School's nearly back in session, but the seven young lions at the Smithsonian's National Zoo have been working hard through the summer months! Instead of learning their ABCs, they're learning behaviors that help animal care staff evaluate their health, including opening their mouth, showing their paws, getting up on a bench and laying down in practice to receive a vaccination. We've been tracking their achievements—and adorable blunders—on camera. They're certainly earning their meatballs and we think you'll be impressed by their progress.
According to their teachers, keepers Rebecca Stites and Kristen Clark, all seven lions earn the same grade for effort: A+ [...more]
Meet the Smithsonian's Matthew Carrano, curator of Dinosauria at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Matthew studies all things dinosaur, but focuses on the evolutionary history of predatory (meat eating) dinosaurs. [...more]
What's possibly the most calming yet nerve-racking job in the world? Come behind the scenes of the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art to find out! [...more]
nsightful Problem Solving in an Asian Elephant. Kandula, an 8-year old Asian elephant at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, demonstrates insightful problem solving by positioning a large cube under a treat that is too high for him to reach. By standing on the tire he can reach the food. From the scientific paper "Insightful Problem Thinking in an Asian Elephant," published Aug. 18, 2011 in the journal PLoS ONE. [...more]
Meg studies intergroup competition in white‐faced capuchin monkeys by tracking them through radio telemetry collars and observing their behaviors. [...more]
Kari Bruwelheide, forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discusses how she came to work at the museum, the power of human remains and the information that bones can contain. She and her colleagues continue to discover new ways to interpret evidence from bones and burials. [...more]
Tom Crouch, Senior curator in the National Air and Space Museum's Aeronautics Division, discusses Thaddeus Lowe and the birth of American aerial reconnaissance during the Civil War. This presentation was recorded on May 11, 2011 on the National Mall. [...more]
Keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo perform an artificial insemination procedure on a pair of Stanley Cranes. A Stanley Crane chick was successfully hatched on May 23, 2011. [...more]
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