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Latest Features

A researcher holds a banded vampire bat.

SCIENCE

Vampire Bats Call Out to Friends to Share Blood Meals

None

SCIENCE

The Wonder of Avi Loeb

Since the 1920s, this unique piece of history has only been displayed publicly three times.

HISTORY

This Civil War–Era Eagle Sculpture Was Made Out of Abraham Lincoln's Hair

Actor James Madio played Easy Company T-4 Frank Perconte.

HISTORY

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

Moai statues at the Rano Raraku site on Easter Island

SCIENCE

Genetic Study Maps When and How Polynesians Settled the Pacific Islands

Ultrasound of a 4-month-old fetus

INNOVATION

A Brief History of the Sonogram

Aaron Bolds, a former college basketball player, graduated from medical school in 2018. He’s now a doctor at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, specializing in rehabilitation medicine.

SCIENCE

To Boost Black Men in Medicine, Advocates Turn to Sports

During the 2017 Grocery Walk, more than 500 protestors demanded greater investment in food access programs and healthy food retail options in a local Washington D.C. community.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

In a City Flush With Power and Wealth, D.C.'s Ward 8 Faces Food Inequity

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine September 2021 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

History

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

HBO's beloved World War II drama premiered 20 years ago this month

2.

Smart News

To Understand Neanderthal Night-Hunting Methods, Scientists Caught Thousands of Birds With Their Bare Hands in Spanish Caves

Researchers captured more than 5,000 birds to learn how our now-extinct ancestors foraged for food

3.

Smart News

Remains of Likely Human Sacrifice Victim Found in Foundation of Korean Palace

The young woman died in her 20s during the fourth century C.E.

4.

Science

The Wonder of Avi Loeb

The physicist thinks we might have glimpsed evidence of an alien civilization. Despite controversy, he’s determined to find more

5.

Smart News

See Edward Sherriff Curtis' Photos of Indigenous Alaskan Culture

New exhibition and book feature more than 100 images captured by Edward Sherriff Curtis for his seminal chronicle of Native American life

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Hearing the Voices of Deaf Culture at the 1981 Folklife Festival

National Museum of Natural History

Meet the Expert Studying Fishes That Spit Water to Hunt

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

Reviving Tradition With the My Handmade Armenia Festival

National Air and Space Museum

Smithsonian's Chris Browne Was the Manager at Ronald Reagan National Airport on 9/11

National Museum of Natural History

Four Natural History Programs Streaming for Free This Month

National Museum of American History

For Some, September 11 Turned the American Dream Into a Nightmare

See All

Special Report
<p>The Smithsonian's Race and Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past initiative centers on six pillars.</p>

Race in America

To mark the Smithsonian's multi-year initiative, Our Shared Future: Reckoning With Our Racial Past, which will confront the history and legacy of race and racism through live and virtual events, pop-up exhibitions, digital resources, and other offerings, Smithsonian magazine has compiled this collection of relevant coverage.

View Full Report

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on Why the Smithsonian Is Talking About Race

158 Resources for Understanding Systemic Racism in America

The Relationship Between Race and Wellness Has Never Been More Pressing

Missing Caption

Travel with Smithsonian

Let the Journey Begin

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

This Ancient Egyptian Mega-Tomb Is the Largest of Its Kind

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'This Truffle Dog Is Facing a Really Challenging Truffle Hunt

This Truffle Dog Is Facing a Really Challenging Truffle Hunt

Preview thumbnail for video 'Meet the Majestic Giant Manta Ray

Meet the Majestic Giant Manta Ray

Photo of the day

During my trip to the northern part of Thailand, I visited a village called Mae Chaem, situated in Chiang Mai province. This village is surrounded by mountains and rice fields. In the early morning, I went out to the rice fields, and I happened to witness a group of novices on their early morning alms-gathering walk pass through the rice field back to the temple. Alms

History

Since the 1920s, this unique piece of history has only been displayed publicly three times.

This Civil War–Era Eagle Sculpture Was Made Out of Abraham Lincoln's Hair

The unusual artifact also contains tresses from First Lady Mary Lincoln, members of the president's cabinet and senators

Actor James Madio played Easy Company T-4 Frank Perconte.

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Omai, circa 1776

The Polynesian 'Prince' Who Took 18th-Century England by Storm

Science

Courtney Gallaher’s Women in Science students at Northern Illinois University created quilt blocks representing astrophysicist Margaret J. Geller, biologist Rachel Carson, and mathematician Ada Lovelace.

Inside the Growing Movement to Share Science Through Quilting

The classic medium allows researchers, students and artists to tell stories about science, technology, engineering and math

A diver swims over a bleached section of the Great Barrier Reef near Heron Island.

The Planet Has Lost Half of Its Coral Reefs Since 1950

A bone tool from Contrebandiers Cave likely used for making clothes out of the skin of predators.

Evidence of Fur and Leather Clothing, Among World's Oldest, Found in Moroccan Cave

Innovation

Natural disasters do not destroy buildings evenly. By studying which fall and which are left standing, engineers can develop new strategies for the future.

When a Natural Disaster Hits, Structural Engineers Learn From the Destruction

StEER engineers assess why some buildings survive hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, and why others do not

The microCOVID project was started by a group of friends and housemates who wanted to be more equitable about safety precautions.

This Calculator Estimates Your Risk of Getting Covid-19

Can a machine be taught to understand the plant world?

Is This Weed-Spotting, Yield-Predicting Rover the Future of Farming?

Arts & Culture

Actor James Madio played Easy Company T-4 Frank Perconte.

'Band of Brothers' Stars Reflect on the Epic Miniseries' Evolving Legacy

HBO's beloved World War II drama premiered 20 years ago this month

The newly authenticated sketch (left) and the final drawing, titled Worn Out (right)

Newly Identified Vincent van Gogh Drawing Goes on View for the First Time

Mary Shelley was just 20 years old when she published the first edition of her Gothic novel&nbsp;Frankenstein. Pictured:&nbsp;Richard Rothwell&#39;s portrait of Shelley, circa 1840

First Edition of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' Sells for Record-Breaking $1.17 Million

Travel

Riders outside the Patee House Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri, the route's eastern terminus. Every year the National Pony Express Association conducts an annual re-ride of the famous delivery route.

Six Stops on the Pony Express That You Can Still Visit

Established 160 years ago, the short-lived route was once the quickest way to deliver mail across the United States

The interactive map will be updated with the latest predictions in mid-September.

See When Fall Foliage Will Peak With This Interactive Map

At the foot of North Idaho&#39;s Bitterroot Mountains sits Wallace, an incredibly resilient, Old West mining town.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2021

At the Smithsonian

During the 2017 Grocery Walk, more than 500 protestors&nbsp;demanded greater investment in food access programs and healthy food retail options in a local Washington D.C. community.

In a City Flush With Power and Wealth, D.C.'s Ward 8 Faces Food Inequity

Eleven percent of U.S. households experience hunger; an expansive, new exhibition focuses how a local community manages this national problem

“The history of racial violence is often erased and highly contested in the battle to define American memory," says the museum's director Anthea Hartig, "and this vandalized sign demonstrates the ramifications of ongoing efforts of remembrance and social justice."

Smithsonian Displays Bullet-Riddled Sign That Documented Emmett Till's Horrific Murder

Shaped mostly like a diamond, Washington, D.C. is organized by geographical divides centered on the U.S. Capitol and the White House, using mathematical principles employed by the original designer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

Track the Hidden Histories Lurking in the Street Names of Washington, D.C.