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Tag: Smithsonian

  • Treblinka Camp Secrets: More Proof Holocaust Existed

    NBC News tells us of the grim secrets recently found by archaeologists at a Nazi death camp. The findings were also documented by filmmakers and shown Saturday on the Smithsonian television channel.

    Treblinka is an Eastern Poland Nazi camp that claimed thousands of Jewish citizens in the early 1940s. The camp was destroyed by the Germans in 1943. After the war, Treblinka served as a memorial; the three sites of the death camp were not excavated in earlier years out of respect to the victims.

    The archaeologists now cover the site with as much respect as possible; they wish to cause as little disturbance to the long-resting bones as possible. One of the first discoveries were quite unsettling– Stars of David tiles in the bathhouse where hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed were found– a part of the Nazi’s sadistic plan to lull the Jews into a false sense of security before their mass murder.

    The Treblinka camp discovery is also important because it sheds more light on why some may deny the existence of the Holocaust.

    The Treblinka camp was thoroughly dismantled and covered by Germany in what seems like a deliberate effort to cover their tracks, and the farmhouse and crops planted over the three-sectioned Treblinka sites give further evidence towards that sentiment. Become more enlightened on the subject by watching Treblinka: Hitler’s Killing Machine on the Smithsonian channel. The premiere was Saturday at 8 p.m., but check your local listings for the repeat showings.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Smithsonian 3D Prints Whale Fossils Because Science

    It’s generally accepted that a lot of the earth was covered in water millions of years ago allowing all sorts of sea creatures to travel to places that are landlocked today. That’s why we can find fossils of sea creatures in the mid-West. Now scientists at the Smithsonian are trying to figure out how a bunch of whales ended up in the desert of Chile.

    3ders reports that the Smithsonian and Chilean scientists stumbled upon an enormous find when they found a bunch of whale fossils in the middle of the Chilean desert. Now, they have an idea of how they died, but it would require more research. The only problem is that the government was building the Pan-American Highway next to the dig site. The site would only be available for five more days so what were a bunch of scientists wanting to preserve this find going to do?

    That’s where 3D scanning and printing comes in.

    The Smithsonian used its state of the art 3D scanners to scan the entire dig site. This allowed them to create a 3D model of the fossils that could then be 3D printed for later research. It’s not the real thing, but it’s certainly close enough.

    As the Smithsonian notes, the prints of these Whale fossils, once completed, will be the largest 3D prints of their kind. I would assume that they will also be put on display for all to see as the 3D printers being used by the Smithsonian allow them to faithfully recreate the dig site and fossil as if it was still around.

    Oh, and as a bonus, the 3D model of the dig site is available online via Smithsonian’s X 3D service. That means you can download the CAD file and 3D print a miniature version of the dig site yourself.

    In short, science is awesome and 3D printers is making it even moreso.

    Image via Smithsonian X 3D

  • Star-Spangled Banner To Be Displayed At Smithsonian

    The Smithsonian in Washington D.C. is doing something that is believed to have never been done before – showcase the original, handwritten manuscript of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the flag that inspired the lyrics.

    These pieces of history have been displayed separately for many years. The flag has been housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History since the early 1900s, while the original, handwritten manuscript has been in Baltimore at the Maryland Historical Society.

    Showcasing the two side-by-side is in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the song being written. According to Jennifer Jones, the curator who oversees the flag, seeing the two historic items together should create an “aha moment.” Jones added, “It’s meant to be emotional. It’s meant to be reflective.”

    At age 35, Francis Scott Key wrote the historic song on September 14, 1814. At the time, Key was a lawyer and amateur poet who witnessed the War of 1812 and the British forces attacking Baltimore’s Fort McHenry for more than a day. When the attack was over, Key saw the fort’s flag flying, signifying that the U.S. troops endured the attack. This inspired Key to write a poem originally titled “Defense of Fort McHenry.” The poem eventually had a title change, was set to music, and became the national anthem of America in 1931.

    The quill and ink-written original manuscript may have some surprises for visitors. Though the first stanza is all that is traditionally sung, Key actually has four stanzas in his original poem. Also, in the line “Oh say can you see through the dawn’s early light,” Key has crossed out “through” and replaced it with “by.”

