A group of people stand in the center of a large stage

National Museum of Natural History

Farewell to Baird Auditorium: A Century of Science, Culture and Creativity

As Baird Auditorium closes for renovation, NMNH reflects on its century-long legacy and the architectural marvels that make it one of D.C.’s most iconic public spaces

Two aluminum cans are photographed against a dark background. One can has a red, white, and blue logo and a white plastic cap. The other can has a red and white logo.

National Air and Space Museum

The World Is Still Waiting for the Great Space Cola

Being in orbit is great. Not so much if you want a carbonated beverage

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National Museum of American History

October Highlights at the National Museum of American History: Exhibits, Events, Music and More

Here's what's happening at the museum this month.

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National Museum of Natural History

How Did the Ostrich Cross the Ocean? Its Ancestors Flew There

A remarkable fossil in the National Museum of Natural History’s collection reveals that the ancestors of modern flightless birds were capable of flying long distances

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Smithsonian Books

How State Fairs Got Their Start and Kept Growing

A new book explores state fair crafts and traditions

A close-up, head-on view of the nose and cockpit section of a gray U.S. Air Force KC-10 Extender aircraft parked in an aircraft boneyard, with mountains in the distant background.

National Air and Space Museum

Air Crews Remember the Reliable KC-10 With Affection

After decades of service, a legendary tanker says farewell.

People stand and listen to a speaker in a brightly lit museum room underneath a large gold art installation.

Smithsonian Education

Smithsonian Program Connects Youth Across America Through Dialogue

Since September 2024, the Democracy in Dialogue Virtual Exchange program has offered sets of paired classrooms across the country a key question to explore together: "How has your community played a role in 250 years of the American experience?"

A woman wearing a straw sun hat stands on a dock with a forest behind her, holding out a plastic water bottle and smiling.

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

How Volunteers Helped Train Satellites to Health-Check the Chesapeake

Thousands of water samples. Hundreds of volunteers. Meet Chesapeake Water Watch, the big data project where volunteers are improving how satellites measure water quality in the Bay.

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Smithsonian Affiliations

Before Tuskegee, There Was Riverside Airfield

How Columbia Air Center became the first licensed Black-owned and operated airfield

Sally Ride wearing a blue flight suit and helmet with her hands on either side of the helmet.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

A Woman’s Place: In Outer Space

Learn about Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, and Eileen Collins, some of the pioneering women at NASA who were among the first to suit up for spaceflight.

Three young women pose together for a photo in front of the Smithsonian Castle.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Explore Women’s History Through Smithsonian Internships

Discover how the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum’s 2025 interns explored women’s history through hands-on research, public programming, and digital projects across the Smithsonian.

A black and white photograph of Mary Church Terrell seated in profile from the waist up. The left side of her face is visible. There is a photographer's stamp embossed in the bottom left corner.

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

Activist and Writer Mary Church Terrell Led the Charge for Desegregation

Discover the legacy of Mary Church Terrell, cofounder of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, educator, and women’s rights advocate.

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National Museum of Natural History

Ginseng Family Secrets, Super-Flexible Whale Jaw Joints and More in the National Museum of Natural History's Summer Summary

Explore a few exciting discoveries by museum researchers that you may have missed over the past few months

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National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

8 Fascinating Facts About the Cuban Crocodile, a Rare Caribbean Predator

They’re agile on land. Intelligent in behavior. And…they can gallop like a horse? Learn what makes Cuban crocodiles so extraordinary.

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Smithsonian Science Education Center

Bringing the Smithsonian Into Classrooms for 40 Years

The Smithsonian Science Education Center is Transforming K-12 Education through Science, in collaboration with communities across the globe

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Smithsonian Books

Become an Expert on a New Subject for National Read a Book Day

It's the perfect time to pick up a book and learn something new

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Your IMPACT | Your Smithsonian

Design for Change

Teen mentorship program inspires students to pursue design careers.

Gardeners in the Flight Garden

Your IMPACT | Your Smithsonian

Gardens Take Flight

Smithsonian Gardens unveils two revitalized green spaces that educate and inspire.

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National Museum of Natural History

Red or Black, but Nothing in Between: Multicolored Beaks Are a Big Turn Off for Female Jamaican Hummingbirds

Museum scientist Gary Graves has spent decades investigating why red-billed and black-billed streamertail hummingbirds remain distinct species despite on-going hybridization

A woman in a yellow dress and long braids skateboarding on a half-pipe

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

On International Day of Indigenous Women, Meet Native Women Skaters Making Space in the Sport

This is how Imilla Skate celebrates skateboarding’s Indigenous past and present.