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Baby cheetah being weighed at the SCBI facility in Virginia. Photo credit: Adrienne Crosier, Smithsonian's National Zoo

The National Zoo has had a banner year for babies this year. Beginning with the birth of Andean bear cubs in January, we also saw the birth of strawberry tree frogs, kiwis, clouded leopards, a snake-necked turtle, white naped cranes, red pandas (who tragically died weeks later), veiled chameleons, an acouchi, red billed hornbills, Temminck’s tragopans, onagers, ferrets, an anteater, and of course, lion cubs (and we sadly lost one cub earlier this spring.) And that’s not including our almost pregnant panda Mei Xiang.

So it is fitting that in the closing month of the year, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute out in Front Royal was graced with more to add to the list: two cheetah cubs. Amari, a 5-year-old cheetah, gave birth to one cub on December 6 and 9-year-old Zazi gave birth to another 10 days later. According to the Zoo, cheetahs that give birth to a litter of one cannot provide enough milk to keep the single cub alive. In an innovative maneuver, the biologists hand-raised Amari’s cub until Zazi gave birth, and the litter of two cubs should be able to nurse from her.

The latest arrivals bring the total number of cheetahs under the Zoo’s care (split between the Zoo and SCBI) to 13. While these as-of-yet unnamed cubs will stay at SCBI for close observation and care (cheetahs born in human care have a 20 percent mortality rate, as opposed to 70 percent in the wild in east Africa), check out these adorable photos of them and stay tuned to this space in 2011 for what will hopefully be many more zooborn announcements.

The National Zoo's anteater, Maripi, gave birth to a baby anteater early this month. Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo

Air and Space Lions—Understandably, folks over at the AirSpace blog have been feeling a bit envious of all the attention the National Zoo has been getting on account of their seven new lion cubs (ATM has covered their birth, swim tests, physical exams and outdoor exploration in recent months). To show that the Air and Space Museum can be cute too, they’ve unearthed a series of lion photos from the Air and Space archives. The photos are mostly of pilot Roscoe Turner and his partner in flight, Gilmore the lion. In 1930, Turner was flying for the Gilmore Oil Company, whose mascot was a lion head; Turner decided to fly with a real lion to show some spirit. The post features pictures of Turner with Gilmore the lion as a tiny cub, but also as a full-grown lion.

Rockwell Closing—The American Art Museum’s Norman Rockwell exhibit, “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell From the Collections of Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas,” is closing on January 2. One group of stories that the exhibit leaves largely untouched is that of the many people who posed for Rockwell, mostly from Arlington, Vermont, where the artist grew up. Last summer, there was a Rockwell model reunion in Arlington, where 80 former Rockwell models came together to reminisce. Eye Level has a few anecdotes from some of the participants.

New Anteater Born at the National Zoo! As if lion cubs weren’t enough, earlier in December the National Zoo’s giant anteater, Maripi, gave birth to a male pup. This was Maripi’s third child in the past three years (her other pups are now at zoos in France and Nashville, Tennessee). Initially, the pup had low body temperature, causing concern among the keepers, but after weeks of monitoring both the pup and his mother in the hospital, they have moved them back into their exhibit. They report that both seem healthy and Maripi is taking good care of her offspring.

Race to the Museum—There are 73 cars in the American History Museum’s automobile collection, but only 14 are actually on display. Vote for your favorite of eight cars on O Say Can You See by January 12, and the two most popular cars will be put on exhibit from January 22 through February 21. The options include a 1997 electric car, a General Motors solar-powered car from 1987 and an Oldsmobile “runabout” from way back in 1903, to name a few.

William Steinway's 2,500-page diary spans 36 years. Courtesy of the American History Museum

The newest exhibit in the American History Museum’s Albert H. Small Documents gallery has been a long time coming. The germ of the idea began in 1967 1966 when Cynthia Adams Hoover, then a young curator at the American History Museum, first visited the Steinway family in New York in search of material for an exhibit on American music. Founded in 1853 by German immigrants Henry Engelhard Steinway and his three sons, Charles, Henry and William, Steinway & Sons famously manufactured pianos that are widely used today in popular and classical music.

On that 1966 visit, a diary kept by William Steinway caught Hoover’s eye. The entries documented a period from 1861, three days before Steinway’s marriage, to around the turn of the 19th century. Hoover found the 2,500-page diary to be a rich chronicle of 19th century America, with commentary on events occurring before the Civil War to urban development to the immigrant experience, all through the lens of a prominent New York businessman. Hoover persuaded the Steinways to let her use the diary for research. More than 40 years later and after more than 25,000 hours of research by one hundred different volunteers, parts of the diary are now on display in an the exhibit “A Gateway to the 19th Century: The William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896.”

“We just started [transcribing the diary], and we didn’t have a real strong path, we just wanted to make it available to people,” said Hoover at the exhibit opening. Although the American History museum didn’t officially acquire the diary until 1996, co-editor Edwin M. Good was able to start transcribing it in the 1980s. In recent years, the project has benefited from the help of retired economists, physicians and others who have taken charge of researching passages in the diary that pertained to their respective fields.