    The flag was given to the Smithsonian by the family of Major George Armistead, the commander of Fort McHenry. Armistead was also the man who commissioned the flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes to represent the number of states in the Union at the time.

    The historic flag has been in Washington ever since, except for a short period of time during World War II when it was in Virginia for safekeeping.

    Key’s manuscript of “The Star-Spangled Banner” was purchased in the 1950s by the historical society. Since then it has been on display in Annapolis, Fort McHenry, and Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland, where Key is buried.

    President of the Maryland Historical Society, Burt Kummerow, says people should go see the exhibit soon because, “It isn’t going to happen again anytime soon.”

    For those interested in seeing the two pieces of history side-by-side, you can visit the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. from Flag Day, June 14, through July 6. So get your summer vacation plans ready.

    Image via YouTube.

  • Smithsonian Opens Its Collection To 3D Printers Everywhere

    The Smithsonian, like most museums, have a strict “Do Not Touch” policy. It goes without saying that many of the objects in the museum’s collection are very old and very fragile. Merely touching them could do immeasurable damage to the artifact. So, how do you get these objects into the hands of educators?

    The Smithsonian has recently opened a new Web site called Smithsonian X 3D that allows you to view 3D models of the museum’s collection. It’s not complete just yet, but many of the most important objects – like the Wright Brothers’ original airplane and Abraham Lincoln’s Life Mask- are available. All of these are accessible via your browser and the 3D model can be downloaded for free.

    Here’s a video that details how the Smithsonian is bringing its collection to educators and 3D printing hobbyists everywhere:

    While there’s not a lot of models currently available for download, it’s still an exciting start to what is perhaps the most ambitious attempt yet to digitally catalog and preserve history.

    Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go download a Woolly Mammoth skeleton.

    [h/t: 3ders]
    [Image: Smithsonian]

  • Fossilized Mosquito Found; Sadly Lacks Dino Blood

    Smithsonian Magazine just put out a blog that chronicles the strange journey of a fossilized mosquito with ancient blood still contained in its stomach, reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Jurassic Park.

    The ancient mosquito was unearthed in Montana’s Glacier National Park by a geology graduate student named Kurt Constenius, who picked it up during a fossil-hunting trip with his parents and left it in a basement for a couple decades. A retired biochemist named Dale Greenwalt rescued it as part of his fossil collection efforts for the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

    Greenwalt’s fascinating collection of insect fossils includes thousands of samples from 14 different orders of the insect world. In order to retrieve some of his older samples, he had to raft the Flathead River to a special location that features shale formations dating to the Eocene epoch, or roughly 46 million years ago.

    For those unfamiliar, the plot of Jurassic Park revolves around a fossilized mosquito, preserved in amber, that happened to have fed on dinosaurs such as the massive Tyrannosaurus rex and the Velociraptor. A wealthy entrepreneur collected the mosquito and had the dinosaurs resurrected through cloning technology.

    The research regarding the mosquito fossil was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Greenwalt and entomologist Ralph Harbach.

    The Smithsonian Museum’s mineral science lab conducted the analysis using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Unfortunately for movie fans, and although they did detect the presence of heme (the compound that serves our red blood cells’ functions), the mosquito is contained in shale rock rather than amber, and it’s slightly too young (at 46 million years) to realistically contain dinosaur blood. Even worse, scientists can make no determination as to what creature’s blood the mosquito contains, because DNA degrades far too much to survive being caged inside the rock.

    Even if such a mosquito were discovered under the most optimistic conditions, recently conducted research has placed the half-life of DNA at 521 years, which is a rapid rate of degradation. So don’t go expecting your own personal dinosaur ecosystem any time soon.

    [Image via Dale Greenwalt/The Smithsonian Magazine]

  • Bionic Man Brought To Life With Artificial Parts

    Bionic man, previously a term that was only associated with science fiction, has now become a reality. The term was made popular in the 1970s with the help of a popular television show called The Six Million Dollar Man. The series chronicled the adventures of Steve Austin, a former astronaut whose body was rebuilt using artificial parts, after he nearly died. After being rebuilt, the character gained superhuman strength and speed, enabling him to become a very important secret operative, and solve high profile crimes.

