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Kermit the Frog and Miss Mousey in "The Muppets Valentine Show"

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Kermit the Frog Was Just Trying to Put on a Variety Show. Fifty Years Later, the Muppets Are Some of the Biggest Stars in Television History

The first episode of Jim Henson's "The Muppet Show" premiered in the United Kingdom on September 5, 1976. Enthusiasm for the eclectic ensemble has endured ever since

Ellen Wexler

Study co-author Lisa Tauxe inserts samples into a thermal demagnetizer.

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Researchers Have Figured Out How to Spot Fake Ancient Pottery Using the Earth’s Magnetic Field

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Smithsonian magazine September/October 2026 issue cover
Anahuacalli Museum-Opener
Travel The Marvelous Museums of Mexico City
The ancient capital has plenty of artwork and fossils, if that’s what you like. Or tour the writing rooms of a Nobel winner, the fortified home of an exiled Russian revolutionary and towers of skulls
OPENER - A giant Atlantic cockle lies open on the beach in Fort Myers, Florida, while a beachcomber searches for shells in the background.
Science Who Dwells in a Shell?
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
A sample of cerebrospinal fluid
Innovation Solving the Long Covid Puzzle
Long Covid saps the strength and vitality of patients, who have little recourse to fight it. A team of specialists—including an afflicted researcher working mostly from her bed—is looking for answers
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In 1680, Pueblo Natives in the Southwest Launched the First Successful, Although Short-Lived, American Revolution

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Archaeologists Discover a 4,000-Year-Old Tomb With a False Door at Egypt’s Ancient Saqqara Necropolis

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This Man Got Cancer from a Tapeworm

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Scientists Recreated the Long-Lost Chirps of Jurassic Insects. Listen to the Simulated Soundscape of 165 Million Years Ago

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A Lake in Canada Got a Mysterious New Island. Then, It Disappeared—and Now It’s Back

Photo of the Day

On a cold spring morning, I ventured out in hopes of finding sage grouse strutting in their lek, an almost prehistoric looking behavior to witness. This particular spring had been more wintery than usual, and a thick crust of snow and hard ice lay over the entire area. As a result, I had a unique opportunity to get portraits of these birds in some staggeringly beautiful scenery. I laid down against the ground as the sun rose, igniting the snow behind us with a lovely pink hue as it lit up the valley. A male sage grouse emerged from a dip in the shadows and began to strut, his display looking almost like the panache of a medieval warrior as he flared his unique feathers and inflated his chest sacs. My 800mm lens allowed me to photograph portraits of this incredible animal at a respectable distance that did not alter his behavior. I rather like how the portrait turned out, especially the sunrise behind him, the flair of his plumage, and the impressive confidence found only in a strutting bird.

Sunrise Warrior

By Savannah Rose

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Preview thumbnail for video 'The Remarkable, Amazing Stories of Route 66 Reflect the Twists and Turns of 100 Years of Americana

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

April 23, 2026 | 34 minutes

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

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History

Records uncovered by researcher Christopher Moore indicate that stones from Sandown Castle were repurposed in a Victorian-era extension of Constable's Gate at Dover Castle (pictured here).

Stones From One of Henry VIII’s Fortresses Spent More Than a Century Hidden in Plain Sight. New Research Suggests the Victorians Repurposed Them as Building Materials

Recently discovered archival records indicate that workers constructing an extension of the Constable’s Gate at Dover Castle in the late 19th century reused fragments of the Tudor-era Sandown Castle

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

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

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Science

In loud conditions, a tokay gecko adjusts its call, which is typically used to find a mate or defend territory.

Reptiles Make a Surprising Amount of Noise. Here’s What Those Sounds Might Mean, From Pops to Hoots to Bellows

Scientists are realizing that turtles, lizards and crocodilians communicate vocally more than they once thought

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

Spain’s White-Headed Ducks Have a Signature Color Right in the Name. And That Isn’t Even Their Most Remarkable Hue

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Innovation

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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

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

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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

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

Stunning Antiquities and Frida Kahlo’s Home Are Just Some of the Offerings That Have Bolstered Mexico City’s Fantastic Array of Museums

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Arts & Culture

When did summer "beach reads" become a part of our culture? Book historian Donna Harrington-Lueker takes us back to mid-19th-century leisure.

The History of the Beach Read, From 19th-Century ‘Moral Debasement’ to BookTok

The still-popular genre got its start 150 years ago, when publishers profited off the rise of travel in the United States during an otherwise slow publishing season

How Artist Nick Cave Memorializes His Ancestors Through ‘Mammoth’ Work

Fires and Financial Trouble Leave the Fate of Two Arts Buildings Uncertain in This Scottish City—Including a Century-Old Masterpiece

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At the Smithsonian

A view of Pluto from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft shows the planet’s signature heart-shaped feature.

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

Pluto is now the most well known of the outer worlds beyond Neptune—and the darling of the solar system

See the Cutest Photos of Three Red Panda Cubs Born at the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute This Year

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