Wu’s innovation won the top prize of $25,000 at the 2025 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge.

This 14-Year-Old Is Using Origami to Imagine Emergency Shelters That Are Sturdy, Cost-Efficient and Easy to Deploy

Miles Wu folded a variant of the Miura-ori pattern that can hold 10,000 times its own weight

Ramsha Waseem

At the Smithsonian

How the Easy-Bake Oven, an Appliance That Allowed Kids to Heat Treats With a Light Bulb, Revolutionized the Toy Industry

February 12, 2026 8:00 a.m.

Smart News

You Can Buy a Rare Broadside Copy of the Declaration of Independence From July 1776

February 12, 2026 2:46 p.m.

A Massive Monkey Research Center Might Turn Into a Primate Sanctuary. Animal Activists Rejoice, While Scientists Worry

February 12, 2026 11:41 a.m.

Norman Rockwell’s Painting of the Crestfallen Chicago Cubs Is Now on View at the Art Institute of Chicago

February 12, 2026 11:40 a.m.

Scientists Say They May Have Found a Long-Lost Lunar Lander—the First to Successfully Touch Down on the Moon 60 Years Ago

February 12, 2026 10:00 a.m.

Ice Fishermen Catch Record-Breaking 244-Pound Atlantic Halibut After Hours-Long Struggle

February 11, 2026 4:41 p.m.

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Innovation

This 14-Year-Old Is Using Origami to Imagine Emergency Shelters That Are Sturdy, Cost-Efficient and Easy to Deploy

February 12, 2026 8:02 a.m.

At the Smithsonian

How the Easy-Bake Oven, an Appliance That Allowed Kids to Heat Treats With a Light Bulb, Revolutionized the Toy Industry

February 12, 2026 8:00 a.m.

A pair of vinegar valentines poking fun at the recipients’ looks

History

Feeling More Hate Than Love This Valentine’s Day? Send Snarky ‘Vinegar Valentines’ to Your Enemies Like the Victorians Did

February 12, 2026 7:30 a.m.

Science

The Tragedy of the Alps’ Disappearing Glaciers for Those Who Live, Visit and Ski There

February 12, 2026 7:00 a.m.

Paleontologists have found early examples of theropods, the group that would eventually include tyrannosaurs. But precisely how another group of dinosaurs, known as the bird-hipped ornithischians, evolved remains a major question in paleontology.

Science

An Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. But How Did Their Reign Begin? Mysterious Early Reptiles May Hold the Answer

February 11, 2026

The Château de Montal's early Renaissance style marked a transition from the medieval fortresses that dot a landscape so keenly fought over by the English and French during the Hundred Years’ War.

Travel

How a Little-Known French Region Safeguarded the Louvre’s Treasures During World War II

February 10, 2026

Uncovering the past. Understanding the present. Informing the future.

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January/February 2026

History The Haunting of Young George Washington

New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to come

OPENER - Southern rockhoppers fearlessly approach the camera at Murrell Farm in the Falklands. The birds’ features include their spiky crests, which resemble wild eyebrows.

Science Penguins With Attitude

A visit to the Falkland Islands, where the fearless seabirds navigate the rugged topography with tenacious spunk, shows the new challenges they face

Science Back to the Future

Scheduled to launch in early 2026, NASA’s Artemis 2 is part of the bold 21st-century vision for returning astronauts to the lunar surface

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Smart News

When Human Activity Dropped During Covid-19, Methane Emissions Surprisingly Spiked. Now, a Study Points to Two Reasons Why

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Archaeologists Say They’ve Identified Traces of a 2,000-Year-Old Love Note Still Etched Into a Wall in Ancient Pompeii

Smart News

This Massive Hillside Figure Has Mystified Historians for Centuries. Now, Donations Have Secured the Surrounding Landscape

Smart News

Scientists Say That Jupiter—the Solar System’s Largest Planet—Might Be Slightly Smaller Than Previously Thought

Science

An Asteroid Ended the Age of the Dinosaurs. But How Did Their Reign Begin? Mysterious Early Reptiles May Hold the Answer

Special Report

Coastal Cities of Europe

Explore the history, culture and natural wonders of the continent's most celebrated ports

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Featured Stories

Travel

Can Venice’s Iconic Crab Dish Survive Climate Change?

Crabs not yet at the molting stage are thrown back into the Venice lagoon.

History

Go Behind the Scenes at an Iconic Irish Library as Staff Move 700,000 Historical Treasures Into Storage

A bust of Plato in the Long Room at Trinity College Dublin

Travel

See Greece in All Its Gorgeous Glory

Brightly colored homes line the caldera in Santorini, a contrast to much of the blue-and-white motif.

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Photo of the Day

Perched in their leafy hideout, two damselflies peeked curiously at the lens. “They’re clicking our picture!” one whispered. “Do you think we’ll be famous?” said the other—nature’s tiniest wonders with playful stories.

The Curious Duo

By Santanu Dutta

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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.

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