When the Newseum opened this summer, some commentators reminded us that museums are places to house the archaic, outdated, and the useless—what a perfect place for print media! Hearing President George W. Bush speak at the dedication of the renovated and renewed Smithsonian National Museum of American History gave us that same feeling; in just a couple of months, he, too, will begin the tenuous fade into history and will eventually be remembered vaguely by......

Photo of Apollo 8 astronauts by Jim Kerlin, Courtesy The Associated Press. DCist's guide to lectures and panel discussions in the D.C. area This week, we've got a bit more talk on the elections, as well as some interesting discussions on astronauts, a changing Berlin, evolution, Abe, the First Amendment, and art criticism. Monday: >> At 7 p.m. today, George Mason University continues its Vision Series with Themes and Variations in Evolving Systems with......

Remember the Unabomber and that itty-bitty shack he holed himself up in? Well, they're in the news again. In a handwritten letter dated July 15 to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the Unabomber -- a.k.a. Theodore Kaczynski -- complained about a museum exhibit featuring the shack in question. The museum in Kaczynski's letter is none other than D.C.'s own Newseum. The cabin, measuring 12 × 10 ft., is part of......

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil exhibit photo courtesy of John Steiner, Smithsonian Institution. With August's abrupt arrival, summer session is almost over. Even if you’ve been done with school for ages, you may still want to keep that brain sharp, if only to make yourself sound interesting at parties. While most of the area’s galleries are a bit out-of-commission, the museums are still packing in the events. >> Recently opened on July 18......

Just like its subject — the news — the Newseum, which opens tomorrow, includes far more information than the average museum-goer can handle. It would take days (there are 24 hours of documentary footage alone) to see everything on display in the 250,000-square-foot museum, and with a $20 admission charge, a visit to the Newseum should be a full-day’s outing. Opening day, however, is free of charge, so you might want to head down......