Get the best of Smithsonian magazine in your inbox every day

By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to receive news, offers, and information from Smithsonian magazine and our partners. Click to visit our Privacy Policy. Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.

Latest Features

The First Americans Museum opened in Oklahoma City this month.

TRAVEL

A Brand-New Museum in Oklahoma Honors Indigenous People at Every Turn

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for captive apes.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How Do Gorillas Get Heart Disease? And More Questions From Our Readers

Killer whales are among the oceans’ top predators. But in Iceland, pilot whales have them running scared.

SCIENCE

Why Do Pilot Whales Chase Killer Whales Near Iceland?

In the modern era, the European discovery of North American became a proxy for conflicts between American Protestants and Catholics, as well as northern Europeans who claimed Vikings like Leif Eriksson (left) as their ancestors and southern Europeans who touted links to Columbus (right) and the monarchs of Spain.

HISTORY

Viking Map of North America Identified as 20th-Century Forgery

Throughout the project, Beethoven’s genius loomed.

INNOVATION

How Artificial Intelligence Completed Beethoven's Unfinished Tenth Symphony

The Tuxtla statuette, discovered in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1902, now resides in the National Museum of Natural History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

What Secrets Does This 1,800-Year-Old Carved Stone Hold?

The massive 170,000-pound Discovery measures 122 feet long by 58 feet tall with a wingspan of 78 feet.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Following the 1986 and 2003 Shuttle Disasters, 'Discovery' Launched America Back Into Space

A researcher holds a banded vampire bat.

SCIENCE

Vampire Bats Call Out to Friends to Share Blood Meals

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine September 2021 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Travel

A Brand-New Museum in Oklahoma Honors Indigenous People at Every Turn

The team behind the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City incorporated the traditions and spiritual beliefs of 39 tribal nations into its design

2.

Smart News

Tiles 'Fit for the Emperor' Found in Roman Ruins Beneath English Cricket Club

The objects, as well as an inscription at the site, suggest ties to Septimius Severus, who led campaigns nearby in the early third century C.E.

3.

Smart News

Why Were Medieval Knights Always Fighting Snails?

It's a common scene in medieval marginalia. But what does it mean?

4.

History

Vinland Map Identified as 20th-Century Forgery

New technical analysis dates Yale's Vinland Map to the 1920s or later, not the 1440s as previously suggested

5.

Smart News

Covid-19 Surpasses 1918 Flu to Become Deadliest Pandemic in American History

But national population numbers have tripled since then. Influenza killed one in 150 Americans, while one in 500 people have died from the coronavirus

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Latino Center

Calling All Volunteers, the Smithsonian Latino Center Wants You

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Hearing the Voices of Deaf Culture at the 1981 Folklife Festival

National Museum of Natural History

Meet the Expert Studying Fishes That Spit Water to Hunt

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Reviving Tradition With the My Handmade Armenia Festival

National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian's Chris Browne Was the Manager at Ronald Reagan National Airport on 9/11

National Museum of Natural History

Four Natural History Programs Streaming for Free This Month

See All

Special Report
<p>The Smithsonian's Race and Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past initiative centers on six pillars.</p>

Race in America

To mark the Smithsonian's multi-year initiative, Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past, which will confront the history and legacy of race and racism through live and virtual events, pop-up exhibitions, digital resources, and other offerings, Smithsonian magazine has compiled this collection of relevant coverage.

View Full Report

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on Why the Smithsonian Is Talking About Race

158 Resources for Understanding Systemic Racism in America

The Relationship Between Race and Wellness Has Never Been More Pressing

Missing Caption

Travel with Smithsonian

Let the Journey Begin

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'This Truffle Dog Is Facing a Really Challenging Truffle Hunt

This Truffle Dog Is Facing a Really Challenging Truffle Hunt

Preview thumbnail for video 'Meet the Majestic Giant Manta Ray

Meet the Majestic Giant Manta Ray

Photo of the day

Nana makes Christmas treats with her granddaughter. Baking with Nana

History

In the modern era, the European discovery of North American became a proxy for conflicts between American Protestants and Catholics, as well as northern Europeans who claimed Vikings like Leif Eriksson (left) as their ancestors and southern Europeans who touted links to Columbus (right) and the monarchs of Spain.

Viking Map of North America Identified as 20th-Century Forgery

New technical analysis dates Yale's Vinland Map to the 1920s or later, not the 1440s as previously suggested

Since the 1920s, this unique piece of history has only been displayed publicly three times.

This Civil War–Era Eagle Sculpture Was Made Out of Abraham Lincoln's Hair

Actor James Madio played Easy Company T-4 Frank Perconte.

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

Science

A researcher holds a banded vampire bat.

Vampire Bats Call Out to Friends to Share Blood Meals

After they prep bite sites to lap the blood out of live cows, females invite their roostmates to join them

Moai statues at the Rano Raraku site on Easter Island

Genetic Study Maps When and How Polynesians Settled the Pacific Islands

A diver swims over a bleached section of the Great Barrier Reef near Heron Island.

The Planet Has Lost Half of Its Coral Reefs Since 1950

Innovation

Throughout the project, Beethoven&rsquo;s genius loomed.

How Artificial Intelligence Completed Beethoven's Unfinished Tenth Symphony

On October 9, the work will be performed in Bonn, Germany, and a recording will be released

Ultrasound of a 4-month-old fetus

A Brief History of the Sonogram

With the&nbsp;Phobys app, people with arachnophobia can overcome their fears by viewing a virtual spider.&nbsp;

Got Arachnophobia? There's an App for That

Arts & Culture

Actor James Madio played Easy Company T-4 Frank Perconte.

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

HBO's beloved World War II drama premiered 20 years ago this month

The newly authenticated sketch (left) and the final drawing, titled Worn Out (right)

Newly Identified Vincent van Gogh Drawing Goes on View for the First Time

Mary Shelley was just 20 years old when she published the first edition of her Gothic novel&nbsp;Frankenstein. Pictured:&nbsp;Richard Rothwell&#39;s portrait of Shelley, circa 1840

First Edition of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' Sells for Record-Breaking $1.17 Million

Travel

The First Americans Museum opened in Oklahoma City this month.

A Brand-New Museum in Oklahoma Honors Indigenous People at Every Turn

The team behind the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City incorporated the traditions and spiritual beliefs of 39 tribal nations into its design

A cluster of western monarch butterflies clings to a branch as it&nbsp;overwinters in California.

The Best Place to Watch Monarch Butterflies Migrate Might Be This Little California Beach Town

Riders outside the Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, the route's eastern terminus. Every year the National Pony Express Association conducts an annual re-ride of the famous delivery route.

Six Stops on the Pony Express That You Can Still Visit

At the Smithsonian

The Tuxtla statuette, discovered in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1902, now resides in the National Museum of Natural History.

What Secrets Does This 1,800-Year-Old Carved Stone Hold?

The Tuxtla Statuette illuminates an endangered Latin American culture

The massive 170,000-pound&nbsp;Discovery measures 122 feet long by 58 feet tall with a wingspan of 78 feet.

Following the 1986 and 2003 Shuttle Disasters, 'Discovery' Launched America Back Into Space

During the 2017 Grocery Walk, more than 500 protestors&nbsp;demanded greater investment in food access programs and healthy food retail options in a local Washington D.C. community.

In a City Flush With Power and Wealth, D.C.'s Ward 8 Faces Food Inequity