returned. Peter Stark, author of The Lost Cities of El Norte, examines how Indigenous power and the landscape combined to halt European domination of the Southwest and Plains for the next three centuries.
René Lalique, the daring jeweler of Belle Époque Paris, revolutionized adornment by rejecting gemstone traditions and blending metals with enamel, horn, glass, and semi-precious stones. His nature-inspired creations—dragonflies, orchids, and nymphs—elevated jewelry to fine art, embodying Art Nouveau’s union of art and life. Collaborating with Sarah Bernhardt and elite patrons, Lalique gained acclaim at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Art historian Tosca Ruggieri’s illustrated lecture explores his evolution, techniques, patrons, and rarely seen masterpieces. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Historically, the Eastern Theater of the Civil War has dominated public and scholarly attention due to major battles, political visibility, and the presence of figures like Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Military historian Kevin Weddle argues, however, that the Western Theater—stretching from the Appalachians to the Mississippi—was equally vital. In his overview, he highlights the region’s strategic importance, key campaigns, influential leaders, and the decisive role Western operations played in shaping the war’s ultimate outcome.
Media historian Brian Rose examines the many ways the internet has radically transformed the “old” media of newspapers, magazines, the recording industry, film, radio, and television. He traces how this digital revolution took place in such a short period of time and considers what might lie ahead in the continually changing era of “new” media.
This spring, 55 colorful carved horses—plus one dragon—will again canter in circles on the National Mall when the Smithsonian Institution’s historic carousel returns after two years of restoration work. Built in 1947, the carousel was moved to the National Mall in 1981. After the Smithsonian purchased it in December 2022, restoration and fabrication experts Carousels and Carvings disassembled the carousel to begin repairing and restoring it. Company owner and president Todd Goings illuminates the intricate process of refurbishing the carousel.
In the wildly popular British series “Poldark,” Ross Poldark returns to Cornwall after the American War of Independence to find his estate in ruins, his finances exhausted, and his first love engaged to his cousin. Determined to rebuild, he reopens his copper mines, marries his former kitchen servant, and champions the working class, even risking his life in a duel. Historian Julie Taddeo examines the show’s topics—economics, religion, marriage, medicine, social customs, fashions, and the details of daily life in Cornwall and London—and explores what the series portrays accurately about the period and what its creators fictionalized.
