The Biscuit Factory

The story of Pocahontas has been passed down through the centuries. Her relationship with John Smith has been characterized as a romance that united two cultures and created lasting peace. However, the life of this American Indian princess was anything but a fairytale. Join us as we look beyond the fiction and reveal the real story of Pocahontas, a tale of kidnapping, conflict, starvation, ocean journeys, and the future of an entire civilization.

A comprehensive look at the events leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn as well as the myths and legends it spawned, and its impact on history.

Tim Laman a photographer for National Geographic and ornithologist Ed Scholes have been traveling to some of the most remote jungles the world has to offer in search of observing and photographing all 39 species of tropical bird. This particular group of birds are entitled as the “Birds of Paradise” and can be found in some of the last truly wild locations of New Guinea.

We all know the main story of Abraham Lincoln's death, how he was killed, where it took place, and who pulled the trigger. But what exactly happened during the last day of his life? Relive April 14, 1865, as we track the hours of the day that shocked the world, following both assassin and victim on separate paths that would ultimately converge at the Presidential Box at Ford's Theatre. We'll also look at the objects, like Lincoln's hat and John Wilkes Booth's gun, that witnessed the crime that changed the course of American history forever.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is known by all, treasured for its powerful melody and stirring lyrics. And yet, only about 40% of U.S. citizens know all the words. And even fewer know their meaning. Join us as we travel back to 1814, when Washington D.C. was under British attack during the "Second War of Independence," and the very bricks and mortar of American democracy were reduced to smoking rubble. We examine the battle that inspired witness Francis Scott Key to immortalize its final moments, then reveal how his poem transformed into an anthem.

Today, it seems incredible that just a century ago, American women had no voice in democracy. Just as remarkable is that it took over 70 years of campaigns, marches, hunger strikes, and arrests to pass the constitutional amendment guaranteeing them the right to vote. Witness the decades-long fight for suffrage by heroic women who fought to claim their rights as citizens, told through rarely seen footage, expert opinions, and dozens of historic objects from the Smithsonian Institution. The legacy of their quest continues to shape our democracy.

Smithsonian Institution scientists race against time to save endangered frogs from a deadly fungus that is ravaging amphibians worldwide.