Celebrate Arbor Day by planting a tree at the Anacostia Community Museum on Friday. Photo by Horia Varian courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons

Friday, April 26: Arbor Day at the Anacostia Community Museum

Happy Arbor Day! This annual holiday, started by Sterling Morton in 1871, is all about caring for and planting trees. The Anacostia Community Museum is celebrating the occasion with a day-long series of plantings, workshops and hands-on activities for all ages. Learn about the holiday’s history, craft some stick dolls and help save the environment. Free. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Saturday, April 27: My Collection is My Passion

Like collecting things? So do the five panelists in a discussion at Smithsonian’s Craft Show this afternoon—they’re so enthusiastic about collecting, in fact, that they turn the hobby into an art. As collectors of glass, wood, ceramics and other fine crafts, they will talk about the challenges and pleasures of acquiring the objects of their passions. Free. 3 p.m. National Building Museum.

Sunday, April 28: Axelrod String Quartet

The Axelrod String Quartet is back at the American History Museum this evening for the finale of its three-part concert series, which has featured the quartets of Haydn’s Op. 71. Tonight is Op. 71 No. 3, a colorful and energetic piece you can preview here. One hour prior to the show, Kenneth Slowik, SCMS artistic director and recipient of the 2011 Smithsonian Secretary’s Distinguished Research Lecture Award, will give a lecture on Haydn’s music, life and times. $31 general admission, $25 member, $23 senior member (tickets here). 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert lecture. American History 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.

A Native doll by Juanita and Jess Rae Growing Thunder. Three women from three different generations of the Growing Thunder family are at the American Indian Museum on Friday to discuss their work and people. Photo courtesy of the American Indian Museum

Friday, April 19: Native Artists: Doll Makers

Far more than toys, Native dolls embody the traditions, beliefs and rich cultural heritage of their Native makers. This weekend, a three-generation family of craftswomen, Joyce, Juniata and Jess Rae Growing Thunder, will discuss their art and share the stories of their Assiniboine-Sioux people. Their figures, which are made of buffalo hair, hide, porcupine quills and shells, are currently on display in “Grand Procession: Dolls from the Charles and Valerie Diker Collection” Free. 11 a.m. to 1 am and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (repeats Saturday). American Indian Museum.

Saturday, April 20: Time and Navigation Family Day

Sea captains once relied on chronometers to calculate where they were. Today, we use satellites, and anyone can tap the Global Positioning System’s satellite-borne clocks with their cell phone to figure out exactly where he or she is or how to get somewhere. “Time and Navigation: the Untold Story of Getting from Here to There,” a new exhibit at the Air and Space Museum, traces how revolutions in timekeeping over the past three centuries have helped us find our way. Head over to the museum today for a family day that celebrates the exhibit’s opening. Free. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Air and Space Museum.

Sunday, April 21: Juvenile Offender

In director Kang Yik-wan’s award-winning Juvenile Offender (2012, Korean with English subtitles), a troubled 16-year-old (played by the youngest person ever to win the Tokyo International Film Festival’s Best Actor award) winds up in a juvenile detention facility, where he is contacted by the mother who gave him up for adoption when he was born. The film is about the pair’s attempt together to pick up the pieces of their broken lives. If the trailer is any indication, you’ll want to make sure you bring some tissues. Free. 2:30 p.m.  Freer Gallery.

Monday, April 22: Reclaiming the Edge on Earth Day

What can we do to help the environment? How do we cut down on emissions, promote ecology and leave smaller carbon footprints? In celebration of Earth Day today, the Anacostia Community Museum is telling stories, running hands on-exhibits, giving river tours, planting trees and holding recycling demonstrations to teach us how to be better stewards of our planet. Free. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anacostia Community 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.

Secretary G. Wayne Clough testified before Congress today about the effects of sequestration on the institution. Photo by Ken Rahalm, courtesy of the Smithsonian

On April 16, Smithsonian Institution Secretary G. Wayne Clough testified before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about the impending effects of sequestration. Though the Obama administration had sought a $59 million budget increase for the Institution in fiscal 2014, this year Clough has to contend with a $41 million budget reduction due to sequestration. Gallery closings, fewer exhibitions, reduced educational offerings, loss of funding for research and cuts to the planning process of the under-construction National Museum of African American History and Culture were listed among the impacts of the sequestration.

