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Latest Features

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

SCIENCE

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

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

INNOVATION

The Eight Coolest Inventions From the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show

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

TRAVEL

See the Splendor of the Majestic Rocky Mountains

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

SCIENCE

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

Alpinists ascend along a narrow ridge of ice and snow in the Mont Blanc massif.

SCIENCE

Inside One Scientist’s Quest to Understand Why Climate Change Is Making Europe’s Highest Peak More Dangerous

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

HISTORY

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

The Ness of Brodgar—roughly, “headland of the bridge farm” in Old Norse. The isthmus separates the lochs of Harray and Stenness.

HISTORY

Discover the Astounding Secrets of Scotland's Stone Age Settlements

Atop Faneuil Hall sits a grasshopper weather vane, imitating a similar one on London’s Royal Exchange.

HISTORY

Why Faneuil Hall Is the Perfect Metaphor for the American Revolution's Complicated Definition of Liberty

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine January/February 2025 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

Archaeologists Discover Intricately Decorated Tomb Belonging to a Doctor Who Treated Egyptian Pharaohs 4,100 Years Ago

The chamber holds a stone coffin engraved with the physician’s name and titles, which include "director of medicinal plants" and "chief dentist"

2.

Smart News

See 25 Incredible Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Cast your vote for your favorite of the photographs, which are all contenders for the People’s Choice award, through January 29

3.

Innovation

The Eight Coolest Inventions From the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show

A needle-free injection system, a bug-watching garden camera, a wearable that helps with memory lapses and more were unveiled at the annual Las Vegas trade show

4.

Smart News

Divers Recover Ancient Shipwreck That Sank 2,600 Years Ago Off the Coast of Spain

Piece by piece, experts carefully transported the Phoenician vessel to dry land, where it will be studied and preserved

5.

Smart News

An Undersea Volcano Near Oregon May Erupt in 2025, Scientists Predict. It Could Help Improve Eruption Forecasts

Axial Seamount doesn’t pose a threat to humans, but observing what happens before and after its potential eruption could help scientists learn about submerged volcanoes and strengthen predictions

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Firefighting Planes Are Dumping Ocean Water on the Los Angeles Fires—Why Using Saltwater Is Typically a Last Resort

Smithsonian Books

Six Wintry Wildlife Images to Celebrate the Season

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

How Susan and Rosalie La Flesche Made Omaha History

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

See How the Pandas (And Other Animals) Enjoyed a Chilly Snow Day

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

New Coin Celebrates the Living Legacy of Ida B. Wells

Smithsonian American Women's History Museum

How Activism and International Women’s Year Fueled U.S. Efforts for Equality

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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

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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

Walruses can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes. They use their sensitive whiskers to search for food on the seabed. They are also surprisingly intelligent animals that can learn complex tricks, solve problems and have a long memory. Sea Beauty

History

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

Snowdrifts stranded the vehicle in the Sierra Nevada in January 1952, imprisoning 226 people traveling from Chicago to California

Will Rogers' Western Ranch House was on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Historic Landmarks Razed By Los Angeles’ Deadly Fires

Between July 1776 and June 1826, Jefferson recorded weather conditions in 19,000 observations across nearly 100 locations.

Discover Why Thomas Jefferson Meticulously Monitored the Weather Wherever He Went

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

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

With the state’s glaciers retreating at alarming rates, there is no time like now to trek, climb, paddle and fly to see them

Loaded with leather and sheepskins, Salvatore Gungui tightens his headscarf. Although only men dress as Mamuthones, the scarf adds a feminine element.

See the Mysterious Winter Parade That Brings Tourists to the Remote Island of Sardinia

The weeklong exhibition showcases items submitted by members of the public.

The Museum of Bad Gifts Is a Celebration of Outlandish Objects, From Ceramic Clowns to Cat Nail Clippings

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

A northern saw-whet owl in Canada

Meet the Tiny, Adorable Owls That Have Mastered the Art of Hiding

One of the smallest owls in North America, the northern saw-whet lives among us and is rarely seen—but one volunteer science project aims to find them and uncover their secrets year after year

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