Smithsonian TV Guide — Today's TV Listings & Schedule

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for today. 24 programmes listed , including 6 tonight. US listings updated daily — scroll down to tonight's highlights or use the day tabs above to browse the weekly schedule.

Early Morning

00:00 1h

Mighty Cruise Ships

S4 · E8 · Sky Princess Travel

Sky Princess

The Sky Princess carries passengers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to three Central American stops, and it manages to get into and out of ports despite its size.

01:00 1h

Mighty Trains

S4 · E1 · Tren Turistico Science

Tren Turistico

A tourist train's engineering is challenged every time the train takes passengers through Lima, Peru and up the Andes mountains.

02:00 1h

Mighty Trains

S1 · E1 · Canadian Science

Canadian

An in-depth look is taken at a legendary locomotive called the Canadian as its crew works tirelessly to keep the train in pristine condition on its journey.

03:00 1h

Mighty Cruise Ships

S1 · E1 · Paul Gauguin Travel

Paul Gauguin

The crew of the MS Paul Gauguin, a ship that sails through French Polynesia, deals with rough weather, narrow passageways and shallow channels.

04:00 1h

Mighty Cruise Ships

S1 · E2 · Le Soleal Travel

Le Soleal

A 14-day voyage through Indonesia on Le Soleal goes to places most cruise ships cannot get to, showing its passengers unique wildlife and live volcanoes.

05:00 1h

Mighty Cruise Ships

S3 · E5 · Symphony of the Seas Travel

Symphony of the Seas

The MS Symphony of the Seas is built to house, feed, transport and entertain more than 5,500 passengers as they sail to ports in Spain, France and Italy.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mighty Cruise Ships

S3 · E6 · Marina Travel

Marina

The MS Marina is Oceania Cruises' largest ship and makes a 12-day voyage with stops at ports in Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Iceland.

07:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S2 · E10 · Radical & Resplendent Science

Radical & Resplendent

The engineering and design history behind the Museum of African American History, the Montreal Tower once abandoned and the Equinor building in Oslo.

08:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S4 · E1 · Space Stations & Super Inventions Science

Space Stations & Super Inventions

Host Jay Ellis learns about the construction of the International Space Station and about the engineering marvels that were involved in its assembly.

09:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S4 · E10 · Floating Parks & Upcycled Towers Science

Floating Parks & Upcycled Towers

On inadequate foundations, San Francisco's MOMA triples in size creating an exterior light enough to prevent collapse; a 1970s Sydney skyscraper is recycled.

10:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S2 · E4 · Elevated & Elegant Science

Elevated & Elegant

Engineers, architects and other experts discuss the stories behind a sports museum in Louisiana, a school on stilts in Canada and a Belgian train station.

11:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S2 · E5 · Skywalks & Suspensions Science

Skywalks & Suspensions

Host Jay Ellis uncovers the design and engineering secrets surrounding the Grand Canyon Skywalk and goes to the Audain Museum in British Columbia.

Daytime

12:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S3 · E1 · Fantastic & Futuristic Science

Fantastic & Futuristic

Host Mike Davidson goes on a global journey to see the world's mightiest machines and meet the mechanics, engineers and technicians who keep them running.

13:00 1h

How Did They Fix That?

S3 · E4 · Water Bombers: Fixing Aerial Firefighters Science

Water Bombers: Fixing Aerial Firefighters

Mike works with an aerial firefighting company, fixing and converting a 1960's C130 plane military aircraft into a waterbomber ready for wildfire season.

14:00 1h

How Did They Fix That?

S4 · E4 · Sky Rides Science

Sky Rides

Host Mike Davidson goes to the Alps to help a team install a new cable on a gondola line, fix a steep cogwheel railway track and visits a family farm.

15:00 1h

How Did They Fix That?

S4 · E6 · Tunnel Vision Science

Tunnel Vision

Host Mike Davidson joins some engineers as they work to build the world's longest railway, fix the gridlock and blast and dig their way through the mountains.

16:00 1h

How Did They Fix That?

S2 · E2 · Deep Space Telescope Science

Deep Space Telescope

Host Mike Davidson goes to the remote Atacama Desert in Chile to work with a team at observatory ALMA to repair some of the world's biggest antennas.

17:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S2 · E3 · Retrofits & Airport Glitz Science

Retrofits & Airport Glitz

Host Jay Ellis goes to Hearst Tower in Manhattan and the Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore and learns how designers try to create a worthy museum.

Tonight's Highlights

18:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S1 · E7 · Sky Gardens & Seismic Stations Science

Sky Gardens & Seismic Stations

Designers and engineers share what inspired their radical structural ideas, including a massive sky garden in Singapore and the world's most slender tower.

19:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S3 · E9 · Curved & Cables Science ▶ Now

Curved & Cables

A new performance center with a tent-like glass-and-steel lobby tests engineers in Kansas City; two twisting apartment towers make heads spin in Ontario.

20:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S2 · E2 · Swamps & Swagger Science

Swamps & Swagger

The Dali Museum in Florida, the Equinor Offices in Oslo and Little Island, an island in New York City with a waterside amphitheater.

21:00 1h

How Did They Build That?

S5 · E2 · Earthquakes & Exoskeletons Science

Earthquakes & Exoskeletons

Milwaukee commissions Calatrava to design a museum with 90-ton wings that take flight. Oslo tears down its national ski jump and rebuilds it.

22:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S25 · E5 · Powerless Plunge Documentary

Powerless Plunge

Just moments after takeoff, a Loganair cargo flight from Edinburgh loses both engines and crashes into the icy North Sea.

23:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S12 · E7 · Catastrophe at O'Hare True

Catastrophe at O'Hare

The 1979 crash of an airliner at O'Hare International Airport was the deadliest air disaster ever on U.S. soil, and maintenance procedures were to blame.