Clough began his testimony: “Each year millions of our fellow citizens come to Washington to visit—for free—our great museums and galleries and the National Zoo, all of which are open every day of the year but one. Our visitors come with high aspirations to learn and be inspired by our exhibitions and programs.”

“It is my hope,” Clough told the committee, “that our spring visitors will not notice the impact of the sequestration.” Perhaps most noticeable would be the gallery closures, which, while they would not close entire museums, would restrict access to certain floors or spaces in the museums, unable to pay for sufficient security. Those changes would begin May 1, according to Clough.

Clough warned, however, that while these short-term measures will save in the near future, they might also entail long-term consequences. Unforeseen costs may arise in the form of diminished maintenance capabilities, for example. “Any delays in revitalization or construction projects will certainly result in higher future operating and repair costs,” Clough said.

This also threatens the Institution’s role as steward of thousands of historic and valuable artifacts–”Morse’s telegraph; Edison’s light bulb; the Salk vaccine; the 1865 telescope designed by Maria Mitchell, America’s first woman astronomer who discovered a comet; the Wright Flyer; Amelia Earhart’s plane; Louis Armstrong’s trumpet; the jacket of labor leader Cesar Chavez,” to name a few.

Around the Mall will keep the issue updated and tweet significant closures.

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, a National Historic Landmark, was designed in the 1870s by Calvin T.S. Brent, Washington, DC’s first black architect. Learn more about famous black architects and how they shaped the city in “Master Builders”at the Anacostia Community Museum on Sunday.

Friday, April 5: Japanese Design Weekend

Get a taste of Japan’s rich artistic history this weekend with a three-day celebration of the country’s art and design. Exhibits like , tours and a lecture by acclaimed Japanese printmaker Ayomi Yoshida set the stage for numerous hands-on activities, including Japanese bookbinding and chance to help create an audiovisual Japanese lantern installation with students from Virginia Tech. And bonus: The Tokyo in the City food truck and Mr. Miyagi’s Food Truck will be outside the museums from 11 am–3 pm on Saturday. Free. Through Sunday. Freer and Sackler Galleries.

Saturday, April 6: Poetry Month Family Day

Celebrate today:
National Poetry Month.
Tours and open mics!

That’s our haiku for National Poetry Month, which the National Portrait Gallery kicks off today with poetry workshops, a DC Youth Slam Team performance, tours of  Poetic Likeness: Modern American Poets and a short open mic session for children. Stop by to see if you can be a better poet than we are! Free. 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. National Portrait Gallery.

Sunday, April 7: Master Builders: A Documentary Featuring African American Architects in the Nation’s Capital

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church at 15th and Church streets, Sterling Brown’s house, Rock Creek Baptist Church—many prominent and historical buildings in Washington, DC were built by African-American architects, who helped to shape the city as we know it today. Master Builders, by filmmaker Michelle Jones, tells the untold story of past and present African-American masters’ contributions to the city. A panel discussion will follow the film with Jones, NoMa historian Patsy Fletcher, former dean of Howard University’s School of Architecture Harry G. Robinson III and others. Free. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Anacostia Community 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.

Gerhard Richter (above) is one of the world’s most accomplished living painters. Watch a documentary about him and his creative process at the Hirshhorn Museum this Thursday. Photo c.1970 by Lothar Wolleh, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tuesday, April 2: Sousa on the Rez

John Philip Sousa was a late Romantic era American composer famous for his military and patriotic waltzes—not necessarily the type of music you would expect to hear on a Native American reservation. It turns out, however, that his tuba- and trumpet-heavy marches have been part of many Native American cultures for more than 100 years. “Sousa on the Rez” (2012) is a 30-minute documentary directed by Cathleen O’Connell that explores this little-known Native music scene. Free. 11 a.m. American Indian Museum.

Wednesday, April 3: Creative Workshop with Tamara Thomas

Feel an itch to be a little creative? Local artist Tamara Thomas is on-site today to help museum visitors craft their own unique piece of takeaway art. A range of artistic materials provided—just bring your imagination. Free (reservations required, call 202-633-4844). 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Thursday, April 4: Gerhard Richter Painting

Gerhard Richter is one of the most highly regarded visual artists alive today. The German-based painter, photographer and glass artist, now 81, has had a robust career of producing both photorealistic and abstract works that have defied expectations of style and explored illusionistic space in contemporary art. Gerhard Richter Painting is a 2011 documentary by Corinna Belz that follows the Richter as he prepared for his 2011-12 retrospective. It interweaves scenes of the artist at work, archival footage and interviews with art scholars and the artist’s contemporaries. In the film, Belz says of Richter,   “I think the challenge of working on camera attracted him to [being on film], creating new rules and new situations and then making it look easy and graceful.” See a trailer here. Free. 8 p.m. Hirshhorn 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.

