The panels, removed under Ronald Reagan, found new homes from Maine to China. And their legacy still reverberates.
Tag: Smithsonian Institution
5 Provisions in China’s Panda Contracts With U.S. Zoos
Normally confidential contracts show that U.S. zoos are accepting increasingly strict terms governing panda cams and public statements.
Prehistoric Earth Was Very Hot. That Offers Clues About Future Earth.
At times during the past half-billion years, carbon dioxide warmed our planet more than previously thought, according to a new reconstruction of Earth’s deep past.
World War II Artifacts Found in a Massachusetts Home Are Returned to Japan
The cache of artifacts was discovered in the attic of a veteran’s home after he died. The items were turned over to the F.B.I., which arranged for their return eight decades after the war.
Yemen Gets Ownership of Artifacts, but Met Will Still Display Them
Ownership of the artifacts is being restored to Yemen, but given the civil war there Yemeni officials have asked the museum to safeguard them for now through a custodial agreement.
New Antarctic Starfish Are Doting Parents and Vicious Predators
A close examination of a collection of starfish in the Smithsonian revealed even more starfish inside those starfish.
When a Visit to the Museum Becomes an Ethical Dilemma
Western museums are major tourist attractions, drawing travelers from around the world. But what responsibility do we bear as spectators for patronizing institutions that display what critics say are stolen works?
The New ‘Monuments Officers’ Prepare to Protect Art Amid War
A group of art experts have had intensive training to become part of the U.S. Army Reserve. It will be their job to help save cultural heritage in war zones.
They Thought the Skulls Were Murder Victims’. They Were Off by Centuries.
Originally thought to be the remnants of gang killings, dozens of skulls found in a cave in southern Mexico are now believed to be from sacrificial killings more than 1,000 years ago.
Smithsonian Adopts Policy on Ethical Returns in a Nod to Changing Norms
The institution’s leaders hope other cultural centers will follow its lead. It has already announced plans to return most of its collection of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria under the new policy.