    As scientific breakthroughs continue to be made on an ongoing basis, there is no telling what we will be seeing produced next. Just recently, a team of engineers assembled a robot using organs, limbs, and other body parts that actually pays a close resemblance an real bionic man, much like in the television show. In other related extraordinary scientific discoveries recently, a real life lightsaber, was developed by scientists at MIT and Harvard. It is not quite the type of device that Luke Skywalker used yet, but who knows, maybe one day it will be turned into a weapon.

    The artificial “man” that was recently developed is being used as the subject of a Smithsonian Channel documentary. It will air on Sunday, October 20th at 9 p.m. and is called The Incredible Bionic Man. The parts that were used to make the bionic man came from 17 manufacturers around the world. Richard Walker, the managing director of Shadow Robot Co. and the lead robot scientist on the project, has said that the robot has about 60 to 70 percent of the function of a human. He is also about six-and-a-half feet tall and is able to step, sit and stand, with the help of a walking machine.

    Even though the bionic man is very advanced for what it is and the parts work very well, they are still a long way away from being used in humans. There are some key parts missing too, with no digestive system, liver or skin, and obviously lacks a brain. The parts donated in the bionic experiment were donated, costing roughtly $1 million. The bionic man is currently on display at the New York City Comic Con and after, he plans to head to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

    Image via Youtube

  • Space Spider Dies In D.C. After Traveling 42 Million Miles

    The “space spider”, Nefertiti, has died of natural causes after spending 100 days outside Earth and traveling around 42 million miles.

    Also called “Spidernaut”, Nefertiti was launched into space as part of a YouTube Space Lab experiment which invited teenagers to share their ideas; this particular experiment was submitted by 18-year old Amr Mohamed from Alexandria, Egypt. During her 100 days on board an orbiting labratory, Nefertiti proved that her species was fully capable of adjusting hunting and feeding techniques in periods of weightlessness. When she came back to Earth she was to be put on display at the Smithsonian, but unfortunately she passed away just five days after her triumphant return.

    “The unexpected loss of this special animal who inspired so many imaginations will be felt throughout the museum community….The body of Nefertiti will be added to the museum’s collection of specimens where she will continue to contribute to our understanding of spiders,” said Smithsonian spokesperson Kelly Carnes.

    Nefertiti’s body will be added to the museum’s specimen collection.

  • Space Shuttle Enterprise Set For One Last Flight

    The space shuttle “Enterprise”, which has been a museum display in the Smithsonian for the past 25 years, is about to take to the skies once again.

    The “Enterprise” was never flown in space, but rather served as NASA’s test shuttle for approaches and landings in the ’70s. If the weather cooperates, it will fly once again this Friday on a trip from Washington, D.C. to New York. Because it was stripped of it’s instrument panel years ago, the shuttle will be attached to a 747 for the flight and will land at JFK airport to an eager crowd. It will later be transported to the city’s Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to be put back on display.

    Originally named “Constitution”, the shuttle was dubbed “Enterprise” after a petition came to the White House from Star Trek fans, urging them to change the name. Built in 1976, the shuttle didn’t complete a successful flight on it’s own until a year later. In 1979, it was tested in a launch at Kennedy Space Center, and went on to become the property of the Smithsonian after it was put into retirement in 1985.

    (image)@NewYorkology
    NewYorkology    If all goes as planned, space shuttle Enterprise on Friday morning will fly by Statue of Liberty and @intrepidmuseum http://t.co/rTNNWyjQ(image) 1 hour ago via bitly ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@ringrunner
    ringrunner    I gotta see this. http://t.co/yLtAaT2f(image) 18 minutes ago via Facebook ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@yokuyuki
    Ed Chen    I’m so excited to see the space shuttle Enterprise exhibit on the Intrepid this summer. #nyc(image) 40 minutes ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@thompsonhotels
    Thompson Hotels    Fingers crossed-if all goes as planned, space shuttle Enterprise on Fri morning into @IntrepidMuseum http://t.co/PEQavEnq via @newyorkology:(image) 58 minutes ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Titanoboa: Snake was 48 Feet Long and Weighed 2,500 Pounds

    The Smithsonian has installed an exhibit in Grand Central Station called “Titanoboa” that showcases a 48 foot long replica of the world’s largest snake. The serpent grew longer than a bus.

