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The Garrison Dam, whose construction displaced the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in the 1950s. See a documentary on the dam’s effects on American Indians on Saturday.

Friday, March 22: Professor Wingnut Wants to Fly

Actor and educator Oran Sandel has a whole philosophy about the importance of playing with children, but his stage performances are all about making learning fun. Today, he teams up with puppeteer Dan Mori to make the duo Professor Wingnut and Seymour Seagull, an eccentric pair that teaches kids about the science of flight through song and dance. $8 adults, $6 children, $5 adult and child members, $3 children under 2. 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 12:15 a.m. Air and Space Museum.

Saturday, March 23: Waterbuster

The construction of North Dakota’s Garrison Dam in the 1950s submerged 156,000 acres of fertile land and displaced the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Filmmaker J. Carlos Peinado, a descendent of relocated tribes, revisits his ancestral homeland in Waterbuster (2006) to study the dam’s history and the effects of the government’s relocation policies on sovereign American Indian nations. Check out a short trailer for the film here. Free. 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. American Indian Museum.

Sunday, March 24: Luce Unplugged, with Kindlewood

Kindlewood is a Washington, DC-based trio that plays what its members call “dream folk-rock.” Don’t worry about labels, though — just listen to the music! The band’s gorgeous vocals and lush instrumentations will fill the Luce Foundation Center this afternoon following an art talk on a piece selected by the group. Free. 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. American Art Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Nam June Paik’s “Electronic Superhighway” (he coined the phrase). See a curated selection of short films by the video artists on Wednesday at the American Art Museum. Photo by ekai courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Tuesday, March 19: Verbal Gymnastics

Poet, playwright and Verbal Gymnastics founder John Johnson is in the house this morning to help you unlock your inner poet. In line with his mission to use the arts to tackle troubling social issues, Johnson will show participants how to use their personal observations of and experiences in their communities to create original verse. Free. 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Wednesday, March 20: The Films of Nam June Paik

Nam June Paik (1932-2006) was an avant garde musician, installation artist and the world’s first video artist. The American Art Museum opened a retrospective of his career earlier this year (see some of his work at his website), and this evening curators at the museum will introduce a series of short films and video works by the multi-media pioneer. Free. 6:30 p.m. American Art Museum.

Thursday, March 21: Wahzhazhe: An Osage Ballet

The history of the Osage people comes alive this afternoon through a unique medium–ballet. The performance features the traditional dance, music and design of the Oklahoma-area Native people, and shows the triumphs and tragedies of their complex history, from their relocation from their homeland on the Osage River to the discovery of oil on their reservation to their lives today. Free. Daily at 3 p.m. through March 23. American Indian Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Chahārshanbe-Sūri, Iran’s Festival of Fire, falls on the Wednesday before the Persian New Year. Join in celebrating Iran’s unique New Year traditions this Saturday at the Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Friday, March 15: Movie Night!

Tired of $10 movie tickets? Smithsonian has three free films on tap tonight. Rebels with a Cause (2012, 72 min, USA, directed/produced by Nancy Kelly and Kenji Yamamoto; trailer here) tells the story of pioneer environmental activists who saved California’s coastline from suburban development in the 1950s. Market Imaginary (2012, 54 min, USA, directed by Joanna Grabski; trailer here) investigates Dakar’s Colobane Market, a major market in the West African city that is deeply embedded in the local economy and culture. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002, 129 min, Korea, directed by Park Chan-wook, Korean with English subtitles; trailer here), follows a hearing-impaired factory worker who turns to an illegal organ-trafficking ring to get a new kidney for his dying sister, then goes on a quest for vengeance when he is cheated. All films free. In respective order: 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Anacostia Community Museum, African Art Museum and Freer Gallery.

Saturday, March 16: Persian New Year Celebration

When Americans celebrate their new year, they watch a ball drop. Persians jump over fire. Chahārshanbe-Sūri, the Festival of Fire, preludes Nowrūz, the Persian New Year, which welcomes the beginning of spring. Today, learn about Iran’s exciting new year traditions while enjoying Persian songs, dances, games and food. You can even practice some (fake) fire jumping of your own! Fun for the whole family. Free. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Sunday, March 17: Hok-Noth-Da Story Time for Families

Hok-Noth-Da–Did you hear? People often remember stories their parents told them for their entire lives. Because they make such an impression, stories are ways for families and cultures to pass down important lessons for generations. Today, a Native museum staff member passes down lessons from different Native communities throughout the Western Hemisphere by reading children’s stories by or about Native people. Open to children ages 4 to 8. Free. 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. American Indian Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Smithsonian in snow, circa 1977. Photo by Smithsonian Institution

Looking for something to do today, while the snowy weather conditions persist? The Smithsonian museums will be open for business today. But the National Zoo will be closed Wednesday, March 6, 2013.

Plan your visit, using our convenient Tours app, a free download is available here.

Jazz artist Michael “Bags” Davis pays tribute to trumpet legend Kenny Dorham (above, performing in Toronto in 1954) at Thursday night’s Take Five! jazz performance at the American Art Museum. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tuesday, February 19: Voices of Native Youth

See life through the eyes of a young person in an indigenous community today in movie clips from the Native Youth Film and Video Festival. Open to submissions from American Indians, Alaskan and Hawaiian natives and members of Canadian First Nations under the age of 24, the festival selects numerous 10-minute films to be screened at the Santa Fe Indian Market in the summer. Last year’s chosen clips recently made their way to Smithsonian, where they are running until the end of the month. Free. 12:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. daily in February. American Indian Museum.

Wednesday, February 20: The Artist

The Artist is the most awarded French film in history. Shot in the style of a black and white silent film (check out its trailer), it depicts a romance between a fading silent film star and a rising actress from 1927 to 1932, when silent film was rapidly being replaced by sound film, a.k.a. “the talkies.” The American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are showing the movie in their shared Kogod courtyard, which is an ideal place to escape a dull February Wednesday and slip into a romantic past. Be sure to bring along your Valentine from last week. Free. 7 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery.

Thursday, February 21: Take Five! Mike “Bags” Davis: Kenny Dorham

Trumpet rock star Michael Davis takes the stage tonight to perform the music of Kenny Dorham, one of jazz’s most influential trumpeters in the mid-19th century. Dorham made his mark playing bebop and hard bop, and composed the jazz standard “Blue Bossa.” Listen to a sample of Dorham’s genius here, and see Davis’s chops on display here. The performance is part of Smithsonian’s Take Five! program, a series of free jazz concerts every Thursday. Free. 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. American Art Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.