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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
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A Collection of Maps Owned by England’s First Queen Spent Centuries Overlooked in a Family Library. Now, the Rare Volume Is on Sale for $1.6 Million
Created for Mary I, the first woman to rule England in her own right, the book is "perhaps the most significant artifact of Tudor intellectual history still in private hands," the seller says
Smart News
Scientists Found This Mysterious Golden Orb on the Seafloor Nearly Three Years Ago. Now, They Finally Know What It Is
A 13-Year-Old Boy Found This Bronze Coin in a Field. It Turned Out to Be the First Ancient Greek Artifact Discovered in Berlin
A New Big Database of DNA From Indigenous Americans Shakes Up Scientists’ Theories About Human Settlement of South America
Fires in Berlin Destroyed Hundreds of Paintings During World War II. Now, a Museum Will Publish Photo Archives of the Lost Artworks Online
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Came From an Extremely Cold, Lonely Region of the Milky Way Galaxy, New Research Suggests
Latest Features
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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
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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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Special Report
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Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture
This series will trace how the American West's identity has been shaped by its people, landscapes and legacies
Featured Stories
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Photo of the Day
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Podcast
Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That
Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
Latest Episodes
The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana
April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes
History
A Collection of Maps Owned by England’s First Queen Spent Centuries Overlooked in a Family Library. Now, the Rare Volume Is on Sale for $1.6 Million
Created for Mary I, the first woman to rule England in her own right, the book is “perhaps the most significant artifact of Tudor intellectual history still in private hands,” the seller says
Science
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Butterflies Are in Dramatic Decline Across North America. A Close Look at the Western Monarch Shows Why
Pesticides, habitat loss and climate change have taken their toll on the beloved insects. But the experts working with them still find hope for their future
Innovation
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Sea Stars Can Lose an Arm and Soldier On. What If Robots Could Do the Same?
Bioinspiration looks to nature for clues on how to build more efficient, resilient robots
Travel
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Chiringuitos Offer the Quintessential Beach Bar Experience on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Steeped in history, the seafood joints are evolving to keep up with a global clientele and tightening environmental regulations
Arts & Culture
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Renaissance Art Linked Beauty With Virtue and Ugliness With Vice. See How Painters From Leonardo da Vinci to Botticelli Viewed Physical Attractiveness
An exhibition in Brussels spotlights 90-plus artworks featuring golden-haired muses, greedy old men and those deemed unattractive simply because they were different
At the Smithsonian
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The Planet Needs Prosperous Forests. These Scientists Are Planting More Than 33,000 Trees to Find the Perfect Species Blends
Forests provide myriad benefits, including timber, wildlife attraction, local cooling and climate resilience. At the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, ecologists are testing which tree combinations might create flourishing woodlands