    The replica of the 2,500-pound snake was unveiled Wednesday at the commuter hub to “stimulate public interest in science, and promote the Smithsonian’s more extensive titanoboa exhibit in D.C., which opens next week.”

    The bones of the boa beast were found in a coal mine in Columbia by a team of paleontologists in 2009. Titanoboa overshadowed the Eocene epoch’s Gigantophis and is now the largest snake ever discovered.

    The longest snake currently inhabiting the planet is the the reticulate python which stretches a little more than half the length of the titanoboa.

    Titanoboa grew up to 2500 lbs. while the green anaconda, the world’s current heavy weight champion, is about a tenth of its weight.

    Good thing these things are not alive!

    Check out what was involved with the construction of the replica in the following YouTube video:

    The Smithsonian Channel will be telling the story of this gargantuan animal in a documentary that will cover the discovery of its remains and what it reveals about the history of the Earth’s ecosystem.

    The TV channel stated that “In the pantheon of predators, it’s one of the greatest discoveries since the T-Rex: a snake 48 feet long, weighing in at 2,500 pounds. Uncovered from a treasure trove of fossils in a Colombian coal mine, this serpent is revealing a lost world of giant creatures. Travel back to the period following the extinction of dinosaurs and encounter this monster predator.”

    “Titanoboa: Monster Snake,” is a 2-hour special about the enormous constrictor; it is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, April 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary is also set for Blu-ray release on April 3.

  • The Art Of Video Games Opening At The Smithsonian Friday

    One of the most passionately discussed arguments of our time, especially to gamers, is the question of whether or not video games can be classified as art. Art, is of course, a completely subjective concept. There are some people, however, that strive to put an objective classification on what art is. Gamers feel the need to prove their hobby to these people and the Smithsonian is going to help them with that.

    This article isn’t about that topic though. It’s about the Smithsonian American Art Museum opening its “The Art of Video Games” exhibit on Friday, March 16. The exhibit should at least help convince some people of the artistic merit of video games since these games will be on display at one of the foremost art museums in America.

    What is “The Art of Video Games” though? The Smithsonian American Art Museum has the details:

    The Art of Video Games is one of the first exhibitions to explore the forty-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking visual effects and the creative use of new technologies. It features some of the most influential artists and designers during five eras of game technology, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. The exhibition focuses on the interplay of graphics, technology and storytelling through some of the best games for twenty gaming systems ranging from the Atari VCS to the PlayStation 3. Eighty games, selected with the help of the public, demonstrate the evolution of the medium. The games are presented through still images and video footage. In addition, the galleries will include video interviews with twenty developers and artists, large prints of in-game screen shots, and historic game consoles. Chris Melissinos, founder of Past Pixels and collector of video games and gaming systems, is the curator of the exhibition.

    I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty cool to me. What else is going on at the exhibition? Well, one of the cool things is that they are presenting playable games, one from each era of game design, as the epitome of art for that era in gaming. The games on display will be Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst and Flower. While some people will argue over whether or not these games should have been included as the ambassador of its respective era, I think we can all agree that these are excellent choices nonetheless.

    The event isn’t just about seeing and playing, however, as the museum has several events planned over the course of the exhibit for interested parties to check out. The first three days of the exhibition are called GameFest which features a wide variety of events. Unfortunately, the two most exciting events, talks by Nolan Bushnell and Hideo Kojima, are already sold out. Check out the Web site for the other events happening during GameFest to see if they tickle your fancy.

    “The Art of Video Games” exhibit will run from March 16 to September 30 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. You can check out more details and plan your trip on the official Web site.

    Are you planning on going? What’s your favorite example of games as art? Let us know in the comments.