“This is very much a classic German-American immigrant story, but also the story of a young man who is a witness to history,” says Anna Karvellas, managing editor of the project. The exhibit delves into the Steinway business, the New York City draft riots that nearly destroyed the Steinway factories, German singing societies that Steinway participated in, the Rapid Transit Commission that he pioneered, and his role in developing Astoria, Queens, where the Steinway factories were located.

“When we started in the 80′s, we were thinking books. But no publisher that we talked to wanted to do it. They would do one volume [of the diary], but that was it,” said Hoover. But with the advent of the vast resources of the Internet, Hoover decided to make the diary available as an online resource. Now, with the opening of the exhibit, the project team—including Hoover, Karvellas, Good and project coordinator Dena Adams—has put the entire diary online, complete with a full transcription and some sample annotations for the entries. (The project is ongoing and pending funding, plans are to add more than 30,000 interlinked annotations in the coming years.) The online diary is searchable by topic or keyword, so anyone who wants to can learn about the life of this 19th century New York entrepreneur.

“A Gateway to the 19th Century: The William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896″ will be on display in the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery of the American History Museum through April 8, 2011.

Updated 1/6/2011: This post includes new information about the future plans of the diary project.

33c Kwanzaa single (1999). Image courtesy of the Postal Museum.

Monday, December 27: ZooLights

ZooLights, the National Zoo’s festive electric light display, is back once again—and this year it’s absolutely free! For children of all ages, a menagerie of LED light sculptures modeled after critters at the Zoo will be on display. Tickets are NOT required. ZooLights occurs every night this week through Sunday except December 31 (Of course, if the Zoo has to close due to bad, wintry weather, then ZooLights will be canceled.) National Zoo, 6-8:30 PM.

You can also ramp up your fun by participating in a scavenger hunt while you’re touring the light show—all you need is a cell or smart phone. Text “ZooLights” to 728647 OR download the SCVNGR app on your iPhone or Android, click on “Treks,” and select the “Conservation Carol” Trek to start your journey. The more challenges you complete, the more points you will earn. By playing you will have a chance to win an exclusive VIP tour, including a visit with the keeper of your favorite animal. Ten runner-ups get ZooLights t-shirts. This SCVNGR hunt is playable through December 30.

Tuesday, December 28: The Family Kwanzaa Adventure

Families are invited to come celebrate Kwanzaa with Saleem and Ivy Hylton of Youth and Families in Crisis with interactive drumming, singing, dancing, and skits, designed to explore the principles of Kwanzaa. The program closes with the “Circle of Hope and Healing,” an original Kwanzaa group activity designed to restore and renew the hopes and dreams of families for the New Year. Free. Anacostia Museum, 10:30 AM.

Wednesday, December 29: The Crocheter Is In: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Meet one of the contributors to The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef! Stationed within the exhibition, volunteers crochet specimens while teaching visitors about the art, science, and mathematics behind the exhibit. Today’s program is presented by Linda Mierke. Free. Natural History Museum, 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. This event repeats on Thursday, December 30 at the same time and location.

Thursday, December 30: Kwanzaa: Nia (Purpose)

Melvin Deal and the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers conduct a Kwanzaa hands-on workshop that includes the making of tambor instruments, drumming, and dancing. The workshop features a special performance in celebration of the fifth Kwanzaa principle Nia(Purpose). Free. Anacostia Museum, 10:30 AM.

Friday, December 31: Book Signing

Robert F. Door will be available to autograph his book Hell Hawks!: The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Free. Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, 12 Noon-4 PM.

For updates on all exhibitions and events, visit our companion site goSmithsonian.com

The Smithsonian castle’s Christmas tree has a circle of poinsettias below it for more holiday good cheer. Photo by Eric Long

The halls are decked in red and green, and there’s a winter chill in the air. The folks at the Smithsonian Gardens have taken great pains to decorate the Smithsonian Institution for the holidays. They have grown thousands of poinsettias and wrapped a green garland up the wrought iron gates to the Castle. In almost every museum, there’s at least a hint of holiday cheer.

So what exactly can you expect to see if you’re out and about around the Smithsonian over the next couple weeks? Although the biggest attraction might be the new lion cubs on exhibit at the National Zoo, you may want to admire some of the trimmings adorning the museum halls. The Natural History Museum may take the cake this year, with four holiday trees, decorated with museum-appropriate ornaments, including crocheted coral and tropical fish to go along with the “Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef” exhibit. ”Typically, the decorations tie into natural history,” says horticulturist Monty Holmes of the Smithsonian Gardens. One of Natural History’s other trees has miniature owls and berries as decorations.

The Smithsonian Castle, in contrast, has gone the classic route, with a giant, glittering tree full of red, silver and gold ornaments (watch a team of Smithsonian horticulturists decorate the tree in fast motion below).

While it may be a bit too cold out to go see all these decorations yourself, we’ve compiled a gallery of festive photos taken by Smithsonian photographer Eric Long, so you can stay warm and cozy inside. From all of us here at ATM, we wish you a very happy holiday!