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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.

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.

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.

Astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss is in the house on Monday to explain why our understanding of physics in the past 50 years has been based on a particle whose existence we couldn’t prove. Photo by Crouchy69, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Monday, January 14: The Higgs Boson Particle: Why It Matters

The Higgs Boson is a particle so small that it took scientists 50 years to find it. Headlines exploded last year when the so-called “God particle” was detected, but can something so small really be so important? Renowned theoretical astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss spends the evening explaining why without this elusive mini-particle, our entire understanding of physics would unravel. Bring along or pick up a copy of Krauss’s latest book, A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, if you would like an autograph. $28-$40 (student discounts available), tickets here. 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. Natural History Museum.

*BONUS*: Grammy-winning Smithsonian Folkways artists Los Texmaniacs are in town tonight for the first time since the release of their latest album, Texas Towns & Tex-Mex Sounds. The Texan quartet plays jams rooted in conjunto polka music (with instruments like the 12-string banjo sexto and the button accordion), but also draws from classic rock, blues and Chicano dance sounds. Polka the night away! $15, tickets here. 7:30 p.m. The Hamilton.

Tuesday, January 15: See the President up “Close”

Here’s your chance to get up close and personal with Barack Obama. Sure, the president himself is busy preparing for his second inauguration, but a huge portrait of him by famed artist Chuck Close is on display today in the National Portrait Gallery. Stop by to congratulate Mr. President on his reelection or to air your political grievances to him — just be sure not to disturb the other visitors. (Close, by the way, also has captured Al Gore and Hillary Clinton, and was appointed in 2010 to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.) Free. On display until March 2013 on the second floor of the South Rotunda at the National Portrait Gallery.

Wednesday, January 16: Between the Folds

There is a lot more to origami than making cute cranes. The 17th century Japanese art of paper folding is still seriously practiced today by artists who devote their entire lives to learning its intricate and often deeply mathematical techniques. Between the Folds, a documentary, profiles a group of artists and scientists who hope to push the art to its next level. One of the group’s artists, Erik Demaine, will present the film, as well as answer questions and demonstrate folds. Free. Noon. Renwick Gallery.

Thursday, January 17: Peacock Room Shutters Open

Want a taste of luxury? The Freer Gallery’s Peacock Room, once an opulent British dining room, now hosts more than 250 ceramics from Egypt, Iran, Japan, China and Korea that museum founder Charles Lang Freer collected on his travels. At noon, the museum opens the room’s shutters to bathe the collection in sunlight, and the room glows blue, green and gold. The shimmering colors won’t fade any time soon, either; special filtering film on the room’s windows prevents the sun’s effects on the ceramics. Free. Noon to 5:30 p.m. Freer 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.

As the Olympic Games head to London, you should head to the Mall. Image by John Ritter

No one’s a bigger fan of the red, white and blue than Smithsonian. Around here, we take the Olympic Games pretty seriously, but we make sure to have a little fun, too. With the opening ceremony just around the corner, check out the many ways you can share in the sporting spirit at the Smithsonian.

Let’s Move! Healthy Hunt with Smithsonian Gardens: As we prepare to hunker down and watch hours of the televised competitions, Michelle Obama wants to remind us that the Games are about being active. The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign teamed up with Smithsonian Gardens to plan the ultimate scavenger hunt around the Mall. Just pick up your Let’s Move! Healthy Hunt Guide at any Smithsonian info desk (or download the guide, here.) to get started. Learn more about the plants in our many gardens, then take the challenge home and see what you can identify in your own neighborhood. On Saturday, July 28th, participants can meet in the Enid a. Haupt Garden behind the Castle from 12 to 1 p.m. to meet up with others for a group scavenger hunt. Sign up or just show up.

Olympians at the National Portrait Gallery: See all the greats immortalized at the gallery, including Jesse Owens and Michael Phelps. Curator Amy Henderson created a quick guide to some of the collections’ big names. The portraits remind viewers that the Games aren’t just about athletics, they’re also witness to dramatic moments in history and society. From breaking barriers to defying oppression, the Games stand for more than competition.

Let’s Move! Olympic Fun Day Meetup: Native American Games: Volleyball, track and swimming are all great sports, but what about Inuit yo-yo? Try your hand at several Native American games, including a North Woodlands ring and pin game as well as Amazonian games, at the American Indian Museum’s Olympic Fun Day. The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign teamed up with the museum as well to offer a fun opportunity to get active. Kids can also try virtual skateboarding.

Best in the World: Native Athletes at the Olympics Exhibit: After you’ve proved your Inuit yo-yo finesse, head to the American Indian Museum’s exhibit, Best in the World, to learn more about the Games’ Native competitors. From Duke Kahanamoku to Jim Thorpe, the exhibit explores the rich history of these athletes and looks ahead to the future.

Best in the World: Native Athletes at the Olympics Discussion: The museum will offer a presentation on the Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, in conjunction with the exhibit. Thorpe “was the greatest all-around athlete of his age and probably any other,” according to the museum. Known for medaling in track and field, he was also a stellar athlete in football, baseball, basketball and lacrosse. Biographer Robert W. Wheeler will share his insights into the legendary star as well as the controversy around the restoration of his medals. The talk is August 17, 2-3 p.m.

National Zoo Games: The cuddly (and not so cuddly) critters over at the Zoo get in on the fun with their own Games. Follow your favorite “animalete” on Twitter and Facebook, check out the opening ceremony video (cute and patriotic) and find out how exactly a cheetah trash talks all on the Zoo’s page.

Web extras: test your knowledge of Olympic mascots, read more about American soccer goalie Hope Solo’s new memoir and get cheat sheets for watching everything from archery to diving.

Update: An additional event was added