What's new this month?

The 49th season of the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society features musical masterpieces from the early 17th century to the middle of the 20th, played on some of the world’s most highly prized musical instruments in an 8-concert series. This concert features music of Dvorák with the Smithsonian Academy Orchestra.

This year promises to be a good one for stargazers and astronomers. J. Kelly Beatty, senior editor at Sky & Telescope magazine, highlights exciting celestial events in 2026, including the March 3 total lunar eclipse, which will be visible across the U.S. He also lets you know where and when to look for all the bright planets—Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—and two meteor showers.

Naturalist and wildlife photographer Matt Felperin leads a visual tour across the coasts of Florida, one of North America’s premier birding destinations. Explore the state’s remarkable range of habitats—from Gulf estuaries and mangrove swamps to Atlantic beaches, wetlands, and inland prairies—and discover why more than 500 bird species have been recorded there. Felperin also showcases some of Florida’s top birding hotspots and parks that draw avian-loving travelers.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by The Mother and Sister of the Artist by Berthe Morisot.

The Guinness company was founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759, marked by the signing of a 9,000-year lease on a rundown brewery at St. James’s Gate in Dublin. From these humble beginnings, the Guinness Brewery grew rapidly, becoming the largest brewery in the world by the 1880s. Eibhlin Colgan, Guinness archive and heritage manager, traces the history of the company from the bold business decisions of its founder to the pioneering social initiatives championed by later generations of management.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet is considered one of the greatest works in English literature. Literature professor Joseph Luzzi explores this play about murder, revenge, and madness that resonates with generations of readers and viewers. He also highlights Shakespeare’s philosophical brilliance, linguistic inventiveness, and ability to capture the most complex—and often unsettling—human emotions.

Celebrate Michelangelo’s 551st birthday by exploring the making of one of history’s most brilliant artistic minds. Born on March 6, 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti lived nearly 89 years, witnessing Renaissance Florence, the discovery of the New World, the Reformation, and the reigns of 13 popes. He transformed Western art through sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry. Though many believed his talent miraculous, Michelangelo studied with discipline, learning from masters and experimenting with styles. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo traces his journey from Lorenzo il Magnifico’s household to his masterpiece, the “David.” (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Insects surged to ecological dominance by evolving larvae—grubs, maggots, and caterpillars—with extraordinary survival strategies and life cycle advantages. Wildlife documentary filmmaker Steve Nicholls explores their remarkable origins and the ingenious ways these vulnerable young thrive, from impersonating predators to forming intricate social networks.

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by A Sunburst Restrained by María Berrío.

Found in every region of the globe, embroidery is one of the world’s most widely shared forms of creative expression—and one of the most varied. Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, director of the Textile Research Centre in Leiden, the Netherlands, and author of The Atlas of World Embroidery: A Global Exploration of Heritage and Styles, guides audiences through this rich tapestry, exploring the materials, tools, designs, and symbolic meanings of embroidery, as well as the communities and individual makers who sustain these traditions. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)