A Longreads essay co-published with AGNI explores the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, focusing on its Hyrtl Skull Collection and the institution's history as a 19th-century medical teaching cabinet. The piece describes how the 139 skulls were originally assembled to refute 19th-century race science, and situates this history within the museum's present-day identity as both a scientific institution and a popular attraction drawing nearly 150,000 visitors annually.
longreads.com
· 2026-10-16
The Institute of Computing for Climate Science (ICCS) is organizing a free event marking 70 years since Fortran's first manual was published, to be held at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. The program includes a keynote from Damian Rouson of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, lightning talks, breakout discussions, and an evening reception featuring a demonstration of the historic 'Baby' computer. Registration is open now and closes November 9, 2026, with both in-person and remote Zoom attendance options.
fortran-lang.org
· 2026-10-15
The Illinois Railway Museum's 11th annual Bus Day featured 13 operable buses, including King County Metro No. 4020, a 1987 MAN SG-T310 articulated trolley bus. The event highlighted how the museum's pivot-jointed 'bendy buses' function, prompting visitor questions about the mechanics behind their two-section, hinged design.
theautopian.com
· 2026-10-15
French prosecutors said two Renoir paintings stolen in September from a museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer have been found hidden behind a sealed cinder block wall in a home in Clermont-l'Herault. A 29-year-old suspect was charged after DNA evidence linked him to the theft, following the arrest of six people including a woman. Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the paintings sustained minor damage, including a torn canvas and a slightly damaged frame.
cbsnews.com
· 2026-10-13
A developer has released a browser-based project that renders art history as a walkable 3D museum, pulling artist and artwork data from Wikipedia. The project, shared on Hacker News, lets users navigate gallery walls and a 'star map' view to browse works by multiple artists in one virtual space.
artmuseum.artfrompixels.com
· 2026-10-07
An analysis of 13 bird species and subspecies with documented last-sighting and extinction-declaration dates finds a median gap of 36 years, and a mean of 47.5 years, between the two. The shortest gap was three years, for the dusky seaside sparrow; the longest was 124 years, for the Kauaʻi nukupuʻu, not delisted by the US government until October 2023. Four additional birds with last records between 1935 and 1963 have never been formally declared extinct.
birdshistory.com
· 2026-10-03
After an eight-year freedom of information battle, France's highest administrative court ruled against activist Cosimo Monico (writing as the requester) and co-plaintiffs Communia, Wikimédia France and La Quadrature du Net, who sought public release of 3D scans of Auguste Rodin's public domain sculptures. The ruling came despite an earlier opinion from France's own Commission on Access to Administrative Documents (CADA) finding the scans were administrative documents that should be disclosed, and despite the museum director's own written admission that she intended to ignore FOI law and force the matter to court.
cosmowenman.substack.com
· 2026-10-03
A visit to the Shimano Bicycle Museum in Japan's Kansai region finds a modern glass-and-steel building housing an extensive, bilingual collection of bicycles spanning from early hobby horses to modern machines. The museum emphasizes the broader history of cycling and bicycle technology rather than Shimano's own corporate story, with exhibits including Freddy Maertens' steel Flandria bike displayed without barriers for close viewing.
inrng.com
· 2026-10-02
A visitor documented modular industrial dashboards found in several European museums, including the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Fernmeldemuseum Stuttgart, a railway museum in Nuremberg, a tram museum in Stuttgart, Warsaw's train museum, and the DASA Museum in Dortmund. The panels, used historically for air traffic control, subway and light rail monitoring, and power plant operations, feature interchangeable lit modules, counters, switches, and labeled plates built on physical component systems rather than screens.
unsung.aresluna.org
· 2026-09-30
A 162-page White House report released in July criticized the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, citing exhibits like 'The Electric Dr. Franklin,' which speculated Benjamin Franklin may have used enslaved people in electrical experiments. The report argued the museum has shifted from historical education toward what it called 'extreme political activism.' The Franklin exhibit closed in 2025 but remains viewable online.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-27
George Lucas revealed he intended to continue making Star Wars movies before shifting his focus to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. He did not detail what those future films would have involved, only confirming the plan existed at one point.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-22
Chinese architect Ma Yansong and his firm MAD Architects have completed the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a large-scale building in Los Angeles's Exposition Park designed to house filmmaker George Lucas's art collection. The project marks the most high-profile commission yet for Ma, known for sculptural, futuristic designs that go beyond conventional museum architecture.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-22
GoKawiil