Get the latest from Smithsonian magazine in your inbox every weekday.

By checking this box, I agree to receive other information from the Smithsonian, including relevant content and programming, news about Smithsonian events, trips and offers, and museum updates. Click to visit our Privacy Statement.
Easy unsubscribe links are provided in every email.

Latest Features

Spam musubi, a Japanese-American dish created in Hawaii, is made of Spam, rice and seaweed.

ARTS & CULTURE

How Spam Became a Staple of Asian Cuisine

No known photographs of Swann survive. This 1903 postcard depicts two Black actors, one of whom is dressed in drag, performing a cakewalk in Paris.

HISTORY

The First Self-Proclaimed Drag Queen Was a Formerly Enslaved Man

Cleanup crews pressure-wash crude oil off the shoreline after the Exxon Valdez spilled more than ten million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists began taking annual photos the following year to document the intertidal zone’s recovery.

SCIENCE

Why Have Alaskans Been Photographing This Volkswagen Beetle-Sized Boulder for 33 Years?

“From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya With Ayana V. Jackson” is currently on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art through April 2024 (above: When the Spirit of Kalunda Comes So Does Kianda, Ayana V. Jackson, 2018-2022).

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Meet the Inhabitants of the Mythic World of Drexciya

Iani smithi

SCIENCE

New Beaked Dinosaur Species Found in Utah

Participants in a YWCA camp for girls in Highland Beach, Maryland, in 1930

HISTORY

When Private Beaches Served as a Refuge for the Chesapeake Bay's Black Elite

Bush fires rage through Canberra, Australia, on January 18, 2003.

SCIENCE

The World’s First Wildfire Tornado Blazed a Path of Destruction Through Australia

Public swimming at Clift Park in Skaneateles, New York

TRAVEL

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2023

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine June 2023 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

Why Was Benjamin Franklin’s Basement Filled With Skeletons?

Repairs on Franklin's old London house turned up 1,200 pieces of bone from at least 15 people

2.

Science

The World’s First Wildfire Tornado Blazed a Path of Destruction Through Australia

A warming atmosphere due to climate change is increasing the chances similar natural disasters will occur again

3.

Travel

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2023

From an ultramarathon capital in the Rockies to a laid-back village in the Florida Keys, these vibrant towns are calling your name

4.

Science

New Beaked Dinosaur Species Found in Utah

The creature, dubbed Iani smithi, was identified from a 99-million-year-old fossil

5.

Smart News

Fairy Tales Could Be Older Than You Ever Imagined

Jack may have been climbing that beanstalk for more than 5,000 years

Smithsonian Voices
National Museum of Natural History

“Endlessly Fascinating Devices”: Why the National Museum of Natural History is Exploring the Cultural Nature of Cellphones

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

A Rural Pastime Grows Community at the World Pig Championship

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Trotting Out the Best for a 19th-Century Horse Sale

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Oh, Baby! Meet Some of the Zoo's Newest Arrivals

Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery

Celebrating Pride: LGBTQ+ Artists to Know

Smithsonian Associates

Hokusai’s Career in Prints and More Programs in June

See All

Special Report
None

The Future of Mental Health

Smithsonian magazine brings you stories about the latest advancements in treatments and understanding of mental illness

View Full Report

Featured Stories

Beginning in Mid-July, Dial 988 for the Mental Health Hotline

Should Parents Worry About New Research Linking Kids’ Mental Health and Individual Sports?

