A giant Atlantic cockle lies open on the beach in Fort Myers, Florida, while a beachcomber searches for shells in the background.

These Enchanting and Colorful Photos of Seashells and the Mollusks That Create Them Will Have You Marveling at the Natural World

Before they become sandy souvenirs, the baubles in the bubbles of the shoreline serve as a veritable fortress for creatures like clams, mussels and conchs

Jennie Rothenberg Gritz
Photographs by Devon Matthews

Researchers observed bearded capuchins in Brazil eating birds (shown here), lizards, rodents, opossums, snakes and other small vertebrates.

Smart News

When Fruit Is Scarce, These Monkeys Hunt Animals. The Behavior May Offer Clues About the Origins of Humans’ Meat-Eating Habits

August 28, 2026 10:00 a.m.

Smart News

Forests Didn’t Fare Well During an Ancient Global Warming Event, Offering a ‘Cautionary’ Tale About Today’s Climate Change

August 28, 2026 2:43 p.m.

Deep Inside a Spanish Cave, Roman Women May Have Worshipped a Mysterious Goddess

August 28, 2026 2:43 p.m.

Historical Pollution, Not Current Industrial Emissions, Damaged the World’s Largest and Oldest Collection of Ancient Rock Art, Study Suggests

August 28, 2026 2:04 p.m.

This Star Orbits Our Galaxy’s Heart at a Record-Breaking Speed—and Could Help Uncover Secrets About the Behemoth Black Hole There

August 28, 2026 11:45 a.m.

A Landlord Found a Peculiar Print Hanging in a Vacant Apartment. It Turned Out to Be an Original Picasso That Had Been Missing for Eight Years

August 28, 2026 11:37 a.m.

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Latest Features

Science

These Enchanting and Colorful Photos of Seashells and the Mollusks That Create Them Will Have You Marveling at the Natural World

September/October 2026

Kulasai Dasara is a festival wherein devotees dress up as deities, celestial beings and mythological characters, often with elaborate makeup and body paint.

Travel

These 15 Photos of India, Saturated With Vibrant Color, Are Like Witnessing the Country Through a Kaleidoscope

August 28, 2026 7:00 a.m.

At the Smithsonian

Yayoi Kusama Created Fantastical ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’ That Became the Art World’s Most Famous Backdrops. Her Work Spanned Counterculture to the Cosmos

August 27, 2026

A 1945 photo of Francis Lowell Coolidge (third from left) in the Pacific theater of World War II

History

This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II

August 27, 2026

Tennis courts where the author played at Outbound Sedona in the Arizona heat

Science

Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures

August 27, 2026

In Spain’s Cave of El Castillo, red ochre paintings depict rooflike shapes from the Upper Paleolithic.

History

The Prehistoric Paintings on the Walls of Caves Have Always Been Moving. But With the Right Kind of Light, Some Actually Seem to Move

September/October 2026

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

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Summer 2026

The “Ether Dome” at Massachusetts General Hospital is now a National Historic Landmark.

Science Theater of Relief

Medical procedures used to be a scream-filled endurance test until doctors at this Boston institution learned to tame the pain of patients

The view from Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York.

Travel Rediscovering America’s Original Grand Tour

Follow along as we retrace the route one journalist laid out in “The Fashionable Tour,” from New York City to Niagara Falls, when memories of the fight for independence were still fresh

History How to Build a Character

Silence Dogood. Richard Saunders. Benevolus. Sidi Mehemet Ibrahim. All were pen names that allowed Franklin to say things he couldn’t have otherwise said

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History

When a Carpenter in California Found a Nugget of Gold, It Started a Rush Toward Nothing Less Than the Modern World

History

The Prehistoric Paintings on the Walls of Caves Have Always Been Moving. But With the Right Kind of Light, Some Actually Seem to Move

Smart News

Why Was This 17th-Century Polish Woman Buried With a Padlock on Her Toe and an Iron Sickle Across Her Neck?

