Ben Panko

Ben Panko is a staff writer for Smithsonian.com

A centuries-old hun luang puppet is seen in a Thailand museum. Artisans there have recently revived the style of theater using them.

After 149 Years, Thailand's Royal Puppets Dance Again

The ancient art of Hun Luang all but vanished until passionate artisans revived the style in time for the late king’s royal funeral

The Climeworks device in Iceland that can filter carbon dioxide from ambient air and send it underground

First 'Negative Emissions' Plant Opens in Iceland, Turning Atmospheric CO2 Into Stone

The plant's operators hope to halt the warming of the Earth, but many challenges remain for the plan to work on a large scale

The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia are seen enveloping Ireland on October 16

How Ex-Hurricane Ophelia Turned Skies Red Over the U.K

In a year of crazy weather, the remnants of the massive storm headed toward the British Isles

A smart window prototype dims in response to electricity.

These Windows Tint With a Flick of a Switch

Stanford engineers are developing electric windows that block glare without blocking your view

Diploscapter pachys hasn't had sex for 18 million years, and is doing just fine

This Worm Hasn't Had Sex in 18 Million Years

By fusing its chromosomes, the creature could essentially clone itself while still maintaining genetic variation

C.O.R.E Demonstration for Fair Housing, August 21, 1963. Before the Fair Housing Act of 1968, a practice known as redlining limited loans to owners in minority neighborhoods which contributed to housing decay. Discrimination also prevented minorities from moving into better neighborhoods. A Department of Buildings survey in August 1963 revealed over 16,000 housing violations in a single month. Over 379 cases were turned over to the criminal court for prosecution.

The "Unlikely Historians" Who Documented America in Protest

A new exhibit showcases photos and films that have long been stowed away in a basement at New York Police Department's headquarters

An illustration of two neutron stars merging, ejecting gamma ray streams and clouds of matter that produce heavy elements and light

Scientists Spot the Spark From Ancient Collision of Neutron Stars

The chirp and flash from the event offers clues to the origin of Earth's precious metals

Cambodia's Angkor Wat, one of more than 1,000 world heritage sites designated by UNESCO

U.S. Pulls Out of Unesco for the Second Time

Citing bias against Israel, the U.S. breaks ties with UN agency it helped found

Intrepid Swiss scientists sampling wastewater at a treatment plant in Zürich

Stinking Rich: Swiss Sewage Contains $1.8 Million in Gold

But don't start digging through the country's sewer sludge just yet

Using "visual fingerprints" in works of art, Smartify can quickly ID that painting you want to know more about

App Aims to be the "Shazam" of the Art Museum

With a database of 30 museums worldwide and growing, Smartify can use your phone camera to identify and explain works of art

Little is known about the relation between these openings and climate change, but by studying them scientists hope to better tease out our impacts on this delicate system.

A Mysteriously Massive Hole in Antarctic Ice Has Returned

These holes are thought to be crucial elements of the currents driving the world's oceans, and after 40 years, one has formed again

A transcription of 95-foot-long inscription written in Luwian has been translated for the first time since its 1878 discovery

Scholar Deciphers 3,200-Year-Old Inscription That Could Shed Light on the "Sea People"

But the Luwian language text's unproven provenance calls its authenticity into question

This March 1843 portrait, taken in Washington, D.C., is the oldest known original photo of a U.S. president.

See the Earliest-Known Photograph of a U.S. President at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018

The museum recently acquired the 1843 daguerreotype of John Quincy Adams at the Sotheby’s photographs auction

A 2014 eruption of Old Faithful, one of its many consistent outbursts

Geologists Map the Plumbing Beneath Yellowstone's Old Faithful Geyser

Without turning over a stone, geologists imaged the subsurface supply for this iconic geyser

The only specimen ever collected of the erstwhile species Phyllastrephus leucolepis, or the Liberian Greenbul

The Elusive Songbird Species That Likely Never Existed

After fruitless hunts for a Liberian songbird, DNA analysis suggests that the species is not new

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's famed painting "Luncheon of the Boating Party" is the focus of a new exhibit in Washington, D.C.

Exhibit Sheds New Light on Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party"

More than 130 years after it was completed, "Renoir and Friends" returns to the famed painting

A line of men in green in the United Arab Emirates

Agoraphobic Photographer Captures the World With Some Help From Google Street View

A new exhibition shows how Jacqui Kenny has photographed stunning images of the planet without leaving her London home

The Sharp Rise and Steep Descent of AOL Instant Messenger

The free instant messaging service introduced millions to the joys of online communication, but it fell behind in the social media age

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visiting Canada's new National Holocaust Monument last week

Canada to Replace Holocaust Plaque After Uproar

The plaque dedicating the country's new national Holocaust memorial was criticized for making no reference to Jews or anti-Semitism

A painting of an aurora seen in Japan on September 17, 1770, in the book "Seikai"

Using 18th-Century Writings and Illustrations, Scientists Model an Ancient Magnetic Storm

The vibrant aurora lit up the night sky over the city of Kyoto, Japan, some 250 years ago

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