The Great American Diamonds exhibit brings four of the most stunning diamonds ever found in the United States to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, in D.C.
April 29th, 2021, 9:41AM / BY Lauren Lyons
Smithsonian Associates Streaming presents surprising stories behind the jewels in the Smithsonian National Gem Collection. (Hope Diamond, Chip Clark)
Smithsonian Associates Streaming continues through May with individual programs, multi-part courses, studio arts classes and virtual study tours produced by the world’s largest museum-based educational program.
Saturday, May 1
Introduction to Lightroom: Adobe Lightroom is the most useful (and user friendly) software for organizing and editing images, usable for both RAW and JPEG image files. This two-session workshop offers users an overview of the program, with a focus on working with the essential Library and Develop modules for organizing and editing your files. 9:30 a.m. ET $275-$295
March 16th, 2021, 6:00AM / BY Abigail Eisenstadt
Dom Pedro aquamarine was cut from a 100-pound crystal that was mined in the late 1980s. It weighs around 4.6 pounds, making it one of the largest aquamarine gemstones in the world. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)
For those who study what happens when magma and crust collide, igneous rocks like pegmatites are a welcome sight. But in addition to holding clues about Earth’s mineral and geologic processes, pegmatites deposits are known for containing diverse and richly colored mineral crystals that can be cut into spectacular gems. One of the largest if not best example is the Dom Pedro Aquamarine.