History

This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II

Arts & Culture

Dolly Parton Was One of the Biggest Stars in the History of Country Music. She Wanted to Be Remembered as a Songwriter

Special Report

America at 250: The Revolutionary Spark

A Smithsonian magazine special issue in celebration of the nation's 250th

View Full Report

Featured Stories

Arts & Culture

Georgia O’Keeffe Ignored Advice to Mimic Great European Masters. Her Goal Instead Was to Be a Great American Painter

O’Keeffe’s New Mexico studio Ghost Ranch. Opposite, a 1918 photo portrait by future husband Alfred Stieglitz.

History

Born in 1810, Margaret Fuller Was Labeled a Child Prodigy. She Later Used Her Intellect to Ask Important Questions About Women’s Role in America

A portrait of Fuller, inspired by her 1845 Woman in the Nineteenth Century, which argued for equality of the sexes. The book’s opening illustration featured mystical symbols of harmonizing opposites, including the Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.

History

The American Revolution’s Overlooked Influence? Physics. How ‘Common Sense’ Spelled Out Astronomical Expectations for a New Nation

After Isaac Newton, above, revolutionized celestial mechanics, admirers such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Paine, left, saw in Newton’s natural laws a model for democratic self-government.

Photo of the Day

I lived in the California desert a few years back and I often walked the zoo and gardens located there. I was able to visit this year and knew exactly where to go for my favorite images.

A Hungry Butterfly

By Michele Hughes

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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.

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The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

A Photographer’s Glimpse Into the Dwindling World of the Cascade Red Fox

April 9, 2026 | 32 minutes

The Real Story Behind Abigail Adams’ ‘Remember the Ladies’ Letter

March 26, 2026 | 31 minutes

Venomous Snakes Represent a Serious Public Health Problem. Scientists Are Biting Back With a Groundbreaking Antidote

March 12, 2026 | 28 minutes

History

An archaeologist holds the triangular padlock found around the Polish woman's left big toe.

Why Was This 17th-Century Polish Woman Buried With a Padlock on Her Toe and an Iron Sickle Across Her Neck?

New research suggests that the people who buried the young woman took precautionary measures to stop her from coming back to life and exacting revenge on them

August 27, 2026

This American Commando Parachuted Behind Enemy Lines in Both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II

August 27, 2026

Centuries Ago, Europeans Were Plagued by Constant Flooding, With 16 Major Events That Killed Thousands Over the Course of Just Three Years

August 24, 2026

More History

Science

Tennis Matches Are Heating Up, Literally. Here’s How the Court Became a Living Laboratory for Managing Extreme Temperatures

The sport’s hard-court surfaces can reach some 30 degrees hotter than the surrounding air. With elite players suffering heat illness on the world stage, athletes are following personalized cooling plans

August 27, 2026

Africa’s Wild Dogs Are the Most Hated Carnivores on the Continent. Here’s Why Some Conservationists Are Saving Them Anyway

September/October 2026

Once the Solar System’s Ninth Planet, Pluto Was Reclassified 20 Years Ago. Here’s Why Planetary Scientists and the Public Alike Love the Small, Icy Body

August 24, 2026

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Innovation

Why Gen Z Is Learning to Paint Like 19th-Century Artists

Paint groups are popping up in parks. Art schools are seeing a surge in applications. The rise of A.I. has people turning to more traditional art forms

August 18, 2026

The Global Web of Subsea Cables That Connects the World Can Now Detect Whales—Even When They’re Silent

August 13, 2026

Australia’s Social Media Ban for Teens May Not Be the Best Solution, But It’s Certainly Getting People Talking

August 17, 2026

More Innovation

Travel

At its peak, the movement grew to include more than 130 participating restaurants. Today, 111 authentic trattorias still promote regional cuisine in this special way.

In Some Trattorias in Italy, Diners Can Enjoy a Meal and Take the Plate It Was Served on Home as a Souvenir

The Piatti del Buon Ricordo, or “Plates of Good Memories,” tradition dates back to 1964, when a clever marketer came up with it to encourage Italians to travel across the country and taste regional dishes

August 25, 2026