Smithsonian Magazine: Explore History, Science, Arts & Culture

A 1937 photograph of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary in American history

How the Nation's First 'Madam Secretary' Fought to Save Jewish Refugees Fleeing From Nazi Germany

A new book spotlights Frances Perkins' efforts to challenge the United States' restrictive immigration policies as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary of labor

An illustration of Prototaxites in the early Devonian landscape, roughly 400 million years ago.

Giant, Mysterious Spires Ruled the Earth Long Before Trees Did. What Exactly Are These Odd-Looking Fossils?

Smart News

Researchers Have Found an Inca Tunnel Beneath the Peruvian City of Cusco

January 21, 2025 4:50 p.m.

President Trump Orders the U.S. to Exit the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Agreement on His First Day in Office

January 21, 2025 4:50 p.m.

For Chimpanzees, Peeing May Be Contagious—Just Like Yawning Is for Humans, Study Finds

January 21, 2025 4:33 p.m.

Bob Dylan’s Drafts of 'Mr. Tambourine Man' Lyrics Sell for $508,000 at Auction

January 21, 2025 4:25 p.m.

Hawaiian Observatory Clocks Highest Annual Jump in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Since Its Records Began 67 Years Ago

January 21, 2025 3:53 p.m.

Giant, Mysterious Spires Ruled the Earth Long Before Trees Did. What Exactly Are These Odd-Looking Fossils?

Updated: January 21, 2025 11:38 a.m. | Originally Published: July 17, 2013

Latest Features

The frame of the house stands where former Australian child star Rory Sykes died in a neighboring cottage during the Palisades Fire on Rambla Pacifico Street. Sykes was 32 years old and had cerebral palsy.

A Los Angeles Photographer Captures the Devastating Fires Threatening His Beloved Community

January 21, 2025 4:39 p.m.

A 1937 photograph of Frances Perkins, the first female cabinet secretary in American history

How the Nation's First 'Madam Secretary' Fought to Save Jewish Refugees Fleeing From Nazi Germany

January 21, 2025 7:15 a.m.

A vast mosaic of cells, some that are identical and some that are slightly different, make up the human body.

Why Is Every Human Being Riddled With Genetic Errors?

January 17, 2025

The upper portion of a statue depicting Martin Luther King Jr. at MacGregor Park in Houston on November 28, 2024

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

These 15 Photos Show the People and Places of American Streets Named After Martin Luther King Jr.

January 17, 2025

The finished national anthem included the calls of 41 birds.

How Scientists and Composers Teamed Up to Create a Stunning Natural Version of Colombia’s National Anthem

January 16, 2025

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

January 16, 2025

Black Horses, Grandma Moses, oil on pressed board, 1945, featured in the exhibition "Grandma Moses: A Good Day's Work" at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Nineteen New and Revamped Smithsonian Shows to See in 2025—Plus One Bonus That Will Make You Go Wild for Nature

January 15, 2025

The systems have been especially successful in Latin America, where massive cities and dramatic landscapes make building roads, rail lines and subway tunnels difficult. Mi Teléferico, shown here, connects more than two million people across the La Paz metro in Bolivia.

Seven Cities in the World Where You Can Ride an Aerial Cable Car

January 15, 2025

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January/February 2025

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Most Popular

1.

Archaeologists Discover Intricately Decorated Tomb Belonging to a Doctor Who Treated Egyptian Pharaohs 4,100 Years Ago

The chamber holds a stone coffin engraved with the physician’s name and titles, which include "director of medicinal plants" and "chief dentist"

2.

Can You Read This Cursive Handwriting? The National Archives Wants Your Help

Anyone with an internet connection can volunteer to transcribe historical documents and help make the archives' digital catalog more accessible

3.

A Tiny, 'Endangered' Fish Delayed a Dam's Construction in the 1970s. Now, Scientists Say the Snail Darter Isn't So Rare After All

A lawsuit to protect the snail darter from the Tellico Dam in Tennessee offered the first real test of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. But a new study disputes the fish's status as a distinct species

4.

See the Greek Biblical Inscription Embedded in an Ancient Mosaic Floor Discovered in Israel

Archaeologists think the tiles once lined a Byzantine-era monastery. The complex also included a large warehouse and winepress

5.

