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Sweetgrass basket weaving is one of the most enduring cultural traditions of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of Africans enslaved on the rice, indigo and cotton plantations of the southeastern United States.

Travel

From Basket Weaving to Oyster Reef Conservation, Gullah Geechee Women Are Preserving a Living Heritage

Along America’s southeastern coast, descendants of enslaved Africans pass down traditions and knowledge of crafts, ecology and food through generations

Sophia Michelen

The researchers say this is one of the first studies looking at the effects of cold exposure over a prolonged period of time in people who are overweight or have obesity.

Smart News

Regularly Wearing a Cooling Vest Might Help You Lose Body Fat, According to a New Study

Smart News

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Smithsonian magazine April/May 2026 issue cover
The adult female fox, Shadow, was around 5 months old when Stuart first documented and named her in 2022.
Science The Fox Family of Mount Rainier
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
Opener
History Plunder at the Pink Temple
Clara and André Malraux conspired to loot the pink temple of Banteay Srei, but their failure started a battle of reclamation
OPENER - Two U.S. Navy officers stroll past the sunlit Georgian splendor of Middleton Tavern in Annapolis, Maryland. Horatio Middleton established the tavern here in 1750. Today, visitors can order classic Chesapeake seafood, including oysters and rockfis
Travel Drafting the Revolution
Taverns, public houses and inns served as meeting places before the war and unofficial headquarters during it. Some still stand—including these nine, where you can raise a glass in memory of the founders
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A ‘Magical’ Mirror the Powerful Queen of a British Tribe May Have Used Was Discovered in an Enormous Iron Age Hoard, Now on Display

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Innovation

How a Revolutionary Cancer Treatment Could Reset the Immune Systems of Patients With Autoimmune Diseases

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This Microscopic Fungus Survived NASA’s Sterilization Protocols—and Is Potentially Hardy Enough to Contaminate Mars

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Science

The Most Infamous Komodo Dragon Encounters of the Century, From a Fatal Attack on an 8-Year-Old Boy to a Zookeeper Bitten by a Battling Animal

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A Man Spotted Strange-Looking Rocks Near a Pond in Thailand. They Turned Out to Be the Bones of a Massive New Dinosaur Species

Photo of the Day

Murshda, who lives in an orphanage in Sri Lanka, dreams of leaving the orphanage one day and becoming a nurse after finishing school.

Dreaming in an Orphanage

By Mehmet Aslan

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Preview thumbnail for video 'The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Photographer's Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

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The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

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The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

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A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

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The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

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History

On the day of the Birmingham church bombing—September 15, 1963—white assailants also killed 13-year-old Virgil Ware (left) and 16-year-old Johnny Robinson (right).

The 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Killed Four Young Black Girls. But They Weren’t the Only Victims of Racial Violence in the City That Day

Hours after the attack, a police officer shot 16-year-old Johnny Robinson in the back. Then, a white teenager mortally injured 13-year-old Virgil Ware as he rode on the handlebars of his brother’s bike

Born and Raised in Philadelphia, This Loyalist Fled to England During the American Revolution. In His Absence, the Patriots Declared Him a Traitor and Seized His Property

History Remembers Mary Boleyn as the Scandalous ‘Other Boleyn Girl.’ New Research Debunks the Myths Surrounding the Tudor Mistress

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Science

By studying brain waves, heart rate and shifts in neurotransmitters and hormones, researchers aim to quantify the experiences of beauty and art.

Does the Experience of Beauty Show Up in the Brain? With Electrodes and a Museum Collection of Artifacts, These Neuroscientists Aim to Find Out

Researchers are tracing the brain and body’s response to aesthetic expression in search of a scientific value to art

Could Building a Dam Across the Bering Strait Save the Planet From Some Effects of Climate Change?

This Microscopic Fungus Survived NASA’s Sterilization Protocols—and Is Potentially Hardy Enough to Contaminate Mars

More Science

Innovation

Kang’s invention won second place and an award of $175,000 at the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the oldest and most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math competition for high school students in the United States.

This High Schooler Developed an A.I. Tool to Diagnose Autism and ADHD Using the Retina

Edward Kang’s RetinaMind analyzes patients’ retinal images and accurately diagnoses neurodevelopmental disorders 89 percent of the time

How the Classic American Game of Twister Went From Risqué to Record-Breaking

Could Underwater Autonomous Robots Save Coral Reefs?

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Travel

Hammarby Sjöstad was originally engineered to have a carbon footprint 50 percent lower than the rest of Stockholm.

This Stockholm Neighborhood Was Built on Ambitious Sustainability Goals. When It Came Up Short, It Doubled Down and Became a Blueprint for Others

The original plan for Hammarby Sjöstad was for an eco-village aimed at attracting the Olympics. They never came, but the locals moved in and, with upgrades, hope to be carbon neutral by 2030

It Took Millions of Years for Australia’s Famous Twelve Apostles Landmark to Rise Out of the Sea

Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol

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Arts & Culture

The new statue was installed overnight in Waterloo Place.

Attributed to Banksy, a New Statue of a Suited Man, Blinded by a Flag and Walking Off a Ledge, Appeared in Central London

The artwork was installed under the cloak of night this week, less than two months after a journalism investigation into Banksy’s true identity was published

The Real Winnie-the-Pooh Lives at the New York Public Library. When Queen Camilla Visited the Bear, She Reunited Him With a Dear Friend

How the Classic American Game of Twister Went From Risqué to Record-Breaking

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At the Smithsonian

Explorer Richard Byrd (left) and pilot Floyd Bennett (right) wearing fur parkas, circa 1926

A Century Ago, an Explorer and His Pilot Claimed to Be the First People to Fly Over the North Pole. Here’s Why Experts Doubt That Achievement

While the success of Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett’s polar flight has been disputed, the former went on to accomplish expeditions in Antarctica

Jack Kirby Was a Kid From the Lower East Side Who Became the ‘King of Comics’ and Made Superhero Mythology. Now, New York City Has Named a Street After Him

The Bison Is America’s National Mammal. Here’s How Indigenous Tribes and Conservationists Aided Its Return to the Prairies After Near Extinction

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