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If you can name these dashing gentlemen, you’re off to a good start for Thursday’s rock-and-roll trivia night at the National Portrait Gallery. Photo by Michael Conen, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Tuesday, January 29: One Man’s Search for Ancient China: The Paul Singer Collection

Some collectors have mansions or basements to store their collections. Paul Singer had a two bedroom apartment in New Jersey. The psychiatrist-by-day, collector of ancient Chinese artifacts-by-night accumulated around 5,000 objects by his death in 1997, and once displayed all of them in his modest home. Smithsonian gives 63 of the objects a bit more room in this exhibit to reflect the vast range of things produced by various ancient Chinese cultures—from artistic masterworks to ceramics to weaponry—as well as the breadth of Singer’s collection. Free. Open until July 7. Sackler Gallery.

Wednesday, January 30: Verdi and Wagner at 200: A Double Celebration of Genius

Italian Giuseppe Verdi and German Richard Wagner rocked the world’s opera stages so hard in the 19th-century that the genre has not been the same since. The two genius composers, born just months apart, embodied disparate national cultures and styles, but were united in developing the techniques that ushered opera into modern times. Music historian Saul Lilienstein begins a course this evening that uses recorded performances of the masters’ most iconic pieces to explore their lives and influence. $200 for six monthly sessions (members discounted; tickets here). 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. on selected Wednesdays from January 30 to June 19. Ripley Center.

Thursday, January 31: Rock and Roll is Here to Stay!

Can’t brush your teeth without reciting every line to “Blue Suede Shoes“? Do you actually have moves like Jagger because you spend your free time watching clips of the Stones? Well, here’s a chance to impress rather than annoy your co-workers with your encyclopedic knowledge, rock nerds: rock-and-roll trivia happy hour. Prizes for the winners, good music for all. Free. 6:30 p.m. National Portrait Gallery.

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.

Be in the know with our free visitors app, specially made for the inauguration.

The votes have been cast and counted, the campaign offices have been packed up. But things are just getting started in D.C. as the city prepares for a rush of excitement for Barack Obama’s second inauguration, January 21. More than a million people sought a spot near the Capitol to witness his first inauguration in 2009. For his second, Obama is sure to bring out the crowds again and all of D.C. is gearing up for inauguration day, from hotels to restaurants, including Ben’s Chili, which expects to serve 1,000 gallons of its famous chili the week of Obama’s swearing in, according to NBC.

You might not be running for office any time soon, but you can still win big this weekend with the help of our editors.

Conveniently situated around the Mall, the Smithsonian offers a wealth of presidential pomp and history to help get you up to speed for the big day, from Bill Clinton’s saxophone to Thomas Jefferson’s desk. Since this is the land of the free after all, we’ll be offering our custom inauguration-themed app for most smartphones for free with step-by-step tours to the best of the collections and exhibits. The tour includes stately highlights at the American History Museum, Natural History Museum, American Indian Museum, National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. From the gowns of inaugural balls past to the hall of presidential portraits, the tour will get you geared up for the festivities.

Info, tours and artifacts, all at your fingertips.

Try on some truly presidential duds with our digital postcard featuring George Washington’s uniform.

Museum by museum, step by step, you can’t take a wrong turn here.

A must-see stop on the tour: Shepard Fairey’s iconic portrait of Barack Obama at the National Portrait Gallery.

On Jan. 21, all Smithsonian museums will operate on their normal schedules, with the following exceptions:
•             The Renwick will be closed.
•             The National Museum of the American Indian will be closed because of its proximity to the swearing-in ceremony.
•             The Castle will open at 7:30 a.m.
•             The Hirshhorn, the Ripley Center, the National Museum of African Art, and the Freer and Sackler Galleries will open at 8 a.m.

The museums on the south side of the National Mall will be accessible from Independence Avenue only. The museums on the north side of the National Mall will be accessible from both Madison Drive and Constitution Avenue.

