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Latest Features

On Brooklyn's Hegeman Avenue, one of the centers with a rooftop playground spans an entire city block.

HISTORY

New York City's Unsung Monuments to Working Moms

The new exhibition “¡Presente! A Latino History of the United States” opens next spring in the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the New National Museum of the American Latino

Until recently, scientists knew relatively little about the lives of birds on the open North Atlantic. But a group of researchers has identified a habitat in the ocean teeming with great shearwaters and other seabirds.

SCIENCE

Regulators Look to Protect a Seabird Hotspot in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

A growing body of work shows that marine animals are attracted to the sounds of healthy environments.

INNOVATION

Playing Recordings of a Healthy Ocean Can Help Restore Marine Ecosystems

This year's list includes Four Lost Cities, About Time and The Man Who Hated Women.

HISTORY

The Ten Best History Books of 2021

A booster shot is administered in Stony Brook, New York in November. Such a shot can help spur a person’s immune system to ramp up defenses against Covid-19.

SCIENCE

Six Questions About Waning Immunity to Covid-19 Answered

"As soon as this idea of aerial application for farming began to take shape, nearly everyone agreed this was the way to go,” says Dorothy Cochrane, curator at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where one of only two known to exist, is on view.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Little 'Puffer' That Could, and Did, Change an Industry

This year's picks include Trails, Cascadia and the Initiative.

ARTS & CULTURE

The Best Board Games of 2021

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine December 2021 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

Found in a Candy Tin: One of the First Coins Struck in Colonial North America

Illegally minted in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 1652 silver shilling recently sold at auction for $351,912

2.

Smart News

Ten Hilarious Winners of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

The annual contest is a joyful celebration of the natural world

3.

Smart News

For the Only Person Ever Hit by a Meteorite, the Real Trouble Began Later

The "Hodges meteorite" brought problems to the woman it struck, but good fortune to at least one neighbor

4.

Smart News

A Mosaic From Caligula's 'Pleasure Boat' Spent 45 Years as a Coffee Table in NYC

Authorities returned the ancient artwork, now on view at a museum near Rome, to Italy following a multi-year investigation

5.

Arts & Culture

The Best Board Games of 2021

These new offerings are sure to entertain, as more gatherings of families and friends are happening

Smithsonian Voices
National Zoo

A Rare Look Inside the Nests of Declining Prairie Songbirds

National Museum of American History

Bringing the Forgotten History of Black Firefighting to Life

National Museum of Natural History

Explore Ocean Bioluminescence and More Free Natural History Programs This December

Smithsonian Associates

Get Ready for the Holiday Season With These Virtual Programs

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Tichkematse, a Great Favorite at the Smithsonian

Conservation Commons

Leftovers and Turkey Takeovers in This Week's Earth Optimism

See All

Special Report
<p>Artist's rendering of "Futures," an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building</p>

Futures

The Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building reopens on November 20 with a thought-provoking exploration of what lies ahead for humanity

View Full Report

A New, Interactive Sculpture by Suchi Reddy Illuminates Our Hopes and Fears About the Future

From Floating Cities to Biodegradable Burial Pods and Flying Cars, the Smithsonian Envisions a Multitude of Futures

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on What Excites Him About the Smithsonian's New Futures Exhibition

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Preview thumbnail for video 'These Traditional British Sweets Have the Best Names

These Traditional British Sweets Have the Best Names

Photo of the day

During the 2020 pandemic, I visited Death Valley National Park. I have wanted to visit this American great land for a long time. It is a mysterious place for me because of the name. Death Valley

History

This year&#39;s list includes&nbsp;Four Lost Cities,&nbsp;About Time&nbsp;and&nbsp;The Man Who Hated Women.

The Ten Best History Books of 2021

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and help explain how the U.S. got to where it is today

This composite photograph shows the bison herd with one of the newly discovered petroglyphs overlaid on the sky.

