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Latest Features

An artist’s redendering of MethaneSAT, a satellite that will be launched this year and will be able to find leaks of the greenhouse gas.

SCIENCE

A New Generation of Satellites Is Helping Authorities Track Methane Emissions

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

SCIENCE

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs. 

ARTS & CULTURE

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Harry Hall, Campbell's chief agricultural expert, inspects tomatoes in his office at Campbell's research farm in Cinnaminson, New Jersey sometime in the 1920s.

INNOVATION

How Campbell Soup Turned New Jersey Into a Tomato-Growing State

A tiger shark swims in the Bahamas. Over the past several decades, the predators ventured farther north in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

SCIENCE

Some Tiger Sharks Are Migrating Farther North Due to Climate Change

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

HISTORY

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

The Donner Summit tunnels and 13 others in the Sierra Nevada built by Chinese railroad workers remain a testament to ingenuity and industry. 

TRAVEL

The Quest to Protect California's Transcontinental Railroad Tunnels

The remote Kibish Formation, in southern Ethiopia, features layered deposits more than 300 feet thick that have preserved many ancient human tools and remains. 

SCIENCE

East Africa's Oldest Modern Human Fossil Is Way Older Than Previously Thought

Current Issue

Smithsonian magazine January/February 2022 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Smart News

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

Regularly check for stretched-out straps, staining and soiling, which can compromise masks' ability to filter viruses like Covid-19

2.

Smart News

See Prince Charles' Watercolors of Landscapes Around the World

A new show in London features 79 watercolors by the British royal

3.

Smart News

Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds

The devices—developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX—have a warming feature to prevent snow built up from disrupting the signal

4.

History

The Medieval Queens Whose Daring, Murderous Reigns Were Quickly Forgotten

Over the centuries, Brunhild and Fredegund were dismissed and even parodied. But a new book shows how they outwitted their enemies like few in history

5.

Science

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

Smithsonian Voices
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

100 Women in Science in Smithsonian History

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Go West! Then Back to the Future

National Zoo

Watch Giant Panda Xiao Qi Ji’s Best Moments of 2021

Archives of American Art

New Collections: Consuelo Jiménez Underwood

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

MLK's Unswerving Commitment to Nonviolent Activism

National Museum of Natural History

Get to Know the Geologist Collecting Antarctic Meteorites

See All

Special Report
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Covid-19

Bringing historical context and scientific evidence as the pandemic unfolds

View Full Report

Could Skin Patches Be the Future of Covid Vaccines?

How a Public Health Campaign in the Warsaw Ghetto Stemmed the Spread of Typhus

Could This Chewing Gum Reduce the Spread of Covid-19?

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

Play
Preview thumbnail for video 'How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

Preview thumbnail for video 'Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Photo of the day

The year 2020 will always be remembered as a challenging time for all globally. For me, it was the chance to slow down and embark on a new adventure in photography. Travelling to Tanzania was the trip of a lifetime. We came across this lone lioness in the Serengeti who was relaxing in the entanglement of tree trunks while a 'herd' of humans watched. This Is Entanglement

History

The multidisciplinary team suggests that Arnold van den Bergh, a notary and member of Amsterdam's Jewish Council, gave the Secret Annex's address to the Nazis to avoid deportation.

Did a Jewish Notary Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis?

A six-year investigation posits that Arnold van den Bergh disclosed the diarist's hiding place to protect his family from deportation

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum preserves photographs and artifacts from the civil rights movement.

New Funding Will Help Highlight Five Black History Sites in the American South

Science

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

When putting on or taking off a mask, handle it by the edges or straps to avoid contamination.

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

A tiger shark swims in the Bahamas. Over the past several decades, the predators ventured farther north in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Some Tiger Sharks Are Migrating Farther North Due to Climate Change

Innovation

Harry Hall, Campbell's chief agricultural expert, inspects tomatoes in his office at Campbell's research farm in Cinnaminson, New Jersey sometime in the 1920s.

How Campbell Soup Turned New Jersey Into a Tomato-Growing State

The canned food company's tomato breeding program was responsible for developing several important varieties

An artist’s redendering of MethaneSAT, a satellite that will be launched this year and will be able to find leaks of the greenhouse gas.

A New Generation of Satellites Is Helping Authorities Track Methane Emissions

(Top) Leila Strickland, Michelle Egger, Toby Kiers, Colin Averill, J. Richard Gott (Middle) Leslie Jones-Dove, Devshi Mehrotra, Prisha Shroff, Iké Udé (Bottom) Tim Farrelly, Omar Salem, David Deneher, Victor A. Lopez-Carmen, Doris Sung

Sixteen Innovators to Watch in 2022

Arts & Culture

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs. 

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Why kids across the western United States came to find the unlikely combination in their school lunches

The new technique can distinguish artists based on small samples of their brushwork.

New Tech Can Distinguish Brush Strokes of Different Artists

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings. 

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022

Travel

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

The Ipogeo dei Cristallini's well-preserved tombs will open to the public as soon as summer 2022

The Donner Summit tunnels and 13 others in the Sierra Nevada built by Chinese railroad workers remain a testament to ingenuity and industry. 

The Quest to Protect California's Transcontinental Railroad Tunnels

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

At the Smithsonian

The explosion was likely the biggest volcanic eruption recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years.

Why the Eruption in Tonga Was a 'Once-in-a-Millennium' Event for the Volcano

The blast, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific, left thousands of Tongans without access to water and power

The remote Kibish Formation, in southern Ethiopia, features layered deposits more than 300 feet thick that have preserved many ancient human tools and remains. 

East Africa's Oldest Modern Human Fossil Is Way Older Than Previously Thought

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings. 

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022