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Helmet worn by Peter L. Robinson in World War I

The Civil War, which left virtually no community in the country untouched, also changed the way Americans grieved for those who died in battle. At the end of the war, mourners in both northern and southern states began decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flags and flowers. Seeking to unite the local practices into a national observance, General John A. Logan, leader of the Union Army’s veterans’ association, officially proclaimed Decoration Day on May 5, 1868. The holiday was first observed on May 30 of that same year, with a large ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, across the river from Washington, D.C.

Honoring the soldiers who died fighting in the Civil War, the holiday was recognized by all of the northern states by 1890. But many southern states, however, refused to acknowledge the holiday.

Despite this, Decoration Day continued to grow, and by the end of the 19th century it had been renamed Memorial Day. It wasn’t until after World War I, when the holiday was expanded to honor all Americans who died in battle, and at last recognized by most states. Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1971 and is now celebrated on the fourth Monday in May.

Currently on display at the National Museum of American History is the exhibition “The Price of Freedom: American at War,” which displays a number of artifacts from American armed conflicts. With the help of Jennifer Jones, chair and curator of the Armed Forces History Division at the musem , we’ve selected a few that are not to be missed.

Tricorn Hat— During the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), militia troops did not have uniforms, instead, they wore their civilian clothes into battle. This black felt tricorn hat was worn by Colonel Jonathan Pettibone, a member of the 18th Regiment, Connecticut Militia. When Col. Pettibone was killed in battle, the hat was worn by his son, Jonathan Pettibone, Jr.

Battlefield Relics— General Winfield S. Hancock, an 1844 graduate of West Point and a veteran of the Mexican-American War, was considered one of the best commanders in the Union army. When John F. Reynolds died in an early battle at Gettysburg, Hancock was selected to take over that wing of the army. His leadership and tactical skill in battle made him a formidable opponent. These battlefield relics in a wooden frame were presented to him at Gettysburg in 1885. Hancock would later be chosen as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880, when he was narrowly defeated by James Garfield.

Christian Fleetwood’s Medal of Honor— Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood was a free man of color born in Baltimore, Md. Educated at the Ashmun Institute (later Lincoln University) in Oxford, PA, Fleetwood also traveled to Liberia as a young man. When the Civil War disrupted trade with the country, he enlisted into the 4th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry of the Union Army. In 1864, during the battle at Chaffin’s Farm, the 22-year-old Fleetwood carried the American flag through battle after two other color bearers had been shot down. For this act of bravery, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Cher Ami— During World War I (1917-1918), 600 birds were owned and flown by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in France. One of those birds was Cher Ami, a Black Check cock carrier pigeon, who delivered 12 important messages during his service. Cher Ami was shot and injured during his last mission, but still managed to return carrying an important message about isolated troops needing relief and help. Cher Ami was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre” for his heroic service and returned to the U.S. where he died in Fort Monmouth, NJ in 1919 as a result of his wounds.

Gold Star Pin— The Women’s Committee of National Defenses recommended to President Woodrow Wilson that American women wear a black arm band adorned with a gold star in lieu of traditional mourning attire. In May 1918, Wilson agreed and coined the term “Gold Star Mother,” in a letter to the committee. The American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is a nonpolitical, nondenominational nonprofit organization open to all mothers of fallen soldiers “as well as those who have a service-related death.” The “Gold Star” pin honors their loss, however; the actual Gold Star Pins are awarded by the Department of Defense to relatives of the deceased, not just mothers.

Remember Pearl Harbor Lapel Pin— After the military base of Pearl Harbor was bombed on December 7, 1941, Americans mobilized in support of World War II (1941-1945) with the patriotic cry, “Remember Pearl Harbor.” Thousands of buttons and pins were printed and distributed to both remind and rally Americans behind the war effort.

POW Bracelets— In 1970, Carol Bates Brown and Kay Hunter were two college students looking for a way to support U.S. troops fighting in the Vietnam War (1956-1975), when they came up with the idea for POW bracelets. Worn to honor and increase awareness about Prisoners of War and soldiers who are Missing in Action, the bracelets were traditionally worn until the POW returned to the U.S., whereupon the bracelet was presented to the former prisoner. Since 1970, millions of bracelets have been distributed nationwide.

At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, curators there shared with us a few patriotic artifacts they have already acquired— a sneak peak at what visitors can expect when the museum opens on the Mall in 2015.

Early American Powder Horn— Prince Simbo, a former slave and resident of Glastonbury, Connecticut, used this horn during the Revolutionary War (1775-1783), during which he served as a private in the Seventh Regiment, Connecticut.

Binoculars & Helmet used by Peter L. Robinson, Sr.—First Lieutenant Peter L. Robinson served in the U.S. Army during World War I (1917-1918). After his service, he graduated from law school and went on to teach military science at Armstrong High School in Washington, D.C.

Tuskegee Airmen Congressional Gold Medal— This medal was awarded to the famous aviators by President Bush on March 29, 2007. At the ceremony, the president said, “”These men in our presence felt a special sense of urgency. They were fighting two wars. One was in Europe and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens.”

