Hosted by actor

Tom Cavanagh Thomas Cavanagh (born October 26, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for a variety of roles on American television, including starring roles in '' Ed'' (2000–2004), ''Love Monkey'' (2006) and '' Trust Me'' (2009), and recurring roles on ...

, ''Stories from the Vaults'' is a series of 30-minute shows featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, the world's largest museum complex. The new series, produced b
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 debuted September 2007 on

Smithsonian Networks The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilit ...

. The second season premiered Sunday July 12, 2009.

SEASON 1

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 The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...

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 A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

, 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 A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

, the

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...

of the plains Indians, mobile homes, and the life of the

roundworm The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broa ...

– 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 Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

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 Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

's earliest light bulbs, and the first

video game consoles A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to a t ...

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 Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

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.

SEASON 2

Episode 1: "Let's Eat!"

Learn how to cook Native American dishes with the executive chef of Mitsitam Café; discover the origins of the American coffee break at the

and visit the

National Museum of Dentistry The Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry – located in Baltimore, Maryland, and opened in 1996 – preserves and exhibits the history of dentistry in United States and throughout the world. Situated on the campus of the University ...

, where host Tom Cavanagh learns how food takes a toll on our teeth.

Episode 2: "Top Secret"

The Smithsonian's most compelling mysteries are revealed. Can an artist outsmart the world's top spies? How does a

missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...

filled with mail make a political statement to the world? These questions are answered.

Episode 3: "Nature's Vault"

The

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI, es, Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales) is located in Panama and is the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside of the United States. It is dedicated to understa ...

in Panama tracks

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...

s. Then search the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

for clues to the creation of the

Panamanian Isthmus The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

, and rise sixteen stories atop the rainforest in a construction crane to do bug research.

Episode 4: "Crystal Ball"

The Smithsonian's Vaults and labs feature designers who have shaped our future, sneak a peek at museum of the future, and talk to scientists helping to preserve the future of the tropical rainforest.

Episode 5: "Going, Going, Gone"

This episode goes behind the scenes and see what might be called "extreme conservation": like saving animals from the brink of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

; finding new ways to preserve a provocative work of art; or reviving an entire genre of music. Also learn what Smithsonian experts are doing to protect the best aspects of our world for future generations.

Episode 6: "Sex 101"

People may not like to talk about it, but sex is everywhere ... even at the Smithsonian. The topic may not be featured in major museum exhibitions, but the vaults and labs of the Smithsonian feature stories about "the birds and the bees." Host Tom Cavanagh goes behind the scenes of the Smithsonian to find evidence of romance and sex.

Episode 7: "Villains and Rogues"

Explore the crime "scene" at the Smithsonian's Vaults: photographic evidence from the Crime of the Century; everyone's favorite natural villain, the snake; and America's first "Lone Gunman":

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

External links

*{{imdb title, 1063019
''Stories from the Vaults'' Smithsonian Networks Homepage''Stories from the Vaults'' YouTube clips
Smithsonian Channel original programming 2007 American television series debuts 2009 American television series endings