Reusable water bottles, like those above, are good for the environment. Instead of throwing away your disposable plastic bottles, bring them to the Anacostia Community Museum on Wednesday to turn them into art. Photo by Larry Kwan, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Tuesday, March 26: Join the Student Sit-Ins at the Greensboro Lunch Counter

Four black students sat at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960 and helped to change the course of American history. By refusing to leave when the staff declined to serve them, the students inspired “sit-ins” around the South in protest of racial segregation. Today, travel back in time to join the Civil Rights Movement with a historical reenactment of a civil disobedience training session, delivered from a 1960s manual and alongside a section of the lunch counter from the Greensboro, NC store. (Just be sure to return to 2013 before the museum staff kicks you out.) Free. 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on most Tuesdays-Sundays through March 31. American History Museum.

Wednesday, March 27: Water Bottle Art

Save the environment in style! Turn your water bottle(s) into something beautiful today in a water bottle art extravaganza that will help teach the environmental hazard of disposable plastic bottles (here are five reasons plastic water bottles are dangerous). DC-based artist Jay Coleman is on site with markers, paint, colored paper and other art materials for you to decorate your bottles, which he will use to create a work of art. Free, but reservations required (call 202-633-4844). 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Thursday, March 28: Through a Female Lens

See America’s history through the eyes of its women today on a tour highlighting artworks that capture major moments in the nation’s past from female perspectives. Artworks range from colonial portraiture to contemporary works, and reveal how we can understand the past differently when it is framed by people other than the men who wrote America’s history books. Free. 12:30 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.

These two ladies are on their way to the Smithsonian to celebrate woman’s history month. Photo by Percival Bryan, courtesy of the Anacostia Community Museum

Women in jazz, women in science, women in the arts, women were everywhere. Even in the days when women were supposed to just be in the kitchen, they were busy making history. And this month at the Smithsonian, a month-long celebration of those women kicks off with the American History’s exhibit on the 100th anniversary of the Woman Suffrage Parade.

Get the full schedule of films, lectures and events here, but check out these highlights:

LECTURE The Scientist is In

Museum specialist at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ruth Gibbons, discusses deepwater biodiversity surveys of an extinct undersea volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. Volcanos, oceans and deepwater diving, now that’s the life. March 6, Natural History Museum, 1 pm-2 pm.

Jazz star Carmen McRae, courtesy of Wikimedia

PERFORMANCE Rhythm Cafe: The Life and Mastery of Carmen McRae

Good friends with her musical inspiration Billie Holliday, Carme McRae sang one Lady Day song at each performance she gave. Nonetheless, the jazz musician born to Jamaican parents in Harlem carved out her identity with witty interpretations and star-studded collaborations. Mikaela Carlton, of the Howard University Vocal Music Department, will talk about jazz pioneer McRae’s life and achievements and the Carmen McRae Tribute Band will provide the tunes. March 10, Anacostia Community Museum, 2 pm-4 pm. Free, but space is limited, RSVP.

Looks simple enough, but wait until you see through a female lens. Courtesy of the American Art Museum

TOUR America “Through a Female Lens”

A domestic scene of family life may seem a quaint setting for a traditional painting, but there’s more to art than meets the eye. Learn how works, from colonial paintings to contemporary pieces, can be seen through “a female lens” with this tour at the American Art Museum. March 14 and March 21, 12:30 pm.

FILM Rebel: Loreta Velazquez and the Role of Women in the American Civil War

How did a Cuban woman raised in New Orleans become a spy for the Confederate army and even fight at Bull Run? That’s the question behind this documentary that traces the life a woman many believed to be a hoax.  The screening will be followed by a broader discussion of women in the Civil War with director and producer Mari Agui Carter, as well as scholars Virginia Sanchez Korrol, Margaret Vining, and Catherine Clinton. March 28, American History Museum, 6 pm.

