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Latest Features

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz eloped in 1940. Eleven years later, “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS, and they would become one of the most iconic couples for decades to follow.

TRAVEL

Desi Arnaz Is Getting a Much-Deserved Historical Marker in Miami Beach

Fossil teeth are quite abundant in Southwest Florida.

TRAVEL

Four Places to Find Fossilized Shark Teeth in the United States

Sarah Emma Edmonds is often credited as one of the handful of hidden female fighters who participated in the Battle of Antietam. But her account doesn’t match up with the historical record.

HISTORY

This Female Civil War Soldier Participated in the Bloodiest Battle in American History and Spied on the South—or Did She?

Bokmakierie's nest and eggs from the collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

See the Wonders of Bird Engineering in These Photos of Intricate Nests

Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system, is best known for its layered rings.

SCIENCE

The Seven Most Interesting Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Saturn

The vagus nerve sprawls from the brain through the body, innervating our organs and managing life support and emotion.

SCIENCE

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Longest Nerve in the Body

Electric taxis known as Electrobats drive through Manhattan in 1898. A similar vehicle fatally struck Henry Hale Bliss on September 13, 1899.

HISTORY

On This Day in 1899, a Car Fatally Struck a Pedestrian for the First Time in American History

The miniature cakes, which fit in the palm of a hand, are most commonly made with a thin pastry layer encasing a dense filling of sweetened red beans, melon purée or mixed nuts.

TRAVEL

The Rebellious History of Mooncakes, the Note-Passing Dessert That Liberated China

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine September/October 2024 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

How to See a Stunning Supermoon and Partial Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday

September’s full moon delivers a rare trifecta for lunar enthusiasts: a supermoon, a partial eclipse and a harvest moon

2.

Smart News

An 11-Year-Old Boy Rescued a Mysterious Artwork From the Dump. It Turned Out to Be a 500-Year-Old Renaissance Print

Experts have confirmed that "Knight, Death and the Devil" is an engraving by the renowned German artist Albrecht Dürer

3.

Smart News

See 15 Stunning Images From the Ocean Photographer of the Year Awards

The winning and highly commended underwater photography spotlights breathtaking animal behavior, conservation needs and the otherworldly environment of Earth's oceans

4.

Travel

Four Places to Find Fossilized Shark Teeth in the United States

Sharks have been losing teeth for 400 million years. Here’s a guide to uncovering some of these plentiful fossils across the country

5.

Smart News

These Ancient Egyptian Barracks Paint a Vivid Picture of Military Life During the Reign of Ramses II

Archaeologists unearthed a series of mudbrick rooms filled with religious tributes, soldiers' personal effects, engraved weaponry and animal bones

Smithsonian Voices
National Museum of American History

Smithsonian Artifacts Reveal the Historical Significance of Presidential Debates

National Museum of Natural History

Across the Smithsonian, Researchers are Working Together to Save Virginia’s Birds

National Museum of Natural History

Searching for Earth's Oldest Rocks: Follow a Smithsonian Expedition to the Remote Northwest Territories

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Hot, Fresh & Flooded: These Wetlands Spew Out the Most Methane

Smithsonian Books

How Art Shapes Our Perception of American Workers

National Air and Space Museum

A World War II Veteran Recalls the Adventure of Patrolling the Pacific Aboard Flying Boats

See All

Special Report
Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower near the restored statue of "Cavalier Arabe" on the Pont d'Iéna bridge in Paris on July 4, 2024, ahead of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The Paris Olympics

Prepare yourself for the Paris Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration

View Full Report

Featured Stories

A History of Gymnastics, From Ancient Greece to Tokyo 2020

The Paris Games' Mascot, the Olympic Phryge, Boasts a Little-Known Revolutionary Past

How Wheaties Became the 'Breakfast of Champions'

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Smithsonian Videos

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Winter

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

Photo of the day

These are the hands of Tsering Zomskit, one of the oldest women of the Brokpa ethnic group, a small community of Dard people residing in the India-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, claiming to be the last of the Aryans. They have maintained their purity of race and culture without being hostile to the influence from the outside world. Strong social rules and a pride in their ancestry has helped preserve their way of life and genetic uniqueness. Brokpas remain isolated and closed in their four villages. Any inter mixing with outsiders by way of marriage and kinship is forbidden. They have distinct features – tall and statesque, with green eyes, high cheek bone, fair with flawless skin and some with blonde hair. They consider themselves to be the pure bloodline of the Aryans. The community also claims to be the direct descendants from the Alexander's Army, some of whom reportedly stayed back after Alexander abandoned his campaign at the banks of river Indus in 326 BC. Brokpa have almost a fanatical attachment to purity. Mountains, trees, water and flowers are considered very pure. Thus every Brokpa household grows flowers. The flowers are considered auspicious and are worn on head gear. Beauty of Time

History

Sarah Emma Edmonds is often credited as one of the handful of hidden female fighters who participated in the Battle of Antietam. But her account doesn’t match up with the historical record.

