Smithsonian Magazine: Explore History, Science, Arts & Culture

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.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

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

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

Smart News

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

January 15, 2025 5:00 a.m.

Climate Activists Spray-Paint Warning on Charles Darwin's Grave

January 14, 2025 5:34 p.m.

U.S. Dementia Cases Are Poised to Rise to One Million Each Year by 2060, According to New Projections

January 14, 2025 5:15 p.m.

Music History and Contemporary Art Destroyed in the Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires

January 14, 2025 3:57 p.m.

Astronomers Found Strange, Accelerating X-Ray Pulses Coming From a Black Hole. They Might Be a Sign of an Orbiting White Dwarf

January 14, 2025 3:18 p.m.

These Fascinating Objects Show How the Palace of Versailles Drove Surprising Scientific Advances in the 17th and 18th Centuries

January 14, 2025 1:01 p.m.

Latest Features

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

January 15, 2025 7:15 a.m.

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

January 14, 2025

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.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

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

January 14, 2025

Early 20th-century paleontologists wondered whether the small arms of Tyrannosaurus rex were used for grasping when the dinosaurs mated.

Everything You Want to Know About the Sex Lives of Dinosaurs, From Scratching the Ground to Battling With Horns

Updated: January 13, 2025 | Originally Published: February 10, 2011

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2025 took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week.

The Eight Coolest Inventions From the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show

January 10, 2025

The snow-capped Rockies glow bright white in the snow.

See the Splendor of the Majestic Rocky Mountains

January 10, 2025

The world’s first Covid-19 human challenge study was born in early 2021.

What Have We Learned From Intentionally Infecting People With Covid-19?

January 10, 2025

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

January 9, 2025

Current Issue
January/February 2025

Smithsonian magazine January/February 2025 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Massive Bluefin Tuna the Size of a Motorcycle Sells for $1.3 Million at a Japanese Fish Market

The fish weighed 608 pounds, which is also about the same size as an adult male grizzly bear. It garnered the second highest bid at the Toyosu Market since records began in 1999

2.

Archaeologists Unearth Early Medieval Sword Engraved With Mysterious Runes in a Cemetery in England

Dating to the fifth and sixth centuries C.E., the burials held a trove of grave goods—but the team was particularly impressed by the sword, which was covered in intricate decorations

3.

Metal Detectorists Discover 1,200-Year-Old Graves That May Have Belonged to High-Status Viking Women

Excavations in Norway revealed a rich variety of artifacts, including jewelry, textile tools and stones positioned in the shape of a ship

4.

Music History and Contemporary Art Destroyed in the Deadly Los Angeles Wildfires

An archive of scores by composer Arnold Schoenberg and the collections of countless contemporary artists have been lost in the blaze

5.

Motown Records, Founded on This Day in 1959, Broke Racial Barriers in Pop Music With Its Beloved Hits

Berry Gordy’s record label used the ‘sound of young America’ to bring people together

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

This beautiful scene occurred after a storm at The Point in Harpers Ferry, where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers meet.

Double Rainbow Over Harpers Ferry, WV

History

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

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

The 226 people trapped on board the City of San Francisco endured freezing temperatures, carbon monoxide poisoning and food shortages.

When a Deadly Winter Storm Trapped a Luxury Passenger Train Near the Donner Pass for Three Days

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

The theme of this year's creepy doll contest at the History Center of Olmsted County is "Circus After Dark."

The Creepy Doll Contest Is Back—and It's Time to Cast Your Vote for the Most Terrifying Toy

Step right up and see the spooky circus dolls—from creepy clowns to frightening fortune-tellers—in a Minnesota museum's vintage toy collection

Mask, Jackson Pollock, 1941

Before He Created His Vibrant Drip Paintings, Jackson Pollock Took Inspiration From Pablo Picasso

The Ofaerufoss waterfall is part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River, meaning the “impassable northern river.” The river flows into Eldgja, or the “Canyon of Fire.”

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

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