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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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Shakespeare Referenced Dozens of Bird Species in His Work. This Artist Has Made It Her Mission to Paint Them All
Missy Dunaway’s colorful illustrations combine natural history, folklore and literature to depict the Bard’s birds
Smart News
Could Bug Spray Attract Mosquitoes? Lab Insects Learned That the Smell of DEET Would Lead Them to a Tasty Treat
Korean and French Culture Are Set to Rendezvous at a New Museum in Seoul for Modern and Contemporary Art
Four Rare Guam Kingfisher Chicks Hatch at Virginia Facility, Making an ‘Incredibly Valuable’ Addition to the Small Population of Extinct-in-the-Wild Birds
These 600-Year-Old Chinese Surgical Instruments Are Coated in an Early Local Anesthetic—Carefully Extracted From a Poisonous Plant
Happy, an Asian Elephant Who Demonstrated That Her Species Might Be Self-Aware, Dies at 55 at the Bronx Zoo
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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Most Popular
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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
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Ona Judge Escaped From Slavery While George Washington Was Busy Eating Dinner Inside. Now, a New Mural Honors Her Legacy
The artwork in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, shows Judge arriving in the city after her journey from Philadelphia in May 1796. She remained a free woman until her death in 1848
Science
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What Was the Biggest Dinosaur? Fragmentary Fossils Make It Hard to Tell
Pinning down the most titanic of the large sauropod dinosaurs is not an easy task, since the odds were generally against the biggest ones being buried and preserved
Innovation
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How ‘Seabird Sue’ Blends Art and Science to Attract Birds Back to Lost Habitat
For the past decade, Sue Schubel has been making detailed decoys of terns, puffins and other seabirds to entice real ones to restored or new homes
Travel
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From Casa Vicens to the Sagrada Familia, Architect Antoni Gaudí Left an Indelible Mark on Barcelona
To honor the pioneer of Catalan Modernism, who died 100 years ago, learn about both his lesser-known and famous works
Arts & Culture
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Who Are the Owners of These Nazi-Looted Masterpieces—and Could Displaying Them at One of France’s Most Popular Museums Help Track Them Down?
A new permanent display at the Musée d’Orsay showcases artworks that may have been stolen or sold under suspicious circumstances during World War II. Officials are still hoping to find the families of their rightful owners
At the Smithsonian
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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