:focal(400x301:401x302)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/e3/d4/e3d4fa50-3330-400c-ae8f-971d325b2583/leonids.webp)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/74/5a/745a7e72-cd2f-4276-9c2c-218611cec177/abovethefold-314x210.png)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/99/e2/99e2ea4f-6839-4b03-919a-ee1c6a6d1a26/240523jjw-119.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/21/e3/21e39c5c-4bb3-4d80-83c2-c59d3aa068e1/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/a5/12/a512ed7c-f7f4-47fd-83f9-bc786bdde7b8/untitled-1.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/71/d6/71d6c1c1-a8db-4f94-9721-ef4c2e9c8afc/20t_fall2025_hughesh1racer-and-blueprint.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/0d/37/0d37ef88-8655-4c05-965b-2a12ad99467b/08b_fall2025_mytoppick-chaff-opener.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/60/bb/60bb7ca3-6a0f-4a29-b139-4aab25ea2313/barbara_franklin_interview_photo_2.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/1f/95/1f95b322-0aa2-45a4-bd81-aa72e38e2e1a/portada_summit_20220619_srp-102.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/b5/9b/b59b5d6c-1994-4890-b4dd-47ddd0762da1/06k_fall2025_uptospeed-eaa25_reddersen_me262_cockpit.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/e0/30/e0306766-6830-4586-8dd4-6b44e09f2ab2/smithsonian_voices_cover_2.png)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/d4/1e/d41efe1c-da4e-4056-81e6-b0e3c81c34b1/linkedin-nobg.jpg)
:focal(1061x707:1062x708)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/39/4e/394e57e8-74f2-4bd4-9645-203ee155133d/gettyimages-1494625203.jpg)
:focal(1620x1080:1621x1081)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/8c/aa/8caafbcb-29e2-4cc5-9b6a-7266f23f5ecc/hellbender_release_2025_06135_-_grahm_s_jones_columbus_zoo_and_aquarium.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/96/7e/967ee22c-c1db-4695-9bb7-be6dff8bc9f7/death-of-warren.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/39/b0/39b0da33-7e5d-4621-9293-3bb42f5ca4ee/nov2025_b10_saraflores.jpg)
Arts & Culture
Eyes of the Forest
The art of making captivating Peruvian textiles has traditionally been anonymous work. But at 75, Sara Flores is making a name for herself with hypnotic abstractions
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/99/e2/99e2ea4f-6839-4b03-919a-ee1c6a6d1a26/240523jjw-119.jpg)
How Landlocked Idaho Became a Leader in Urban Surfing
Boise's wave park is attracting outdoor adventurers—and the innovative public works project is inspiring other cities
Smart News
A Fire Ravaged a Historic 200-Year-Old Tavern in Ohio. These Are the Artifacts Archaeologists Found in the Wreckage
Researchers Have Identified the Names of Five Million Victims Murdered in the Holocaust
This Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovered a 151-Million-Year-Old Insect—and It’s a New Species
Archaeologists Say They’ve Found a 3,000-Year-Old Map of the Cosmos at an Ancient Maya Site in Mexico
Dark Moon, Shooting Stars: How to Catch the Stunning Leonid Meteor Shower This Weekend
Latest Features
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/57/26/5726666c-420f-4aaf-94b4-aa1a46d3180b/a.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/78/47/7847e2d4-6c80-4fe1-805a-20bc44ad029a/mercer.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/97/c1/97c10f65-b672-4363-a0bf-a77260c42714/gettyimages-1154204514.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/db/f7/dbf77fa3-9c75-4e21-9dc1-4bab05c08563/download.jpeg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/2d/ba/2dba5e57-f8b6-470b-b446-3ca6e0d9dbcf/nov2025_-_web_cover.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/9f/b5/9fb5f46e-d55e-4d75-81b0-956e05ae6c9f/new_opening_illo.jpg)
History
‘Norfolk Must Be Destroyed’
Blaming the British for the destruction helped persuade some wavering colonists to back the fight for independence. But the source of the inferno was not what it seemed
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/2a/29/2a2978e0-0d96-416e-9dc1-c1e4750d55d7/nov2025_i12_parisgraveyards.jpg)
Travel
Into the Great Beyond
Cemeteries that inspired parks serve as unlikely tourist attractions in the City of Light and prove that the end of the line is just the start of a new story
