Smithsonian Institution

It is NOT too early for a pumpkin spice latte. Please debate. 🎃🧡 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History head of the Plant Conservation Unit Gary Krupnick explains the nature that flavors the PSL. If you skip regular milk in favor of a non-diary option, like almond (Prunus dulcis) or oat (Avena sativa), your treat is extra plant powered.

In 1889, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) was established after letter carriers across the country worked together to achieve legal recognition for the eight-hour work day. By 1900, members of NALC organized themselves into marching bands, performing at conventions as well as local parades, weddings, and other community activities. Letter carrier bands might have started with union chapters, but the spirit of camaraderie and service extended beyond the NALC. 💌 🥁 🎶 This photograph features musicians in the Cleveland Ohio’s Letter Carrier Band between waiting to perform in a Memorial Day Parade, May 30, 1958. Pictured: Michael Beluscak, Randolph Banks, Frank Vacha, Sr., Joseph Knezinek, Lawrence Liggett, Sr., Lawrence Liggett, Jr., Robert Knall and Vladimir Kozeluka. In the collection of our National Postal Museum.

Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was brutally lynched on a trip to visit family in Mississippi 70 years ago this week in 1955. Till’s mother, Mamie Till Mobley, insisted on an open casket at his funeral services, which were attended by more than 50,000 people and chronicled by Jet magazine. A photo of Till with his mother earlier that year alongside Jet’s photo of his mutilated corpse horrified the nation and became a catalyst for the bourgeoning Civil Rights Movement. Bullet holes pierced this historical marker memorializing Till that stood on the banks of the Tallahatchie River, where his body was discovered. The Emmett Till Memorial Commission has replaced the marker three times since it was first erected in 2008 due to repeated acts of vandalism. The most recent version is made with bulletproof steel. This marker is in the collection of our Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana 20 years ago today in 2005. In his painting “After the Storm CNN” (2008), visual artist Floyd Newsum references the 24-hour news sources that documented the hurricane, the thousands left stranded in New Orleans, the disastrous rescue effort, and the enduring effect of its aftermath. Chaos and tragedy are felt throughout the work’s fragmented landscape. A snake slithers, a can spills, and a television broadcasts the news. But Newsum incorporates some of the optimism felt in the storm's wake, too. Ladders, a symbol often featured in the artist’s work, represent hope, second chances, and renewal. Reflecting on his artistic practice, Newsum shared, "A painting is a collection of thoughts in a single composition...and sometimes my intent is to present more than one interpretation." Newsum's painting is in the collections of our Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Made from a discarded 55-gallon oil barrel and canvas from a cot, this drum was played at a two-day powwow during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. The event was organized by Sergeant Debra Mooney (Choctaw) and the 120th Engineer Combat Battalion at the Al Taqaddum Air Base in Iraq. It featured traditional dancing and singing, regalia, games, and foods, including genuine fry bread. The powwow brought a piece of home to Native American soldiers and gave them the opportunity to share their cultural heritage with fellow soldiers, marines, and sailors. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 120th Engineer Combat Battalion had the highest proportion of American Indians—20 percent—of any military unit in the combat zone. Learn more about the battalion and the personal stories of Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Native veterans who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces since the American Revolution by visiting our National Museum of the American Indian’s online exhibition “Why We Serve.” s.si.edu/3uBGyMp

Nothing says romance like a rose arch. 🌹 Dr. J. Horace McFarland (1859-1948) was an expert on roses as well as a civic leader, author, and horticulturalist. McFarland tested hundreds of varieties of roses on his own property in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and helped establish a standardized rose identification method. In our Smithsonian Gardens archives, we have thousands of images associated with McFarland, many of which were used by his publishing company to illustrate trade catalogs and journals. While our records don't include the location of this rose arbor, it seems like a perfect place to take engagement photos for that one couple where one knows how to ball and the other knows Aristotle.

Did we mention it's free?! Download vintage posters, photos, sheet music, and more. Explore millions of objects on Smithsonian Open Access and decorate your own space! Perfect for dorm rooms, bookshelves, cubicles, and classrooms. Here’s what we used to decorate our bookshelf! 🖼️ James S. Baillie, “The Soldier’s Return,” lithograph, 1847. In the collection of our Smithsonian National Museum of American History . “Josephine Baker, la Sirene des Tropiques,” poster, Leon Clement & Co. Lithography, 1927. In the collection of our National Portrait Gallery. In the collection of our Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture: “Photographic print of Eunice Jackson and two other women posing,” 1920. Sheet music for “Love Will Find a Way” from the musical “Shuffle Along.” Published 1921. In the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum: Frank A. Bicknell, “October Morning,” painting, 1910. Stuart Walker, “Composition no. 61,” painting, 1939. Joseph Schillinger, “Key Blue (from series, the Mathematical Basis of the Arts),” drawing, 1934. Edward Sachse, Smithsonian Institution Postcard, 1855. A New Map of Virginia and Maryland and the Improved Parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 1719. Mary Vaux Walcott, “Eustoma russelianum,” painting, 1930s. #dormdecor #SmithsonianOpenAccess #CreativeCommons

(flip your phone upside down) “07734” If you’re old enough to remember using numbers to write words into your calculator, you're old enough to be in the Smithsonian. Now known by students across the country for their calculators, Texas Instruments was originally incorporated in the 1930s as Geophysical Service, Inc. Then, the company created technology that would support the United States Navy during World War II. They rebranded to Texas Instruments in 1951 and released their first handheld calculator 20 years later in 1972. Our TI-84 Plus Silver from 2004 came with colorful alternative cases, 41 plastic keys, and data sharing capabilities. It is in the collection of our Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

From their photography studio on U Street, Addison Scurlock and his sons, Robert and George, documented Washington, D.C.’s Black middle class for the better part of the 20th century. Singer Marian Anderson, jazz musician Duke Ellington, and boxer Muhammad Ali were just a few of the big names on the other side of their lenses. But more often, they documented the lives of everyday Washingtonians. Young campers playfully pretend to drive a car on a beautiful beach day, a baby toddles from a dad’s embrace to mom’s open arms, and a bride and groom smile from ear to ear on their wedding day. The Scurlock Studio's work—more than 250,000 images—has been preserved in our Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Archives Center since 1997. #WorldPhotographyWeek

These boots aren’t made for walkin’, but they did travel from Texas all the way to Washington, DC! These size 96 boots made an epic journey from the State Fair of Texas to greet visitors outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery for the exhibition, “State Fairs: Growing American Craft.” Notice the hand-painted details on these boots, including signature motifs from the state of Texas: the flag; the capitol building in Austin; the state flower, a bluebonnet; and the state bird, the northern mockingbird. Big Tex first welcomed visitors to the State Fair of Texas in 1952, wearing size 70 cowboy boots. In 2013, he debuted these bigger, better, size 96 boots. “State Fairs: Growing American Craft” is the first major exhibition dedicated to artists’ contributions to the great U.S. tradition of state fairs. The exhibition opens August 22, 2025 and runs through September 7, 2026. Big Tex’s Boots, 2013, steel, Styrofoam, aqua resin, fiberglass, and acrylic paint. Courtesy of State Fair of Texas.