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Pocahontas (ca. 1890) by Antonion Zeno Shindler. A variation of this image is on display at the new exhibit, Jamestown, Québec and Sante Fe. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

It would be a century after Christopher Columbus’ 1492 trip across the ocean blue to the New World before Europe would show interest in settling that strange continent across the Atlantic.

By the early 1600s, however, France, Spain and England were looking to expand their influence and set their sights on North America.

The new exhibit “Jamestown, Québec and Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings,” on view at the Smithsonian’s International Gallery in the Ripley Center, gives an impressionistic view of how these three colonies began to shape a new nation.

It’s a big story to tell, and this show offers a glimpse of different aspects of colonial life, from the domestic to the religious to the political and economic. If you’re like me and are quickly forgetting third grade history, it’s a nice refresher course on the basic events and motivations for New World settlement and expansion.

With regards to the goods, there are spectacular conquistador armor and helmets. There are maps that illustrate how the New World was marketed to potential settlers—basically, if a cartographer drew delicious fish swimming the rivers and friendly-looking inhabitants in the margins, he could rope a few people into hopping the next boat across the Atlantic in search of an abundance of food and friends. There are housewares—pots, bowls, furniture, a wedding ring that’s lost its owner—that give you an idea of domestic life 400 years ago and inspire gratitude for modern, plug-in appliances. And at the very least, you can come away from the show with a few lovely bits of trivia to toss around at your next cocktail party.

But for me, the most fascinating things were the objects that signaled how the visual lexicon of Native American populations was beginning to change as those peoples began to interact with Europeans. Take cats for instance. A hallmark of European folklore, cats were unknown to the Pueblo tribes in and around Santa Fe—but as trading relations developed between the two cultures, the Pueblo began including cats in their repertoire of animal sculptural forms.

By the 1700s, North America was very much an international continent. No one culture had claimed dominance over the region—although, in spite of the fact that Native peoples outnumbered the European transplants, they were beginning to suffer decreases in population. To catch a glimpse of America at the start of the colonial era, “Jamestown, Québec and Santa Fe” will be on display until November 1, 2009.  If you aren’t able to make it out to DC, check out the exhibit’s companion site.

Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega. Image courtesy of the National Air and Space Museum.

Tuesday, May 26: Dig It! Activities

Experience the Natural History Museum’s Dig It! exhibition a la carte! As you tour the show, keep an eye out for volunteers who will be stationed by interactive carts. They will be available to answer your questions as well as engage you in special, educational activities to enhance your experience of the exhibit. Free. Natural History Museum, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM

Wednesday, May 27: Jean Shin: Common Threads: Exhibition Tour

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with—deconstructed sweaters? No, I’m not talking about what happens when a loved one wreaks havoc with your prized collection of angora tops. Artist Jean Shin collected sweaters from Asian American arts communities from around the country and used them to create her piece Unraveling, which visualizes the interrelationships between people. Come contemplate the meaning of the piece a little deeper in this hour-long tour and be sure to check out the exhibition Jean Shin: Common Threads. Free. American Art Museum, 6:00 PM.

Thursday, May 28: Visualize Chinese Exclusion: Meet Our Museum

Commemorative plates are usually happy additions to one’s home decor, boasting chipper images of places you visited, historic events and, on occasion, Julie Andrews. However, in the late 19th Century, the Union Porcelain Works created ceramic pieces that illustrated the horrible reality of exclusionary policies intended to disenfranchise Chinese Americans. Curator Nancy Davis will discuss the objects and will be available to answer any questions after the presentation. Free. American History Museum, 12:00 PM

Friday, May 29: You Can’t Do That Amelia!: Flights of Fancy—Stories for Children

Bring the little ones in your family out for story time at the National Air and Space Museum. This week, come hear about Amelia Earhart’s escapades as a little girl with a reading of Kimberly Wagner Killer’s You Can’t Do That Amelia!. Hang around after the reading to participate in an art activity and while you’re there, don’t forget to see Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega, which she used to make her historic flight across the Atlantic in 1932. And if your kids want to hear more about Amelia, or read about her on their own, I totally recommend Women Who Dare: Amelia Earhart by Susan Reyburn. Free. National Air and Space Museum, 11:00 AM

Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, photo courtesy of Flickr user ehpien

Surely many will visit the National Mall this Memorial Day, placing flowers and remembrances of loved ones passed at the war memorials. Since the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial in 1982, about 25,000 mementos have been left at the base of the wall or tucked between its granite panels. From birthday cards to teddy bears to poems and letters, the National Park Service rangers who collect the keepsakes daily noticed that the Vietnam Memorial, in particular, inspired people to leave items more personal than flowers and flags. They began cataloging the items in a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection, and from 1992 to 2003, over 1,500 objects from the monument’s first ten years were on view in an exhibition called “Personal Legacy: The Healing of a Nation” at the National Museum of American History.

A few items—a bottle of Jack Daniels, a wooden cross with a crown of barbed wire and an artificial Christmas tree—remain on display in the museum’s permanent exhibition “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.” The mother of Billy Stokes, who served in Vietnam, left the Christmas tree at the wall; she used to send her son a tree each Christmas that he was in Vietnam.

Perhaps a visit to the National Museum of American History, or at least the online “Price of Freedom” exhibition, would be a fitting tribute to veterans this Memorial Day.

Before the Start (1934) by Gerald Sargent Foster. Image courtesy of the American Art Museum.

Saturday, May 23: One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure: Planetarium Show

This story time and planetarium show double-header is epecially geared to the Smithsonian’s youngest visitors. In “One World, One Sky”, Big Bird and Elmo and Hu Hu Zhu (a character from the short-lived Chinese incarnation of Sesame Street) travel from Sesame Street to the moon and explore the night sky. (And for those of you unfamiliar with ATM’s ongoing affair with the Muppets, check out Joseph Caputo’s interview with Elmo here and our ill-fated attempt at Muppet impersonations here.) Free. Air and Space Museum, 11:00 AM

Sunday, May 24: On the Water 3-Day Opening Celebration

Commemorate the grand opening of the American History Museum’s exhibit On the Water: Stories from Maritime America by attending this three-day festival (it officially began on May 23). Come learn about life on the waterways and how maritime trade shaped our nation. Celebration continues through Monday, May 25. Free. American History Museum, 11:00 AM-4:00 PM.

Monday, May 25: The Smithsonian is Open on Memorial Day!

That’s right—the Smithsonian museums are open on Memorial Day! Come enjoy the sights that make the National Mall such an awesome tourist destination. I heartily encourage you to make a point of visiting the war memorials, from the all-but-forgotten WWI memorial to the Vietnam War memorial. No, they’re not part of the Smithsonian (the memorials are National Parks territory) but one ought to take a few moments to think about all the men and women who have served this country. While the Smithsonian doesn’t have any special Memorial Day-themed events happening today, go to goSmithsonian to get the lowdown on all the museums and plan your day.

The cast of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian visited the Smithsonian Castle and the Haupt Garden on May 15, 2009. Photograph by Ken Rahaim/SI

It’s finally here folks! Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian opens nationwide and Smithsonian.com is happy to serve as your hub for all things related to the movie. Here’s what we have to offer:

The June issue of Smithsonian has an exclusive Night at the Museum package and includes Q&A’s with Director Shawn Levy and Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams as well as an insider’s look on the Smithsonian Institution’s relationship with Hollywood.

On the Around the Mall Blog, we’ve got red carpet coverage of the world premiere of the film where we were able to ask the stars a question or two about their experiences. We also take an up close look at the Pile of Loot prop, currently on display at the Castle.

Smithsonian Journeys is offering a Night at the Museum-themed weekend in Washington DC where you get to experience the sights and sounds that inspired the movie. (This trip is offered only for the weekend of July 24-26.)

Planning a trip to the Mall on your own steam? Then goSmithsonian’s Night at the Museum guidebook is indispensable. Available both online and at all the Smithsonian museums’ information desks, goSmithsonian provides you with a treasure map to hunt down all the artifacts that inspired the movie, gives you the lowdown on the liberties that Hollywood took with history, and offers a backstage look at what went into the making of the film.

So what’re you waiting for? See the flick and then come on out to the National Mall and see what all the fuss is about!