Scientists Find the Mysterious Source of the Massive 1831 Volcanic Eruption That Cooled Earth and Made the Sun Appear Blue

The climate-altering eruption came from the Zavaritskii volcano on an uninhabited island in the Pacific that once hosted a Soviet submarine base, according to a new study

Special Report

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Our Sustainable Future

A hub dedicated to the latest on how global change affects life on Earth today and on what solutions scientists, including those at the Smithsonian, are researching to build a more sustainable planet

View Full Report

Featured Stories

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Inside the Effort to Save Earth's Biocrusts

Can the Noise in Sports Arenas Be Turned Into Electricity?

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Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

10 Fun Facts About Jellyfish

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Preview thumbnail for video '10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

10 Enchanting Butterfly Facts Revealed!

Photo of the day

Photo of an oak tree taken at Middleton Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina.

History

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

The Harlem Renaissance author spent her last years writing about the ancient king. Six decades after her death, her unfinished novel has finally been published for the first time

Works like Tissot's The Convalescent (1872), pictured here, reflect a sense of unease over a modernizing society that was sweeping women up in its fray.

These Stunning 19th-Century Artworks Reveal the Contradictions of the Modern Woman

The Derveni Papyrus, named for the location where it was found, is believed to date to between 340 and 320 B.C.E.

How Archaeologists Discovered Europe's Oldest-Known Book, Revealing Never-Before-Seen Insights Into Ancient Religion and Philosophy

Science

Alpinists ascend along a narrow ridge of ice and snow in the Mont Blanc massif.

Inside One Scientist’s Quest to Understand Why Climate Change Is Making Europe’s Highest Peak More Dangerous

Geomorphologist and veteran climber Ludovic Ravanel is learning how Mont Blanc is shifting—and sharing his discoveries with the Alpine community

Tetiaroa is a haven for wildlife, including sea turtles, crabs, seabirds, sharks, coral and fish.

Marlon Brando Wanted to Build a ‘University of the Sea.’ These Scientists Are Bringing the Late Actor’s Vision to Life

Find your nearest dark-sky site and mark your calendars for these stunning astronomical spectacles in 2025.

11 Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2025, From a Total Lunar Eclipse to Rare Planetary Alignments

Innovation

Air Ring 48 attaches to the base of a construction helmet, providing crucial airflow to the sweatiest areas of the head and neck.

Could This New Wearable Device Reduce Heat Stress in Construction Workers?

Architecture students at the University of Hong Kong invented a cooling apparatus that attaches to a construction helmet

The products range from programmable rovers to books that introduce the terminology of robotics and circuitry to childen.

Engineers Choose the Ten Best STEM Toys to Gift in 2024

The plant-based egg substitutes available today are less than perfect. Food scientists are working hard to improve them — and, maybe, make them better tasting and more nutritious than the real thing.

Scientists Are Trying to Crack the Recipe for the Perfect Plant-Based Eggs

Travel

Around the world, a wealth of new museums are also bringing art and culture, science and technology, and education and storytelling to the forefront.

Ten Must-See Museums Opening Around the World in 2025

New institutions dedicated to artificial intelligence, West African art, barbeque and more are expected to welcome visitors this year

The new Chuckwalla National Monument protects more than 624,000 acres in southern California.

Biden Establishes Two New National Monuments in California

Matanuska Glacier north of Anchorage is one of the best spots for a more intense experience in the Alaskan wilderness.

Seven Ways to Explore Alaska's Endangered Glacial World

Arts & Culture

Works like Tissot's The Convalescent (1872), pictured here, reflect a sense of unease over a modernizing society that was sweeping women up in its fray.

These Stunning 19th-Century Artworks Reveal the Contradictions of the Modern Woman

A new exhibition spotlights James Tissot, whose paintings and prints reflected women’s ever-evolving roles in Victorian society

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

A Revolutionary War pension and bounty land warrant application submitted by James Lambert

Can You Read This Cursive Handwriting? The National Archives Wants Your Help

At the Smithsonian

Honoree Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian speaks on stage during National Archives Foundation Records of Achievement Award Ceremony and Gala 2023 at the National Archives Museum on December 4, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

The Head of the Smithsonian Talks About America’s 250th, Why Experts Still Matter and What to Expect From the Institution in 2025

In an extensive interview, Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III spoke on the current political climate, the process of returning human remains from the Institution’s collections, the awe-inspiring scope of Smithsonian science and much more

Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, at his studio drawing table with a picture of his character Charlie Brown and some awards behind him in 1978

Why the ‘Peanuts’ Characters Still Thrive 25 Years After the Last Original Comic Strip Was Published

Did colonial Americans wear wristwatches?

Did Colonial Americans Wear Wristwatches? And More Questions From Our Readers