Smithsonian Associates - Educating and Entertaining Audiences for More Than 50 Years

Amid our own global pandemic, certain wildlife are also facing an unprecedented conservation crisis. Scientists Rebecca Gooley and Luke Linhoff of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute discuss their work in taking in members of two animal populations devastated by pandemics—the Tasmanian devil and amphibians—into captivity in order to protect, study, breed, and reintroduce them into the wild. 

Take a break from the stress of the season to enjoy an entertaining and informative afternoon with an orchid expert and come away with an elegant orchid centerpiece.

Join Food Network star Alex Guarnaschelli as she talks about the stories behind the food in her new book, Cook with Me: 150 Recipes for the Home Cook. She shares how the recipes, traditions, and insights she captured reflect generations of collective experience and the power that food has to bring people—especially families—together.

A flash of gold in a river touched off a massive wave of young men from around the world who came to seek their fortunes in California. Garrett Peck examines how their dreams played out, and why the gold rush of 1849 forever altered the state and the nation’s destiny.

Ecologist Enric Sala, National Geographic’s explorer-in-residence and director of its Pristine Seas project, asserts that once we appreciate how nature works, we will understand how conservation is economically wise and why it is essential to our survival.