In case you love The Lorax...

... and love the Earth, check out the Smithsonian's Online Conference on Climate Change starting today! (You can access it later if you can't experience it LIVE.) If you are on Facebook, you can also become a fan of the Smithsonian. But the interesting part is that people are STILL debating Climate Change. There were "believers" and "non-believers" battling it out on Facebook. But I think everyone agreed that we should all turn off Fox News. Ponder that.

The Hope Diamond is NAKED!

Lately, there's been a lot of hoo-ha at work mostly because we've really entered the realm of pop culture. First it was Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Then it was Dan Brown's book, The Lost Symbol.

Now... (we are a bit dramatic with these things)... I give you....


Wait for it. (Building drama.....)







The Hope Diamond. (Naked.)


Yep... we took it out of it's setting, studied it, and will put it in a new setting for a few months. Then return it to it's old setting (so don't freak out. We'll still return to Hope Diamond Classic.) You can read the story here. And if you love hearing little fun facts about the diamond, check out this blog post from Around the Mall. If you like it, put a ring on it.

This is Jeff Post, our curator (on the left) and Cristian Samper, who is the Director at the National Museum of Natural History. Just another day at a very unusual office.

I am so glad Facebook didn't exist when I was in college.

This video is from the Onion, which will freak you out if you are under the age of 25. But you can equally be amused by Oh Crap. My Parents Joined Facebook if your parents are over the age of 45.

Since I'm in my 30s, I'm amused by both.


Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

All the cool stuff is in San Francisco....

Like this Vintage Fashion Expo that is this weekend. Okay, I know the undergarments weren't all that comfortable back in the day, but you can't deny they had style. The event features 85 dealers of vintage clothing, accessories and textiles with time periods ranging from 1850 to 1980. I would just gobble up all of the 1920's to 1940's stuff.

The event is perfect for costume designers, fashion hounds, and people like me... history nerds who just like to look at the clothes people wore on a regular basis back in the day.

Alas, I'm here on the East Coast.

*Sniff*