This edition leads off with big news: the debut of Smithsonian Associates Streaming. We're excited to present this new aspect of our 55 years as the world's largest museum-based educational program—and to have you be an important part of that process.
It's one more way to make sure you continue to enjoy what you've come to value from Smithsonian Associates: programs and experiences that are entertaining, informative, eclectic, and insightful.
Nature in Place
Make the most of your spring as Liana Vitali of Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary offers a guide for birding without leaving your window, from identifying common bird-feeder species to the best birding apps and birdcams, and even how to make birdwatching meditative. Niraj Ray, founder of Cultivate the City, demonstrates how to use food scraps to jumpstart growth and provides other tips for a successful container, patio, or backyard garden. Their May 22 program is among the limited-time free offerings scheduled through June 11 that introduce Smithsonian Associates Streaming, which will be expanded to a slate of online programming inspired by the full range of topics we offer year round.
Register for the Program
Klimt on Your Kindle
The Guggenheim Museum has a gift for at-home art lovers: more than 200 books on modern and contemporary art available for free download in a variety of formats. The titles, published between 1936 and the 2000s, span visual arts, design, and architecture, and offer a richly detailed glimpse into the museum’s archives. It's an ideal way for participants in our World Art History Certificate program-and anyone else-to add to their digital bookshelves.
Browse the Library
Open the Doors of Wright Masterworks
The architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright regularly provides the focus for Smithsonian Associates study tours. Now you can curate your own journey into his world. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, in partnership with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy and the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, have introduced a joint initiative, #WrightVirtualVisits, which presents video and 3D tours of 20 of Wright's most treasured buildings, including Hollyhock, Fallingwater, Taliesin, Graycliff, and more.
Tour Wright Virtual Visits
Staff Pick: Coaching for Crossword Lovers
Puzzle solving in all its forms is having its moment these days, and program curator Kathy Fuller suggests a great resource for anyone for whom that means picking up a pencil—or more bravely, pen-each day. She recently brought Deb Amlen, New York Times crossword columnist and senior staff editor of Wordplay, to the Ripley Center for an evening that delighted a sellout crowd of cruciverbalists (a term that would make a perfect crossword clue). Amlen has assembled a practical guide to tackling the Times crossword and boosting your mental flexibility to take on crosswords in general. And now fans have a new challenge: Smithsonian magazine has introduced a crossword of its own.
Review the Crossword Guide
Solve Smithsonian's Crossword
Pet Projects
In a Smithsonian Associates program last December, a curator from the Archives of American Art explored the quirky and charming relationships between famous artists and the cat companions that served as their "mewses" for works. Some staff members at the American Art Museum have found their own inspirations in the creatures now sharing their days at home. Amy Fox, the museum's social media and digital content specialist, reports that she and co-workers "have been inspired to model our sweet, sassy, bored, annoyed, sleepy, amusing pets after favorite artworks in our collection." View some of their gallery-worthy results, and take up the invitation to capture "your dog/cat/bird/fish/horse/plant/rock" in an homage to a favorite artwork and tag the museum when you post the result on social media.
Get Inspired
