Movies: Smithsonian Channel

In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws we...

In January 1942, the U.S. military created a new bomber command, the Eighth Air Force, and sent a small contingent of men overseas to loosen the Nazis' grip on Europe. The command's star player was the B-17, a fast, heavily armed aircraft that change...

It's death on an unimaginable scale, when a majority of Earth's species quickly die out. It's called "mass extinction," and it's happened at least five times before. Cataclysms, such as supervolcanoes or asteroids, are thought to cause these events, ...

On July 16, 1969, hundreds of thousands of spectators and an army of reporters gathered at Cape Kennedy to witness one of the great spectacles of the century: the launch of Apollo 11. Over the next few days, the world watched on with wonder and raptu...

On the surface, they appear to be ordinary dogs, but these canines have a secret identity. They are the Pentagon's stealth warriors, with specialties in explosives detection, tracking, laser target acquisition and bite work. Meet the U.S. Navy SEALs'...

The story of Hitler’s final hours told by people who were there. This special features exclusive forgotten interviews, believed lost for 65 years, with members of Hitler’s inner circle who were trapped with him in his bunker as the Russians fought to...

The sinking of the RMS Titanic remains one of the most enduring and mysterious tragedies of the 20th century. For decades, investigators and amateurs alike have floated theories for why it occurred and who was to blame for the extraordinary loss of l...

Chihuly is widely known as the enigmatic figure behind impressive glass sculptures that are both well-integrated yet strikingly imposing as they float through Finland's rivers, crowd the narrow canals of Venice, blossom across the ceiling of the Bell...

By mid-1945, Hitler is dead and the war has ended in Europe. Halfway around the world, however, the fighting is still going strong on a small island in the Pacific. Okinawa was the site of the last battle of the last great war of the 20th century, wi...

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"The World's Loneliest Elephant" Kaavan will finally experience freedom, thanks to his biggest champion, the one & only Cher. We'll follow Cher, Free The Wild, Four Paws International, and Kaavan on every step of the trip....

The doctor who tried to save him. The Secret Service agent who was seconds too late. The man wrongly accused of his murder. And the woman who unwittingly sheltered an assassin. The death of JFK has inspired thousands of books and debates over the las...

For 20-year-old Madison Stewart, nothing feels safer or more natural than diving straight into shark-infested waters. Since childhood, growing up by the Great Barrier Reef, she's treated these predators as family. But they're vanishing from existence...

A chance find in a suburb of Cairo has shed new light on an all but forgotten Pharaoh, Psamtik I. Discovered in 2017, an eight-tonne fragment of a statue has led experts to believe that he was, in fact, one of Egypt’s greatest leaders, as this docume...

On the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park is Paradise Valley, Montana, home to bears, wolves, elk, and an animal so secretive, few ever get to see it: the mountain lion. Wildlife filmmaker Casey Anderson became one of those lucky few after follow...

Caroline Sturdy Colls, a world leader in the forensic investigation of Nazi crime scenes, is chasing clues to an unsolved case: a concentration camp that existed on the British island of Alderney. Witnesses and survivors claimed that thousands died t...

Take a cross-country flight over Ireland's natural wonders and ancient ruins. In this spectacular overview of the historically significant Emerald Isle, we soar over Neolithic tombs of the Celtic era, medieval castles of the Vikings, and modern citie...

Air Force One is a marvel of military engineering. For more than half a century, the presidential fleet of armed jumbo jets has served as a flying fortress for America's commanders-in-chief, carrying them in victory, in shame, and even death. Join us...

Cuba's enforced isolation has resulted in the unlikeliest of marine reserves: a huge, rambling archipelago known as Jardines de la Reina, or "Gardens of the Queen." Stretching around 140 miles along the southern coast of Cuba, it's one of the longest...

Some of them move. Others make noise. One weighs in at 700 pounds. Collectively, they represent the future of contemporary craft. Go behind the scenes of the "40 under 40: Craft Futures" exhibition, featuring traditional and non-traditional works of ...