Arlene Wagner has been collecting nutcrackers for nearly 50 years. Now, she’s got one of the largest collections in the world, housed at the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum in Washington.
museums
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Here’s what a shutdown means for Smithsonian museums, memorials and the zoo
History tells us visitors will likely find shuttered doors at major cultural institutions. But they will also find plenty of alternatives.
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Four Democratic senators urge Smithsonian to resist White House attempts to ‘bully the institution’
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and three other Democrats are reminding the Smithsonian’s secretary that the institution “is the responsibility of Congress.”
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‘Founders Museum’ from White House and PragerU blurs history, AI-generated fiction
Historians say it’s good to highlight America’s founders, but the project takes too narrow a view of history.
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Trump vows to expand his review of U.S. museums. Can he do that?
The White House said that after the administration eliminates “woke” culture from the Smithsonian, it would expand to other museums around the country. Would that be possible?
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Trump expands ‘woke’ criticism from Smithsonian to other museums
“The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of “WOKE,” he wrote.
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White House calls for a ‘comprehensive review’ of eight Smithsonian museums
The effort is focused on bringing the organization in line with President Trump’s cultural directives ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
![Artist Alice Neal made this quilt in honor of her mother, Mary Bright, following her death in 1954. It is made out of items of clothing her mother wore. Alice Neal, Mary Bright Commemorative Quilt (with Dresden Plate, Monkey Wrench, Wild Goose Chase, Fan, Basket of Flowers, Star of Lemoyne, Nine Patch Blocks) [Detail]; Bequest of the Eli Leon Living Trust, BAMPFA](https://i0.wp.com/newspack-thepublicsradio.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/06/237a0161-copy-scaled.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
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These fragile quilts by Black craftspeople need to be preserved — but the federal government has pulled the funds
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive was about to launch an exhibition of historic quilts, when federal funding earmarked to conserve them had been canceled.
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Opinion: A wealth of wisdom for a bargain price
NPR’s Scott Simon reflects on the discovery that what Harvard University thought was a copy of the Magna Carta is actually an original.
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A National Public Housing Museum opens
The National Public Housing Museum is now open in Chicago. Installations, exhibits and stories about public housing’s successes as well as its challenges are on display.