More good news, the bathrooms will be available. And if you’re feeling peckish, you can get food at the Air and Space Museum (McDonald’s McCafe, Boston Market and Donato’s Pizza), Natural History Museum (Atrium Cafe, Cafe Natural and Fossil Cafe), American History (Stars and Stripes Cafe and Constitution Cafe) and the Smithsonian Castle’s Cafe and Coffee Bar.

For more information on the when, where and how to get there, view our inauguration at the Smithsonian page.

And if the inauguration tour leaves you curious about what else the Smithsonian has to offer, upgrade to our full visitors guide for just 99 cents. The app includes interactive postcards (starring you wearing the Hope Diamond or Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers, or other fun items from the collections) as well as custom tours for history buffs, art lovers and even a three-hour tour for the brave of heart and swift of feet. One of our own former interns tried to conquer the tall task:

The “Greensboro Four,” above immortalized on their North Carolina A&T State University campus, fought racial segregation by refusing to leave a local retail store when the staff would not serve them coffee. Learn to protest like a pro this weekend at the American History Museum. Photo by Jim Dollar, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Friday, January 11: 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. This weekend, 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 Fridays-Sundays in January. American History Museum.

Saturday, January 12: Farm-to-Table Family Day

Ditch the greasy food trucks this afternoon and bring the kids to a celebration of the city’s “slow food” movement. Through live music, hands-on activities and a fruit and veggie artwork scavenger hunt, the celebration aims to teach participants the value of farm-fresh foods and to encourage local buying. Recipes will be available to take home so that you can ditch the greasy food trucks again tomorrow. Free. 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kogod Courtyard, American Art Museum, Portrait Gallery.

Sunday, January 13: Learn Arabic Calligraphy

A billion people today read and write in Arabic – here is your chance to join them. View the elegant script on ancient objects like tombstones from a cemetery north of Mecca in a guided tour of “Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and the History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” an exhibit that traces disparate trade routes that met at the holy city, then try your hand at mastering Arabic calligraphy with a demonstration of the ornate art and a writing lesson. Yallah! Free. 2 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Sackler Gallery.

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.

From the Seattle-based artist, Louie Gong, these “mockups” are ready for your custom design. Courtesy the American Indian Museum

Friday, December 7: Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in 3-D

It’s hard to overhype this one. A 3-D recreation of the one of the Caves of Thousand Buddhas, replete with colorful and ornate paintings, is now as simple as visiting the Sackler. The digital exhibition Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottes at Dunhuang got rave reviews, not least of which were Around the Mall’s own: “It really feels as though, if you reached out, you’d feel weathered millennial aged stone, rather than a smooth plastic screen. The digital cave, in short, is unnervingly lifelike.” Made possible by a whole host of institutions, including the City University of Hong Kong and Dunhuang Academy. Sadly, the exhibit closes on Sunday, so you’re going to want to go now, Friday, Saturday and maybe Sunday too. Free, but timed-tickets required. Through Sunday, December 9. Sackler Gallery.

Saturday, December 8: Design Yourself: IAMNMAI Art Jam

A sharpie and a pair of shoes. That’s all it took to launch Seattle-based artist Louie Gong’s Eighth Generation. The Nooksack/Chinese/Scottish/French artist is all about DIY expressions of identity that transform everyday items into a customized piece of material culture. He’ll be debuting his newest art object/toy “mockups,” which visitors can purchase and make their own at the American Indian Museum’s Art Jam. The museum has also invited local artists, including Lee Newman, Chris Pappan, Lisa Schumaier and Debra Yepa-Pappan to join the jam, as well as DJ Will Eastman. Part show, part event, part party, the Art Jam has a little something for everyone. Free. 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. American Indian Museum.

Sunday, December 9: Luce Unplugged with Fire and the Wheel

First a talk, then some rock. The Luce Unplugged series combines curator’s talks with local live music and this week’s installment brings indie rockers Fire and the Wheel to the American Art Museum. Compared to everyone from Joy Division, Pink Floyd and Jesus and Mary Chain but with influences from Neil Young to Belle and Sebastian, the foursome just formed earlier this year. Coffee and tea will be available, just to make sure your Sunday afternoon spent rocking is also still dignified and museum-worthy. Free. 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. American Art Museum.