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

Between March 19 and April 17, 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock (above: at the start of her journey at Ohio's Port Columbus Airport) flew her single-engine Cessna 180, dubbed "Charlie," solo around the globe setting a world record.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Who Was the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World?

As the North Carolina farmed oyster industry grows, advocates hope to fuel consumer demand and build the industry’s profile with a tourism “trail.”

TRAVEL

North Carolina's Oyster Trail Aims to Give the Farmed Shellfish Industry a Boost

Eelgrass grows in the waters off Birch Island, Maine. The plant supports a bountiful and diverse ecosystem.

SCIENCE

Why Eelgrass in the Atlantic Ocean Faces an Uphill Battle

“The Great Divide” explores how ideas that came to the fore during the Enlightenment at once blurred social hierarchies and reinforced them, particularly along lines of gender and race. 

HISTORY

These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenment

Robert Sansone with his novel synchronous reluctance motor.

INNOVATION

This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How the Block Party Became an Urban Phenomenon

Spotless starling chicks use a bright yellow oil to enhance the color of their mouth, which scientists verified by rubbing a cotton swab over the area.

SCIENCE

The Done-Up Bird Gets the Worm

The Guna, an Indigenous group residing in Panama and parts of neighboring Colombia, have been creating colorfully embroidered clothing for centuries.

TRAVEL

The Colorful History Behind Panama's Mola

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine July/August 2022 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Innovation

This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry

Robert Sansone's research could pave the way for the sustainable manufacturing of electric vehicles that do not require rare-earth magnets

2.

History

These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenment

An exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum examines fashion's role in supporting social hierarchies that emerged during the landmark intellectual movement

3.

Smart News

Scientists Learn How Sea Sponge Sneeze and What’s In the Snot

New research reveals the animals expel mucus as a form of self-cleaning and other creatures eat the stuff up

4.

Smart News

Australia's Mysterious Somerton Man Identified as Carl Webb

New DNA analysis suggests a body found on a beach in Australia in 1948 belongs to Carl Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne

5.

Smart News

Gorillas Make a New ‘Snough’ Noise to Grab Their Keepers’ Attention

Researchers have never observed gorillas making the unusual sound in the wild, suggesting that captive gorillas can learn to make new noises

Smithsonian Voices
National Museum of Natural History

5 Facts About Meteors and Meteorites That Are Out of This World

Smithsonian Education

Awards Ceremony Highlights the Reach and Impact of Smithsonian Education for Teachers and Students

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Exploring Our Institution’s History With "Smithson to Smithsonian"

National Museum of Natural History

A Bird in the Hand: How a Smithsonian Zoologist Spent the Pandemic Tracking Nectar-Robbing Orioles

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Saving Waste to Win the War, One Grocery Store at a Time

National Zoo

How Zookeepers Care for Aging Lions

See All

Special Report
None

Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

View Full Report

Featured Stories

The Civil War's First Civilian Casualty Was an Elderly Widow From Virginia

The Barrier-Breaking Rowers of America's First All-Black Crew Team

The Black Buffalo Soldiers Who Biked Across the American West

Made Possible Through the Support of JEF logo TOWN HORZ Color 2.png

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'You’re Not Ready for How Playful Komodo Dragons Can Be

You’re Not Ready for How Playful Komodo Dragons Can Be

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

Photo of the day

Dusk of the Alpine Giants. Dusk of the Alpine Giants

History

A small accent table found in a Pompeii bedroom

Excavations Shed Light on the Everyday Life of Pompeii's Middle Class

An ornate courtyard found in an otherwise humble home may have reflected the owners' aspirational vision of the future

Experts were unable to pinpoint a cause of death, but three medical witnesses who testified during an inquest into the Somerton Man case agreed that his passing “was not natural.” 

Have Scholars Finally Identified the Mysterious Somerton Man?

Ornithologist Edmund Selous made empathy for birds respectable and, in doing so, changed the world. Bird-watching became a popular pastime, eventually making birding scientific and playing a pivotal role in the animals’ conservation.

How Bird Collecting Evolved Into Bird-Watching

Science

A sulphur-crested cockatoo bows down at the Madrid Zoo Aquarium. The birds have been seen dancing to music and opening trash bins to get to food.

What Can Dancing Cockatoos Teach Us About Ourselves?

An evolutionary biologist demystifies bird intelligence in an excerpt from her new book

This large mosaic of the Crab Nebula, which formed after a supernova explosion, was assembled from 24 individual exposures captured by Hubble Space Telescope over three months.

When Will the Next Supernova in Our Galaxy Occur?

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano releases gas on December 24, 2021, before the eruption on January 14.

Tonga Volcanic Eruption Blasted an Enormous Plume of Water Vapor Into the Atmosphere

Innovation

The ultrasound sticker

This Wearable Ultrasound Sticker Can Continuously Image Organs for 48 Hours

Developed by engineers at MIT, the new technology is about the size of a postage stamp

An alkaline hydrolysis machine at White Rose Aqua Cremation in Escondido, California

Could Water Cremation Become the New American Way of Death?

Travelers are facing long lines, delays, cancellations and other disruptions at airports this summer.

Will Electronic Bag Tags Make Air Travel Less Chaotic?

Arts & Culture

Abigail Barlow (bottom left) and Emily Bear (bottom right) won a Grammy for their Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.

What the 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical' Lawsuit Means for Fan-Created Content

Netflix has accused the songwriting duo behind the viral production of stealing copyrighted material for their own financial gain

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

How the Block Party Became an Urban Phenomenon

A love note found among the collection’s many cards and letters

From Lists to Love Letters, What Do People Leave Behind in Library Books?

Travel

Waves at Pōhue Bay

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Is Expanding by 16,000 Acres

The National Park Service is taking over stewardship of Pōhue Bay, an area full of cultural sites and endangered animals

Travelers are facing long lines, delays, cancellations and other disruptions at airports this summer.

Will Electronic Bag Tags Make Air Travel Less Chaotic?

French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral on July 28

Notre-Dame Cathedral Will Reopen by 2024

At the Smithsonian

Musicians Cindy Campbell and DJ Kool Herc take center stage in a 2013 celebration of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop. The brother and sister duo threw a "Back-to School Jam" in August, 1973 and launched a lasting music genre.

How the Block Party Became an Urban Phenomenon

This Saturday, NMAAHC invites the nation to livestream its star-studded Hip-Hop Block Party

At the world's largest arms fair held every two years in London, a group of artists in 2016 organized the "Art the Arms Fair," to voice opposition to the war industry and the international arms trade (above: Pattern Tank by Tristan Oliver, 2019).

Designers Build a Provocative Road Map for World Peace

Albert “Kid” Mertz (above: Untitled, c. 1980) painted hundreds, possibly thousands of railroad spikes he had collected from tracks near his property, giving each spike a cheerful face.

The Allure of Self-Taught Art