The Chinese visual artist Cai Guo-Qiang “blew up” a tree outside the Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery earlier today as part of the museum’s 25th anniversary.c

Pedestrians and tourists near the Freer and Sackler Galleries at 3 p.m. today are in for a loud, flashy show. But don’t be alarmed when a tree explodes in a cloud of fire and light.