This Female Civil War Soldier Participated in the Bloodiest Battle in American History and Spied on the South—or Did She?

Historians say that Sarah Emma Edmonds exaggerated many aspects of her wartime experiences. Still, she bravely served in the Union Army, becoming one of hundreds of women who fought in the conflict in secret

The ring was found on the floor of a Pictish house near Scotland's northern coast.

Volunteer Discovers 1,000-Year-Old Ring on the Last Day of an Excavation in Scotland

A Victorian era depiction of the Battle of Stirling Bridge, which took place on September 11, 1297

How William Wallace of 'Braveheart' Fame Defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge

Science

A young blackpoll warbler with a NanoTag on Borgles Island, Nova Scotia

Tiny Trackers Are Revealing the Secret Lives of Tens of Thousands of Birds

The Motus Wildlife Tracking System has put nearly 50,000 incredibly lightweight radio transmitters on birds, bats and insects. We caught up with an ornithologist to learn more about where these creatures are flying

Intense flooding continued on August 7, after the sudden draining of a glacial lake near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska.

When a Glacial Dam Burst, an Alaskan Town Was Hit With a Sudden Flood

The vagus nerve sprawls from the brain through the body, innervating our organs and managing life support and emotion.

Everything You Wanted to Know About the Longest Nerve in the Body

Innovation

Divers saw nine species of game fish and soft coral starting to grow on the submerged cars last month.

No Longer Full of Commuters, Atlanta's Old Subway Cars Are Now Filled With Fish

Two Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority railcars were added to an artificial reef off the coast of Georgia to create more wildlife habitat

Kids cool down at an animal-themed splash pad at Zoo Miami. Mist stations also help visitors avoid overheating on sweltering days.

In Miami, the Nation’s First Chief Heat Officer Charts a Course for Surviving on a Warming Planet

Robotic kitchens aren’t on homemakers’ must-have lists yet, but they are starting to gain traction in restaurants.

Robots Are Coming to the Kitchen. What Does This Mean for Everyday Life?

Arts & Culture

A self-portrait taken in New York by Vivian Maier in 1954

Meet Vivian Maier, the Reclusive Nanny Who Secretly Became One of the Best Street Photographers of the 20th Century

The self-taught artist is getting her first museum exhibition in New York City, where she nurtured her nascent interest in photography

The Museum of Perfume, presented by Paris’ Fragonard Perfumery, is dedicated to exploring the methodology and history behind perfume making.

Museums in Paris That Surprise and Delight, From Medical History to Magic to Marie Curie

The weapons are adorned with gold and silver designs and an engraved image of Napoleon.

Napoleon's Elaborately Decorated Pistols Sell for $1.8 Million at Auction

Travel

Fossil teeth are quite abundant in Southwest Florida.

Four Places to Find Fossilized Shark Teeth in the United States

Sharks have been losing teeth for 400 million years. Here’s a guide to uncovering some of these plentiful fossils across the country

The color-coded map shows predictions for each week between September 2 and November 18.

This Map Lets You See When Magnificent Fall Foliage Will Peak in Your Area

The miniature cakes, which fit in the palm of a hand, are most commonly made with a thin pastry layer encasing a dense filling of sweetened red beans, melon purée or mixed nuts.

The Rebellious History of Mooncakes, the Note-Passing Dessert That Liberated China

At the Smithsonian

Bokmakierie's nest and eggs from the collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring

See the Wonders of Bird Engineering in These Photos of Intricate Nests

In a new book, a curator at England's Natural History Museum describes rare and interesting nests and eggs—from the house sparrow to the village weaver—and the lessons they hold for avian conservation

Gambel oak branchlet

This Massive New Guidebook Will Forever Change the Way You Look at Trees

Station VI: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus, Bruce Onobrakpeya, linoleum block print on rice paper, 1969

After Nigerian Independence, One Renowned Artist Made Jesus a West African Savior in His Vibrant Work