Stories from the Vaults
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Hosted by actor Tom Cavanagh, Stories from the Vaults is a humorous and quirky series of 30-minute shows featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest museum complex. The new series, produced by Caragol Wells Productions, showcases the Smithsonian’s rarest treasures as Tom Cavanagh meets with the experts behind the Smithsonian and discusses what it takes to preserve these precious artifacts for the generations to come. “Stories from the Vaults” premieres Saturday, September 1, 2007 on Smithsonian Networks.
[edit] Episodes
Episode 1: FAMOUS DONORS
Cavanagh visits with Dr. Hans-Deiter Seus and collections manager Linda Gordon who oversee 580,000 mammal specimens. They discuss the science of tracking environmental and ecological changes and examine the Smithsonian’s vast collection of specimens. Cavanagh also stops by to see the Entertainment Collection curator to enjoy a collection of jokes donated by the first woman to enjoy a comedy career in television.
Episode 2: SUPERLATIVES
Tom Cavanagh goes in search of the most misunderstood, the best and the tiniest to learn what it takes to stand out in a collection of 142 million objects. Paul Rhymer discusses the art of taxidermy with Tom before Cavanagh heads over to the National Museum of American History for a unique test. In a “cello challenge” Cavanagh has to identify the difference in sound between an ordinary cello and that of a 300-year-old Stradivarius, one of the finest instruments in the world.
Episode 3: NO PLACE LIKE HOME
In “No Place Like Home”, Tom examines four unique forms of homes: the earliest space suits, the tipi of the plains Indians, mobile homes, and the life of the roundworm – a parasite able to make its home in almost any type of ecosystem.
Episode 4: BEAUTY
Beauty comes in many forms and in this episode Tom Cavanagh explores the subject through the perspective of three Smithsonian curators and their views on ants, orchids and the world of advertising.
Episode 5: FIRSTS
In the world of technological innovation there are many important firsts. Join Tom Cavanagh as he examines the cockpit of a jumbo jet, Thomas Edison’s earliest light bulbs, and the first video game consoles ever invented.
Episode 6: LIFE AFTER DEATH
At the Smithsonian, many researchers and historians find valuable clues about life through the study of death. From a colony of flesh-eating beetles to the idea seeking immortality by posing for a portrait, the Smithsonian presents many ways to answer the question, “Is there life after death?”
Episode 7: RANDOM
The Smithsonian collection is anything but random. Each of its objects has a scope that encompasses answers to questions as yet unasked, from photography, providing a multiplicity of meaning a single image, to the National Zoo, housing animals and DNA for study in future centuries.