ONLINE MATERIALS

If you can’t make it to the Smithsonian, then take advantage of its online resources with guides to the Seneca Falls Convention, women inventors (fitting, since this year’s theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination“), African American female artists and more.

This weekend is the 100th anniversary of the 1913 woman suffrage parade. Join the American History Museum in celebrating Women’s History Month with a family festival on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Friday, March 1: Stoker

Add a little fright to your Friday night with Stoker, a new mystery thriller starring Mia Wasikowska, Dermot Mulroney and Nicole Kidman. In the film, a girl named India (Wasikowska) loses her father in a car accident, after which her uncle (Mulroney) moves in with her emotionally unstable mother and her. His intentions are unclear. If the scary images, dark chase scenes and guns in the trailer are any indication, though, they certainly aren’t good. The film is directed by Park Chan-wook and part of DC’s Korean Film Festival. Free. 7 p.m. Freer Gallery.

Saturday, March 2:  Vote! Women’s History Month Family Festival 

Happy Women’s History Month! To celebrate, Smithsonian is holding a family festival in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the historic suffrage parade. Eight thousand women marched down Washington, DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue in 1913 led by a woman in a white horse and against the jeers of male onlookers to demand the right to vote. Today’s festival includes arts, crafts, singing, oral history interviews and historical figure reenactments to capture the pro-suffrage spirit. Free. 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. American History Museum.

Sunday, March 3:  She’s Not In Your History Book: An Afternoon of Storytelling with Joy Jones

Queen Hatshepsut (1508–1458 BC) is considered one of Egypt’s most successful pharaohs, and one of the earliest (if not the first) powerful and influential women on record. Of course, you may not heard of her, because America has a sad tradition of leaving many exceptional African and African American out of its history books. Washington, DC-based writer and teacher Joy Jones gives many of these women the recognition they deserve by telling their stories this afternoon. Performance poetry included! Free. 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anacostia Community 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.

The Natural History Museum celebrates orchids from Latin America on Saturday in its “Orchids of Latin America Family Day”

Friday, February 22: Recognizing Adaptation in the Early Human Fossil Record

We humans have come a long way from our caveman (or cavewoman) ancestors. We have complex languages, elaborate societies and iPods. But how have we changed physically? Our bodies’ adaptations to our environments have been key in ensuring our survival over all these years. Friday, George Washington University’s Dr. Erin Marie Williams talks about recognizing evidence of adaption in early human fossils. A part of Smithsonian’s HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic series, the discussion encourages audience members to join in the conversation. Free. 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Natural History Museum.

Saturday, February 23: Orchids of Latin America Family Day

Orchids’ exotic beauty is appreciated around the world. One of the two largest families of flowering plants, with around 25,000 accepted species, the flower grows in the most concentrated varieties in the tropics, including Latin America. Smithsonian celebrates Latin America’s orchids today with a family flower extravaganza, including orchid mosaic building, orchid tattoos and face painting. Orchid experts are on site to answer questions and to show off some of the unique plants from their collections. Free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Natural History Museum.

Sunday, February 24: Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance 

Director Amber Edwards offers a trip back to the 1920s today in Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance, a 1-hour documentary about the black writers, musicians, artists and intellectuals who launched a cultural movement that redefined how America viewed African Americans. Seeing the film and joining the discussion that is held afterwards are perfect ways to celebrate Black History Month this weekend. Free. 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anacostia Community 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.

The sister-in-law of a Chinese farm owner in Zambia. China’s growing presence in Africa is documented in the 2010 film “When China Met Africa,” showing on Wednesday at the Freer Gallery. Photo © Marc Francis.

Tuesday, February 12: Women in Sustainability

Brilliant women are paving the way to responsible environmental stewardship with sustainable designs, innovative education ideas and progressive policies. This evening, hear from a panel of female sustainability rock stars on their push at local and national levels to make the world a cleaner, better place. Panelists include Ellen Cecile McBarnette of Urban Solar Solutions, Kara Davis of Green Living DC, Sharon Bradley of Bradley Site Design, Acacia Bamberg Salatti of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Edith Hancock of DC EcoGreen. Free. 7 p.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Wednesday, February 13: When China Met Africa

In the movie trailer for When China Met Africa, an African man driving in his truck down a dirt road says to the camera, “I was here six months ago. It was a bush.” The truck turns a corner, and the framework of a monolithic, under-construction factory appears. “It just gives you a sense of the pace at which these guys are able to deliver,” the man says. The 2010 film, an award-winning documentary directed by Marc and Nick Francis, tells the story of China’s growing presence in Africa by following a Chinese agricultural entrepreneur, a Chinese manager in charge of a highway expansion project in Zambia and Zambia’s trade minister, who seeks to secure China’s investment in his country. A Skype question and answer session with co-director Nick follows the film. Free. 7 p.m. Freer Gallery.