Bison in Canada Discover Ancient Petroglyphs, Fulfilling an Indigenous Prophecy

The term &ldquo;Crusade&rdquo; has always been an anachronism&mdash;a way of looking back at complex, often disconnected movements with a wide array of motivations, membership, tactics and results and organizing them into a single coherent theology or identity. Pictured:&nbsp;A 19th-century painting of the 1177 Battle of Montgisard by&nbsp;Charles-Philippe Larivi&egrave;re

The Many Myths of the Term 'Crusader'

Science

A booster shot is administered in Stony Brook, New York in November. Such a shot can help spur a person&rsquo;s immune system to ramp up defenses against Covid-19.

Six Questions About Waning Immunity to Covid-19 Answered

Experts weigh in on when a reduced immune response occurs and how boosters can help restore defenses

By mating with the same partner each year, the albatross couples build trust, communication and coordination to help them raise demanding chicks successfully.

Albatrosses Mate for Life, but Climate Change Has Doubled Their 'Divorce' Rates

Until recently, scientists knew relatively little about the lives of birds on the open North Atlantic. But a group of researchers has identified a habitat in the ocean teeming with great shearwaters and other seabirds.

Regulators Look to Protect a Seabird Hotspot in the Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Innovation

Purdue University&#39;s INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering tests toys for how well they develop STEM skills in kids.

Engineers Pick the Ten Best STEM Toys to Give as Gifts This Year

These expert-approved gifts teach robotics, coding and engineering thinking through stories and play

A growing body of work shows that marine animals are attracted to the sounds of healthy environments.

Playing Recordings of a Healthy Ocean Can Help Restore Marine Ecosystems

Scientists have created other living inks out of bacteria, but this is the first that doesn&#39;t require the addition of other materials like acids, extracts and silica.

'Living Ink' Made From E. Coli Could One Day Be Used in Cancer Treatments or Self-Healing Buildings

Arts & Culture

Dozens of Smithsonian Institution professionals share their favorite reads from this year.

Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2021

The writings of many fine authors support the research and ambitious undertakings of an Institution rising to the challenges ahead

Swift&#39;s extended version of &quot;All Too Well&quot; surpassed&nbsp;the length of the previous record holder, Don McLean&#39;s 8-minute, 42-second&nbsp;&quot;American Pie (Parts I and II).&quot;

Taylor Swift Sets Record for Longest No. 1 Song, Beating Out 'American Pie' and the Beatles

The black-and-white stills represent the spirit rendered by King Richard, the new film starring Will Smith as the Williams sisters&rsquo; father, coach and mentor.

These Vintage Photos of Venus and Serena Williams Reveal the Truth of 'King Richard'

Travel

Travel by way of these ten titles.

The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2021

With many of our wings still clipped by Covid-19 this year, we needed to travel vicariously through these adventurous reads

To make true Roquefort cheese, the law requires that it must be produced from local ingredients and ripen for months in a cave in southern France.&nbsp;

How Much Longer Will Roquefort Reign as the King of Cheese?

Bound for Chicago with a hold full of Christmas trees, the Rouse Simmons was lost with all hands in a November gale in 1912.

The Newest National Marine Sanctuary Is in Lake Michigan. Here's How to Explore It

At the Smithsonian

The new exhibition &ldquo;&iexcl;Presente! A Latino History of the United States&rdquo; opens next spring in the Molina Family Latino Gallery at the Smithsonian&#39;s National Museum of American History.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the New National Museum of the American Latino

Years away from having a building of their own, Smithsonian staff are already at work on the exhibition ¡Presente! for next year

Dozens of Smithsonian Institution professionals share their favorite reads from this year.

Smithsonian Scholars Pick Their Favorite Books of 2021

In &quot;New Glass Now,&quot;&nbsp;at the Smithsonian American Art Museum&#39;s Renwick Gallery, works by 50 artists, including the hot-sculpted glass work of James Akers, (above: TThe Wild One (B), 2018) amplify the stunning advancement of the&nbsp;artform&nbsp;since the last major survey. &nbsp;

Two New Shows Reflect the Shining Versatility of Glass