Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

National Museum of Natural History

DSC02733.jpg

Meet the Entomologist and Wildlife Photographer Zooming in on the Weird and Wonderful World of Ants

Mark Moffett, a research associate at the National Museum of Natural History, specializes in capturing the often-overlooked behaviors of insects

NMNH-2025-01929 (1).jpg

Meet the Scientist Analyzing Historic Bison DNA to Understand How the Species Rebounded From the Edge of Extinction

Smithsonian researcher Sarah Johnson studies bison specimens to understand how the species’s genetic diversity changed after its decline

20240821-817A4155-02RP-S.JPG

To Get on the Same Frequency as Early Reptiles, this Scientist Compares Tiny Fossilized Bones to Modern Lizard Ears

Using the fossil record and modern cold-blooded critters, paleontologist Kelsey Jenkins recreates the hearing capabilities of ancient animals

Walrus_Publicity-Still_08-scaled.jpg

Meet the Museum Director Who’s Wild About Walruses

In celebration of World Walrus Day, National Museum of Natural History director Kirk Johnson talks about his new documentary on the saber-toothed seals

IMG_0424.jpg

Meet the Scientist Digitizing Millions of Fossilized Pollen Grains to Reveal Earth’s Climate History

Smithsonian researcher Ingrid Romero studies fossil pollen to reconstruct ancient climates and predict future changes

A man wearing an orange rain jacket sits on a boat, framed by the ocean and a glacier behind him.

Meet the Scientist Tracing 10,000 Years of Indigenous Life Along Alaska's Southern Coast

Aron Crowell weaves Indigenous knowledge, archaeology and environmental science into a powerful narrative of cultural resilience in the Arctic

3.jpeg

Meet the Scientist Who Discovered a New Genus of Curious Catfish Hiding in Colombia’s Most Endangered River

Museum ichthyologist Cristhian Conde-Saldaña uses evolutionary genetics to study freshwater fishes and document at-risk biodiversity

A man in a grey short sits in a lab setting, in front of a microscope and a computer screen.

Meet the National Museum of Natural History Volunteer Preserving Prehistory One Microfossil at a Time

Carlos Savignano is part of a dedicated group of FossiLab volunteers preparing Smithsonian fossils for display and future research

Minnow_Pseudaspius-leptocephalus_Skull bones colored.png

Meet the Scientist Using Micro-CT Scans to Explore Big Questions About Evolution

Corinthia Black studies the anatomical features of fishes and spiders to understand how life on Earth takes shape

A circular rock is cut in half against a black background, revealing the plant material fossilized inside.

Meet the Scientist Studying 'Fossil Snapshots' of Ancient Insect Life

Paleobiologist Scott Lakeram analyzes 300-million-year-old coal ball fossils to reveal prehistoric plant-insect interactions frozen in time

Art_Pansani_2024_SciRep 1.jpg

Meet the Scientist Decoding Human History in South America Through Giant Ground Sloth Fossils

Thaís Pansani examines the marks humans left on megafauna bones to determine when people arrived in South America and how they interacted with giant mammals

2012-02-04_2040774.png

Fearsome Flies: Meet the Scientist Studying the Top Predators in the Insect World

Entomologist Torsten Dikow, a leading expert on assassin flies, is working to connect a global community of researchers through the democratization of insect science

A slab of multicolored, sedimentary rock is pictured with vibrant trees and water surrounding it.

Meet the Scientist Venturing to Remote Canada in Search of the Earth’s Oldest Rocks

Smithsonian researcher Wriju Chowdhury is part of an expedition searching for 4-billion-year-old crystals that could uncover the secrets behind Earth’s early history

IMG_4636.JPG

Meet the Museum Scientist Who Sails the Ocean and Sifts Through Seafood Markets to Identify Fishes

From field sites in Vietnam and the coast of West Africa to her laboratory in Washington, D.C., Kate Bemis applies her knowledge of fish diversity to support sustainable fisheries

IMG_4552.JPG

A Glowing Review: Meet the Museum Scientist Who Studies the Evolution of Bioluminescence in Corals

Deepwater coral specialist Andrea Quattrini’s new paper pins the origin of bioluminescence in corals to more than 500 million years ago

meteor crater.jpg

Mars Madness: Meet the Scientist Studying the Rocky Surface of Mars

Planetary geologist Amanda Ostwald studies Martian meteorites to understand what makes Mars different from — and similar to — planet Earth

Two red, orange, and white starfish with intricate patterns sit side by side against a black background

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Who Has Spent Decades Exploring Ocean Depths

Marine biologist Dr. Dave Pawson has embarked on over 100 dives to the ocean floor to unravel the mysteries of elusive invertebrates like sea cucumbers and brittle stars

Screen Shot 2023-10-31 at 11.27.18 AM.png

Meet the Scientist Studying the Scary Speed of Spider Jaws

This Halloween, learn how arachnologist Hannah Wood uses the fossil record to track the evolution of these misunderstood critters

A man wearing a ripped white shirt stands among thick greenery, holding a plastic sample bag

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Untangling the Branches of Hawaii’s Evolutionary Tree

From fragile ferns to towering trees, NMNH botanist Warren Wagner has spent over 30 years researching plants from the dense forests of the Pacific Islands.

Screen Shot 2023-08-14 at 11.37.40 PM.png

For the Love of Lizards: Meet One of the Smithsonian’s Lizard Experts

For more than fifty years, museum herpetologist George Zug has studied all manner of reptiles and amphibians

Categories
Archive

Page 1 of 3