Thursday, February 14: To the Mountaintop: Voices of Emancipation

Local actors London Edgerton and Xavier Carnegie celebrate Black History Month and the 150-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation today with a multi-media theater performance. The show incorporates songs, images and the words of prominent black leaders to convey the monumental importance of emancipation in our nation’s history. Free. 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturdays in February. American History Museum.

Also check out our specially created 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 also 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.

Let your horse sleep in today. Smithsonian museums don’t open until noon due to weather. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian museums in the Washington, D.C. area as well as the National Zoo will open at noon Monday, due to inclement weather.

An early morning round of freezing rain left roads slick with ice as federal workers and schools around the area got off to a slow start. Canada would like to remind us, via Huffington Post, that cold weather has some perks too, eh? Like making it more difficult for some viruses and bacteria to live. Plus you can effectively “wash” your bed linens by hanging them out in the cold. We’d recommend waiting for the rain to stop, though, before you give that a try.

Today, President Barack Obama will take the oath of office for his second term. Courtesy of the White House, 2009

Inauguration day, it’s finally here, along with millions of visitors looking to take in some uniquely D.C.-culture. While our special presidents tour from our visitors guide app will keep you exploring in your spare-time, this post is all about the when, where and how of January 21. Plus, a few select events happening around the Smithsonian, you know, in between the whole inauguration thing.

Hours

On Inauguration Day, January 21, Smithsonian museums on the National Mall are open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A few museums will open early—the Castle opens at 7:30 a.m., Sackler Gallery, Freer Gallery, Hirshhorn and African Art open at 8 a.m. Mall entrances on the south side will be closed. Visitors will be asked to use the Independence Ave. entrances.

The American Indian Museum and the Renwick Gallery are closed January 21.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery are open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Luce Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Lunder Conservation Center will be closed Sunday, January 20.

Street Closings

Most streets around the National Mall—including Independence and Constitution avenues and Jefferson and Madison drives—will be closed Monday, January 21.

Metro

The Archives, Smithsonian and Mt. Vernon Square stations will be closed Sunday, January 20 to Monday, January 21, midnight to 5:30 p.m. All other stations will open Monday, January 21 at 4 a.m.

Parking

No Parking on the National Mall after 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 20.

Restrooms

All museums, open to the public during designated hours, have accessible restrooms

Read more.

You know how it goes: Now that you’ve been sworn in, what are you going to do? I’m going to the Smithsonian! Courtesy of Wikimedia

Select Events

Live broadcast of the swearing-in ceremony in Flag Hall in American History Museum, beginning at 11:30 a.m. A live broadcast will also begin at 11:30 a.m. at the African Art Museum.

Inaugural theme walk-in tours, Monday, January 21, 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. at the American Art Museum.

For “Super Sonic Weekend: Sounds and Songs of the American Presidency” (all day Monday), Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is streaming audio recordings related to the American presidency, from a 1757 campaign song used by George Washington in his first race for the Virginia House of Burgesses, to presidential speeches and much more.

Tour America’s Presidents at the National Portrait Gallery at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Select Exhibits

At the National Portrait Gallery: ”Portrait of President Barack Obama” The original artwork, a hand-finished collage by artist Shepard Fairey, from President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign is on view January 19 – 22. The work is joined by two larger-than-life tapestry portraits of the president by artist Chuck Close.

At the American Indian Museum: ”A Century Ago: They Came as Sovereign Leaders” This photo exhibition focuses on President Theodore Roosevelt’s 1905 inaugural parade and the six great chiefs who participated in the parade arriving with their own purposes in mind and representing the needs of their people.

At the National Museum of African American History and Culture Gallery in the American History Museum: Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963″ In 2013 the country will commemorate two events that changed the course of the nation-the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in the grand sweep of American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals – both famous and unknown – who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.”

For a step-by-step guide to the greatest presidential hits in the collections, download the FREE app for your smartphone.