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Latest Features

“Had it not been for the testament given [to] him by Mr. Foster, which received a second bullet, I doubt if you would have ever seen him again,” wrote journalist Benjamin Perley Poore in a letter to Merrill's father.

HISTORY

The Bible That Stopped a Bullet

Great white sharks were once abundant in South Africa’s False Bay and Gansbaai regions. But now, they appear to have ventured to safer waters elsewhere.

SCIENCE

Where Did South Africa's Missing Sharks Go?

Alma Thomas, Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.9

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

Many species of insects work together to ensure safety while on the move or to defend their homes.

SCIENCE

Four Unusual and Amazing Ways That Insects Team Up

The Hope Diamond was cut from Louis XIV’s “French Blue."

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

How a Smithsonian Curator Discovered the Hope Diamond’s Many Secrets

Boatmen off North Sentinel Island in 1998

HISTORY

A Century Before the Residents of a Remote Island Killed a Christian Missionary, Their Predecessors Resisted the British Empire

The James Webb Space Telescope will help scientists look for signs on life on other planets.

SCIENCE

What Would Signal Life on Another Planet?

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on December 6, 2000, the day of their arrival in Washington, D.C.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Revisit 51 Years of Giant Pandas at the National Zoo, From Beloved Babies to Fun in the Snow

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine September/October 2023 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

See Ten Stunning Images From the Bird Photographer of the Year Awards

The annual contest unveiled its winners this month, recognizing skilled captures from a striking falcon to grouse performing a courtship display

2.

Smart News

See Underwater Wreckage From the Battle of Midway in Stunning Detail

Never-before-seen photos and videos shed new light on the pivotal World War II conflict

3.

At the Smithsonian

How a Smithsonian Curator Discovered the Hope Diamond’s Many Secrets

The storied past of the 45.52-carat sapphire-blue gemstone hails back to the days before the French Revolution

4.

Smart News

Water Worker Stumbles Upon 2,500-Year-Old Gold Necklaces in Spain

The artifacts could shed new light on the Iron Age history of the region

5.

Smart News

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

The revitalized space will feature a museum and contemporary art in addition to traditional bathing

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

First global assessment of the sustainability of coral reef fisheries

National Portrait Gallery

National Portrait Gallery Announces Jurors and Call for Entries for Next Triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Gamboa Bat Nights: Bilingual Noches de Murciélagos along the Panama Canal

Smithsonian Books

Protecting Our Ocean Planet With the National Marine Sanctuary System

National Museum of Natural History

I Spy… A Giant Squid Eye

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

A High-Tech Approach to Giraffe Conservation

See All

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

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

Featured Stories

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

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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

Sea turtles are among the most impacted marine species by climate change. While sea level rise and stronger storms erode their beach habitats, the rising temperatures can change ocean currents, potentially introducing sea turtles to new predators. Furthermore, according to several studies, exist a direct relation between the sand temperature where the turtles nest and the gender of the offspring. The sand temperature in-fact, influence the gender of the offspring during incubation, favoring the females birth and creating consequently a shortage of males. Since years the Royal Thai Navy is committed in sea turtle conservation activities. Thanks to conservation centers spread all over the Country, they monitor and breed hawksbill and green turtles with the aim of releasing them in the sea increasing their population. Kissing Turtles

History

“Had it not been for the testament given [to] him by Mr. Foster, which received a second bullet, I doubt if you would have ever seen him again,” wrote journalist Benjamin Perley Poore in a letter to Merrill's father.

The Bible That Stopped a Bullet

In 1863, a New Testament tucked in the pocket of Union soldier Charles W. Merrill prevented a musket ball from mortally wounding him

The intact gold torc discovered last month in northwest Spain

Water Worker Stumbles Upon 2,500-Year-Old Gold Necklaces in Spain

Boatmen off North Sentinel Island in 1998

A Century Before the Residents of a Remote Island Killed a Christian Missionary, Their Predecessors Resisted the British Empire

Science

An Azores bullfinch feeds on the buds of a native tree on São Miguel Island in the Azores.

One of Europe’s Most Endangered Birds Is Bouncing Back

Twenty years of habitat restoration has helped the once critically endangered Azores bullfinch

Savannah elephants walk through tall grass in Tsavo, a region in south-eastern Kenya. Trouble often begins when elephants stray from a protected area into human-dominated landscapes.

Inside the Effort to Prevent Conflict Between Humans and Elephants in Africa

The female whale was found stranded in January on a beach near Palm Coast, Florida.

How an Orca Skeleton Made Its Way From Florida to the Smithsonian

Innovation

A premature newborn baby at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia in 2015. In 2020, 13.4 million babies were born prematurely, more than 10 percent of all births.

Artificial Wombs for Premature Babies Might Soon Begin Human Trials

An FDA panel discussed the new technology—tested only on animals so far—along with its risks and potential to improve survival of preterm infants

Consumer products made from carbon capture can't undo the damage we’ve done to our planet—but each of them exists thanks to innovations that could. 

Little Luxuries Made With Captured Pollution Hint at Big Frontiers in Climate Science

A Tasmanian tiger at the Hobart Zoo in Tasmania. The last known living Tasmanian tiger died at the zoo in 1936.

Scientists Collect First RNA From an Extinct Tasmanian Tiger

Arts & Culture

Conservator Adelaide Izat works on Susanna and the Elders, a painting newly reattributed to Artemisia Gentileschi.

Lost Artemisia Gentileschi Painting Discovered in English Palace's Storeroom

"Susanna and the Elders" was misattributed for some 200 years, first to a male artist and then to the "French School"

Alma Thomas, Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.9

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

Inside the restored women's cold room

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

Travel

Outdoor pool at The Pines in So. Fallsburg, NY, 1979.

The Borscht Belt Was a Haven for Generations of Jewish Americans

A new exhibition examines the more than 1,000 resorts and hotels that dotted New York's Catskills Mountains and provided relaxation, dancing and laughs

Inside the restored women's cold room

Stunning 16th-Century Turkish Bath Reopens in Istanbul

Tian Tian playing in the snow. Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their son Xiao Qi Ji will return to China by December 7.

Why the National Zoo Is Saying Goodbye to Its Giant Pandas

At the Smithsonian

The Hope Diamond was cut from Louis XIV’s “French Blue."

How a Smithsonian Curator Discovered the Hope Diamond’s Many Secrets

The storied past of the 45.52-carat sapphire-blue gemstone hails back to the days before the French Revolution

Alma Thomas, Autumn Leaves Fluttering in the Breeze, 1973, acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 1980.36.9

Alma Thomas' Signature Style Is Full of Color and Tiled Brushstrokes

Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on December 6, 2000, the day of their arrival in Washington, D.C.

Revisit 51 Years of Giant Pandas at the National Zoo, From Beloved Babies to Fun in the Snow