Although not brand new, the Web site of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is worth a visit. The What's New link from the homepage leads to 5 different specialized interfaces of the museum's collections: diversity, uses, imagery, currently on view, and advanced. For example, in the imagery section, you can search by Animal, Human, or Object Imagery. In diversity, clicking on a...

While most people get on the road each morning around the U.S. to drive to work, they may not think of how the massive interstate system first emerged in the years following World War II. That rather interesting question, along with a number of other transportation themes, is covered in this fine online collection from the Smithsonian Institution. Designed to complement this new exhibit at the...

The Art of the Stamp online exhibit presented by the National Postal Museum is designed to complement the exhibit on display at the Museum itself in Washington, DC. The online exhibit begins with a brief description of how subjects and themes for postage are suggested, and then continues to discuss the timeline for developing a stamp, which often can take two years or longer. The main material on...

Would you like to explore a wooly mammoth skeleton in great detail? How about some ceremonial masks created by Pacific Northwest Native Americans? The Smithsonian X 3D project makes all of this possible for visitors from all over the world. This site was created by the Smithsonian's Digitization Program Office and currently visitors can examine twelve digitized models, including a fossilized...

The Smithsonian Institution presents a wide variety of multimedia presentations on this section of its website. Included is the live panda cam of Mei Xiang and her cub Tai Shan, born July 9, 2005, archived arts events such as Senior Curator Richard Murray explaining the role of myth in Emanuel Leutze's historical painting Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, interviews with Carol Burnette...

This Website from the National Museum of American History (NMAH) opens a door on the everyday history of American families from 1757 to 1945. The exhibit is organized around a house in Ipswich, Massachusetts and five of the different families that lived there over time. Visitors can click on one of the family names at the top of the page to bring up a thumbnail introduction to the family, images...