Kids as Young as Eight Years Old Should Be Screened for Anxiety, Task Force Says

  image   image

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Baby Seal's First Solo Venture Into the Water

A Baby Seal's First Solo Venture Into the Water

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'A Rare Pair of Chicks for the Exotic and Endangered Takahe

A Rare Pair of Chicks for the Exotic and Endangered Takahe

Preview thumbnail for video 'Unfathomable Cruelty at the Heart of Hitler’s Russian Invasion

Unfathomable Cruelty at the Heart of Hitler’s Russian Invasion

Photo of the day

At the Buraco das Araras sinkhole in Brazil hundreds of macaws gather. At sunset, the sinkhole fills with shade. This makes for the perfect opportunity to capture these colorful birds with a black background. Red and Green Macaw in Flight

History

Participants in a YWCA camp for girls in Highland Beach, Maryland, in 1930

When Private Beaches Served as a Refuge for the Chesapeake Bay's Black Elite

During the Jim Crow era, working-class Washingtonians' recreation options were far more limited—and dangerous

Costin may have been the child of Martha Washington’s son from her first marriage, John “Jacky” Parke Custis, and an enslaved woman.

Did Martha Washington Have a Black Grandson?

When 72-year-old Boucher gave his age as 48 to an army doctor, the man smiled and said, “And then some, like myself.”

The 72-Year-Old Who Lied About His Age to Fight in World War I

Science

Bush fires rage through Canberra, Australia, on January 18, 2003.

The World’s First Wildfire Tornado Blazed a Path of Destruction Through Australia

A warming atmosphere due to climate change is increasing the chances similar natural disasters will occur again

Iani smithi

New Beaked Dinosaur Species Found in Utah

Cleanup crews pressure-wash crude oil off the shoreline after the Exxon Valdez spilled more than ten million gallons into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists began taking annual photos the following year to document the intertidal zone’s recovery.

Why Have Alaskans Been Photographing This Volkswagen Beetle-Sized Boulder for 33 Years?

Innovation

Range anxiety is still a major hurdle for prospective EV buyers.

What Will It Take to Charge Electric Vehicles Faster?

To get more EVs on the road, these scientists are working to charge a car in the same time that it takes to fuel up at a gas station

Turkish world-record-holding free-diver Sahika Ercumen swims amid plastic waste on June 27, 2020, to raise awareness about plastic pollution.

Scientists Discover Microbes That Could Revolutionize Plastic Recycling

By recording activity of specific neurons in the brain, researchers aim to pick up signals of intended speech.

The Brain-Computer Interfaces That Could Give Locked-In Patients a Voice

Arts & Culture

Rosalind Franklin's work was vital to the discovery of the structure of DNA, but her role went largely unrecognized at the time. 

New Musical Spotlights Rosalind Franklin's DNA Discoveries

"Double Helix," a fictionalized account of Franklin's groundbreaking work, premieres this week

A publicity photo of Carrie Fisher wearing Princess Leia's white gown from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was on display when the late actress was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May. 

You Can Now Buy Princess Leia's White Gown From 'Star Wars'

This seascape, originally thought to be the work of John Constable, will be featured in the new exhibition.

Every Piece in This Exhibition Is a Fake

Travel

Public swimming at Clift Park in Skaneateles, New York

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2023

From an ultramarathon capital in the Rockies to a laid-back village in the Florida Keys, these vibrant towns are calling your name

The Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Light is one of ten lighthouses the U.S. government is giving away this year.

The U.S. Is Giving Away Lighthouses for Free

A mural of Bob Dylan by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra is on display in downtown Minneapolis.

Follow Bob Dylan's Footsteps Through Minnesota and New York

At the Smithsonian

Participants in a YWCA camp for girls in Highland Beach, Maryland, in 1930

When Private Beaches Served as a Refuge for the Chesapeake Bay's Black Elite

During the Jim Crow era, working-class Washingtonians' recreation options were far more limited—and dangerous

“Anyang: China’s Ancient City of Kings” is on view at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art (above: A grouping of bronze and ceramic wine cups and warmers that date to 1100-1150 B.C.E.) 

A U.S.-China Collaboration a Century Ago Helped Find Riches of a Lost Civilization

At the Mosul Cultural Museum, the Lion of Nimrud is being carefully restored (above: the cuneiform text on the figure is realigned and rejoined) as world organizations lend support to restore a city that has long stood at the heart of Western civilization.

Mosul Cultural Museum to Reopen in 2026