An adorable elephant shrew. Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy/National Zoo

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo recently welcomed a short-eared elephant shrew to its Small Mammal House. The adult critter, which came from the Philadelphia Zoo, weighs only 1.5 ounces or so and has a little snout reminiscent of an elephant’s trunk. The likeness does not end there though. In fact, the 17 living species of elephant shrew are more closely related to elephants than shrews. Who knew? I recently caught up with Bob King over email, the Zoo’s curator of small mammals and the Kids’ Farm, to learn more about this particular shrew.

How long has it been since the National Zoo had a short-eared elephant shrew?

The last ones that we had were back in 2001.

What makes it an important addition to the Small Mammal House?

It adds to its diversity. Someone recently remarked that it looked like this shrew was created by Disney, and I think that its uniqueness helps to captivate our visitors. By providing a close peek at such a neat, and yet unusual animal, we hope to enthrall our guests and create the awe and wonder that is representative of our natural world. All of our exhibits within the Small Mammal House are glass down to the floor level. We love the fact that it allows our youngest visitors the opportunity to get close to such new and exciting animals at their level. We are all about making connections to the natural world, and these little shrews (sengis, actually!) are well suited as ambassadors to their wild brethren.

What do you mind most interesting about this species?

It is pretty neat to watch them use their snout—an elongated appendage best compared to an elephant’s trunk. These noses are always on the move alternating between foraging, smelling and probing as they move around their exhibit. In many ways, their world is defined through their nose, and it is fun to watch it move in exploration.

What goes into caring for this shrew?

Like most of the animal care at the National Zoo, it takes a high degree of professionalism from the entire team to ensure their care. It starts with our dedicated keepers that spend their days working directly with these animals. Our staff researches the natural history of their charges to provide suitable habitat as well as to best develop enrichment plans designed to encourage natural behaviors. These keepers are also the ones that get to know each individual animal the best. They monitor their animals so closely that they are often the first to notice subtle behavior changes that are often indicative of a medical concern. Backing up the keepers are the superb folks from Nutrition, Animal Health, Integrated Pest Management, Horticulture and even Pathology (among others). Everyone within the Zoo has a role to play to ensure our animals receive the best care, nutrition, medical care and enrichment. Not only do they provide excellent habitats for the animals, but they present these exhibits in such a way that it can create a positive, teaching moment for our visitors.

The short-eared elephant shrew is an active animal that can move relatively quickly and can jump much higher than you might expect. With this in mind, the keepers must take care to minimize escape opportunities when entering the enclosure as well as be aware of the animal when moving about. Another challenge is to provide adequate areas for the animal to hide (a normal behavior for a small mammal), while also providing natural encouragements for him to stay visible to the public. Even the neatest of animals have little benefit to the public when they are out of sight. With careful exhibit development, coupled with a good knowledge of natural behaviors, our staff can provide excellent housing that provides for the needs of the animal, while also providing visibility to the public. Sometimes the guest may have to search around for the animal, but it is in that search that they can sometimes better appreciate what they are seeking.

Pictures of children were used in these 19th-century advertising cards. Photo courtesy of the American History Museum.

Today, we receive and share visual information in many  ways— digital cameras, cell phone cameras, Flip Cams, online photo sharing site likes Flickr and Snapfish, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook—but how did it all start?

In the last half of the 19th century,  the United States experienced what has been described as an “explosion of media,” says Helena E. Wright, curator of graphic arts at the American History Museum. “Improvements in printing and publishing led to the proliferation of pictures that became affordable for everyone—and very desirable.”  The result of this media explosion is the subject of a small display at the museum called “Pictures for Everyone.”

The display showcases both how images were used—illustrated newspapers, sheet music covers, posters, trade cards and scrapbooks—as well as how they helped pierce social and physical barriers of language (there is a German-language edition of the magazine Puck on one panel), class (mass-media formats like advertising were available to anyone) and race (the display includes a quote from the abolitionist Frederick Douglass about pictures being a luxury of free men).

In addition to the pictures, there is also a case that includes objects used in the production of images including: a stereograph viewer and stereographs, a framed chromolithograph, a relief plate for printing sheet music and an early Kodak camera with snapshots. “The 1888 Kodak camera is at the heart of all the cameras that every tourist passing the case possesses,” says Shannon Perich, curator of the museum’s photographic history collection, reflecting on her favorite piece in the display. “This camera represents the shift from buying pictures to having a broader capacity to make their own; to be able to record, and depict the world as they saw, defined and experienced it.”

As pictures became more widely available, they were used and shared in a variety of ways, Wright says, much as the evolution of technology allows people to do today.

Take a look back at “Pictures for Everyone,” currently on display at the National Museum of American History. The museum is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM (except December 25). See the website for extended visiting hours.

