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Latest Features

Pietas affiliate groups have built temples across Italy.

TRAVEL

When I Celebrated the Summer Solstice With Ancient Roman Gods and Goddesses

The pinta’o originated in the province of Coclé southwest of Panama City, where the hats are still made today.

TRAVEL

The Real Panama Hat

ElSa is a prototype of a machine-learning-driven software that analyzes movement patterns in videos of humans and elephants.

INNOVATION

This Teenager Invented a Low-Cost Tool to Spot Elephant Poachers in Real Time

In May 1536, Henry had his second wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded on trumped-up charges of adultery and incest. For centuries, historians blamed Anne's sister-in-law, Jane Boleyn, for testifying against the queen—but new research calls this claim into question.

HISTORY

The Myths of Lady Rochford, the Tudor Noblewoman Who Supposedly Betrayed George and Anne Boleyn

At the world's largest arms fair held every two years in London, a group of artists in 2016 organized the "Art the Arms Fair," to voice opposition to the war industry and the international arms trade (above: Pattern Tank by Tristan Oliver, 2019).

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Designers Build a Provocative Road Map for World Peace

Medical student Anna Searcy in 1897

HISTORY

These Trailblazers Were the Only Women in the Room Where It Happened

This large mosaic of the Crab Nebula, which formed after a supernova explosion, was assembled from 24 individual exposures captured by Hubble Space Telescope over three months.

SCIENCE

When Will the Next Supernova in Our Galaxy Occur?

Actress Nichelle Nichols was starred as Lt. Uhura, the chief communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise, in the 1960s science fiction television program "Star Trek."

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How Nichelle Nichols Launched Real-Time Opportunities for Women in Space

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine July/August 2022 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

History

Immy Humes' 'The Only Woman' Explores the Lives of Trailblazing Historical Women

A new book spotlights 100 historical photographs of lone women hidden among groups of men

2.

Smart News

Well-Preserved Brain Cells Found in Vesuvius Victim

The volcanic eruption transformed the young man's neural tissue into glass

3.

Smart News

This Map Lets You Plug in Your Address to See How It's Changed Over the Past 750 Million Years

The interactive tool enables users to home in on a specific location and visualize how it has evolved between the Cryogenian Period and the present

4.

History

Have Scholars Finally Deciphered Linear Elamite, a Mysterious Ancient Script?

Linear Elamite, a writing system used in what is now Iran, may reveal the secrets of a little-known kingdom bordering Sumer

5.

Air & Space Magazine

The Final Flight of Extortion 17

It was the deadliest helicopter crash in the history of U.S. special operations. Why did it happen?

Smithsonian Voices
National Museum of Natural History

Five Wild Ways Animals Beat the Summer Heat

Smithsonian Associates

How to Be a Conscious Eater Plus More Programs in August

Earth Optimism

Earth in Human Hands: Earth Optimism Book of the Month

National Museum of Natural History

Diving with Sharks Through Deep Time

Smithsonian Education

Teaching About Real-World, Transdisciplinary Problems and Phenomena through Convergence Education

National Zoo

Meet the Black Tree Monitor

See All

Special Report
None

Untold Stories of American History

Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country

View Full Report

Featured Stories

The Civil War's First Civilian Casualty Was an Elderly Widow From Virginia

The Barrier-Breaking Rowers of America's First All-Black Crew Team

The Black Buffalo Soldiers Who Biked Across the American West

Made Possible Through the Support of JEF logo TOWN HORZ Color 2.png

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'You’re Not Ready for How Playful Komodo Dragons Can Be

You’re Not Ready for How Playful Komodo Dragons Can Be

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

Photo of the day

Bodie State Historic Park, California. American Decay 4

History

In May 1536, Henry had his second wife, Anne Boleyn, beheaded on trumped-up charges of adultery and incest. For centuries, historians blamed Anne's sister-in-law, Jane Boleyn, for testifying against the queen—but new research calls this claim into question.

The Myths of Lady Rochford, the Tudor Noblewoman Who Supposedly Betrayed George and Anne Boleyn

Historians are reevaluating Jane Boleyn's role in her husband and sister-in-law's downfall

Jackie Robinson circa 1945

New Museum Honors Jackie Robinson’s Many Legacies

Medical student Anna Searcy in 1897

These Trailblazers Were the Only Women in the Room Where It Happened

Science

An illustration of A. nikolovi 

These Extinct Pandas Once Roamed Bulgaria

The bears are a close relative of today's giant pandas and likely ate soft plant materials, not bamboo

A firefighter battles a wildfire near Zamora, northern Spain, on July 18, 2022 during an extreme heat wave in Europe. 

'Zoe' Becomes the World’s First Named Heat Wave

Contrary to researchers' expectations, cats with higher levels of the hormone oxytocin displayed fewer bonding behaviors than those with lower levels. 

New Study Links Cat Hormones and Gut Microbiomes to Their Social Behavior

Innovation

The ultrasound sticker

This Wearable Ultrasound Sticker Can Continuously Image Organs for 48 Hours

Developed by engineers at MIT, the new technology is about the size of a postage stamp

An alkaline hydrolysis machine at White Rose Aqua Cremation in Escondido, California

Could Water Cremation Become the New American Way of Death?

Travelers are facing long lines, delays, cancellations and other disruptions at airports this summer.

Will Electronic Bag Tags Make Air Travel Less Chaotic?

Arts & Culture

Frida Kahlo painting a portrait in 1931

A Musical About Frida Kahlo Is Coming to Broadway

The production, expected to open in 2024, is a celebration of the painter's resilience and passion

Albert “Kid” Mertz (above: Untitled, c. 1980) painted hundreds, possibly thousands of railroad spikes he had collected from tracks near his property, giving each spike a cheerful face.

The Allure of Self-Taught Art

Don McLean’s 1971 hit “American Pie” is the subject of a new documentary.

Unraveling the Secrets of Don McLean's 'American Pie'

Travel

Waves at Pōhue Bay

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park Is Expanding by 16,000 Acres

The National Park Service is taking over stewardship of Pōhue Bay, an area full of cultural sites and endangered animals

Travelers are facing long lines, delays, cancellations and other disruptions at airports this summer.

Will Electronic Bag Tags Make Air Travel Less Chaotic?

French Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral on July 28

Notre-Dame Cathedral Will Reopen by 2024

At the Smithsonian

At the world's largest arms fair held every two years in London, a group of artists in 2016 organized the "Art the Arms Fair," to voice opposition to the war industry and the international arms trade (above: Pattern Tank by Tristan Oliver, 2019).

Designers Build a Provocative Road Map for World Peace

Cooper Hewitt’s new show taps into the collective consciousness of activists, app developers, artists and architects to envision a way forward

Albert “Kid” Mertz (above: Untitled, c. 1980) painted hundreds, possibly thousands of railroad spikes he had collected from tracks near his property, giving each spike a cheerful face.

The Allure of Self-Taught Art

Despite the Russian invasion, traditional Ukrainian folk singers performed as part of the celebrations for Kyiv Day  on May 28, 2022.

Can Cultural Treasures in Occupied Ukraine Be Saved?