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/6e/62/6e624419-dc21-4c3a-8072-4a95c0f4eb05/smithsonian-rarebirdad1-1400x290.gif)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/aa/61/aa6188dd-9c00-4db1-9bd9-ade5443a3a2b/smithsonian-rarebirdad1-336x280.gif)
Most Popular
:focal(750x500:751x501)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/78/47/7847e2d4-6c80-4fe1-805a-20bc44ad029a/mercer.jpg)
:focal(741x1145:742x1146)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/01/f0/01f0de30-741d-483f-8c35-4e0c716b8200/red-rock.jpg)
:focal(990x745:991x746)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/c7/22/c7222308-2546-4816-8b24-a231efb70db7/drake-jar-descendents.jpg)
Special Report
:focal(700x527:701x528)/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/8d/03/8d03d5b3-7e3b-4d57-85fb-6b85d28a3ce0/250th.jpg)
America’s 250th Anniversary
To mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding on July 4, 1776, Smithsonian magazine is highlighting the people, places and events that shaped the United States’ fight for independence from Great Britain
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/2b/19/2b19305c-7504-4a92-a37e-08dfb789aa24/patrickhenry.jpg)
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/e2/55/e255eff4-1cb8-498a-aed0-152ba17aba29/resized-pine.jpg)
Photo of the Day
:focal(1500x1000:1501x1001)/https://tf-cmsv2-photocontest-smithsonianmag-prod-approved.s3.amazonaws.com/616e33f9-577e-4633-a37e-9989782cc031.jpg)
Lightning Rainbow
Get the Photo of the Day directly to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter.
Podcast
Smithsonian Podcast: There’s More to That
Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can — through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. In There’s More to That, meet the magazine’s journalists and hear how they discover the forces behind the biggest issues of our time.
Latest Episodes
The ‘Edmund Fitzgerald’ Sank Half a Century Ago. We’re Still Fascinated.
November 6, 2025 | 28 minutes
History
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/0a/5c/0a5cfcba-797d-4aa1-820f-7a4419cba2bd/woman-survivor.jpg)
Elderly Jews Were Among the Most Likely to Die in the Holocaust. Why Has History Forgotten About the Genocide’s Oldest Victims?
A new exhibition at London’s Wiener Holocaust Library spotlights the unique challenges faced by European Jews who were over the age of 55 during World War II
Science
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/57/26/5726666c-420f-4aaf-94b4-aa1a46d3180b/a.jpg)
Meeting Lucy: How a World-First European Exhibition Brought Visitors Face to Face With the Fossil That ‘Shrinks Time’
Two Australopithecus fossils named Lucy and Selam made a rare trip out of Ethiopia for a 60-day display at the National Museum in Prague
Innovation
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/97/c1/97c10f65-b672-4363-a0bf-a77260c42714/gettyimages-1154204514.jpg)
From Collecting Whale Snot to Capturing Surprising Behaviors, Aerial Drones Are Giving Scientists a New View of Sea Life
The robots can hover over marine mammals and gather all sorts of information in a way that’s less invasive to the animals than researchers trying to approach them by boat or plane
Travel
How Landlocked Idaho Became a Leader in Urban Surfing
Boise’s wave park is attracting outdoor adventurers—and the innovative public works project is inspiring other cities
Arts & Culture
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/41/66/4166de0c-ec9a-4038-9dd0-99ba765f0c12/gettyimages-2242648483.jpg)
This Forgery Ring Tried to Sell a Fake Rembrandt for $150 Million. The Real Painting Is Hanging in an Amsterdam Museum
The conspirators claimed that their canvas was the original, while the Rijksmuseum’s was an inferior copy. They also marketed forgeries of works by Picasso, Frida Kahlo and more
At the Smithsonian
/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/23/37/23376d23-bf0f-4db5-b1ef-e3a9a2053cd7/gettyimages-1150980274.jpg)
How Far American Women Astronauts Have Soared Since Sally Ride Took Her Historic Spaceflight
In 1978, Ride and five other women became the first group of female astronauts in the U.S. A new book by a longtime curator of spaceflight artifacts explores the nearly five-decade history of women in the space program