In September 2005, members of the VISIONS 05 expedition crew were studying the volcanic activity of the Juan de Fuca Ridge 200 miles off of the Oregon coast when they came across a white deep-sea octopus, Grimpoteuthis bathynectes, at a depth of 6,600 feet. They captured high-definition video footage of the octopus—one of the first high-definition videos of this species—which, complemented by beautiful music, makes for a spectacular video. The video made a debut appearance recently on the Smithsonian Ocean Portal. At the end of the video, the text states that “little is known about the deep-sea octopods,” so the ATM blog team got a little curious and sought out zoologist Michael Vecchione, director of the NMFS National Systematics Laboratory and renowned cephalopod expert, who helped to shed some light on this mysterious deep-sea creature. Here is what we’ve learned:

1.  Taxonomy: Dumbo octopuses are a group of deep-sea octopods. Vecchione estimates there are a few dozen species.

2. Appearance: They are different from the octopuses that most people recognize. Dumbos have fins on the sides of their bodies. Instead of jetting around and squirting water out of their funnels, they swim by flapping the fins and sometimes by pulsing their arms, which are webbed. They also have two little finger-like projections on their arms, in between the two suckers, called cirri. While scientists aren’t sure how the projections are used (for instance, whether or not they are sensory), they do know that they are associated with eating.

3. Behavior: Some Dumbo octopuses spend most of their time swimming around and others spend more time on the bottom of the ocean floor, flattened out. The one in the video does both. Dumbo octopuses are some of the largest invertebrates of the really deep sea.

4 . Location: They are usually found anywhere from 1,000 meters to about 5,00o meters below the surface. “People don’t normally explore those kinds of depths, so we don’t know a whole lot about what lives down there,” Vecchione says. While this octopus was found in an area with hydrothermal vent fields, there is no evidence that the animals are restricted to those kinds of areas.

5.  The name: Submarine pilots gave the octopuses their nickname because their fins resemble the ears of the cartoon character “Dumbo, the Flying Elephant.”

Vecchione has seen many videos of Dumbo octopuses, including this one shortly after it was recorded. The quality of the video is what makes it stand out, he says. “It was nice video,” he says, “it was nothing Earth-shattering, but it’s a very nice video of a Grimpoteuthis.”

Nothing special for a octopus-man, but we thought it was pretty cool. Take a look.

Film still courtesy of Macgillivray Freeman Films

Monday, May 23

Grand Canyon 3D: River at Risk

Take a virtual white water raft ride through the Grand Canyon in this exhilarating new 3D IMAX adventure. Experience the beauty of the Canyon while learning about the future of the Colorado River. Tickets are $6.50 members, $9 adults, $8 seniors and $7.50 children ages 2 to 12. Purchase tickets online or toll-free 866-868-7774. Natural History Museum

Tuesday, May 24 Memoirs of an Aviator

Rear Adm. Edward “Whitey” Feightner will deliver this year’s Charles A. Lindbergh memorial lecture entitled “Memoirs from an Aviator’s Notebook.” Feightner is a WWII ace who flew F4F Wildcats and F6F Hellcats. At the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland, he test flew the cantankerous F7U Cutlass. Among his command positions, Feightner also directed the design of such future naval aircraft as the F-14 and Navy Strike Fighter and implemented fundamental changes for all naval aviation forces before retiring in 1974 after 33 years in the Navy. Free, but tickets are required.  Request tickets or call 202-633-2398. 8:00 PM lecture will be preceded by a  6:15 PM showing of the documentary Speed and Angels. Air & Space Museum

Wednesday, May 25 Across the Miles

Late last year, we wrote, “In 1930, Lorenzo Dow Turner, an English professor-turned linguist, began studying a language spoken by former slaves along the east coast of South Carolina. Words spoken there, like gambo, tabi and jiga, would reveal a complex web of linguistic and cultural convergences between the Gullah people and the African countries, former homelands to the 645,000 enslaved Africans transported to the United States between the 16th and 19th centuries.” The film The Language You Cry In bridges hundreds of years and thousands of miles between the Gullah people of present-day Georgia and the people of 18th-century Sierra Leone. Meet Mary Moran, a Georgia woman who still remembers the words to a Mende funeral song that her mother, one of Turner’s original interviewees, had taught her. 10:30 AM. Free, but reservations requested. Anacostia Community Museum. The exhibition, Word, Shout, Song: Lorenzo Dow Turner Connecting Communities through Language is on view through July 24th.

Thursday, May 26 Bird Watching is For Everyone

Ornithologist and author John C. Robinson has introduced thousands of people to birds and birdwatching. Robinson will discuss his mission to give all people a reason to protect the environment and offers new solutions for changing the face of conservation through birding. Free. 7:00 to 8:00 PM. National Zoo

Friday, May 27 Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life

Last chance to see the more than 60 artifacts from the unparalleled Abraham Lincoln collections at the National Museum of American History before it closes on May 30. See the top hat Lincoln wore to Ford’s Theater the night that he was assassinated, his gold pocket watch, a patent model of his own invention, as well as a black broadcloth suit, a coat, vest and trousers that Lincoln wore during his presidency. Exhibition photos are also online. Special tours daily at 2:00 PM. The museum will be open until 7:30 PM today and Saturday. American History Museum

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