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Smithsonian Education

Unearthing Connections to Plants, Gardens and the Natural World Around Us

Why does it feel so good to be in a garden? The latest collaboration with USA Today shares the plants, people and stories of Smithsonian Gardens to explore humans’ innate need to connect with living things

Cover_Newly hatched White-necked Jacobin chick

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Possible Caterpillar-Like Baby Hummingbird Discovered in Panama

A baby hummingbird hatches. But it has fluffy feathers on its back, looking just like a dangerous caterpillar. Could this be something unusual among hummingbirds?

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Smithsonian Books

Visiting Washington, D.C. for Spring Break? Pack These Books to Enrich Your Trip!

Smithsonian Books can help you plan your best D.C. getaway

More From Smithsonian Voices
Frog defenders

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Bezos Earth Fund Gives $2 Million Grant to Launch Groundbreaking Amphibian Conservation Project Across Latin America

A grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to help save 25 frog species through conservation, rewilding and disease prevention efforts

Dendrology course field trip

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

A New Course by ForestGEO Experts Teaches the Biodiversity of Panamanian Forests

Through a course in dendrology, the study of the taxonomy of woody plants in the absence of flowers or fruits, two experts in forest diversity seek to leave a legacy of knowledge for future generations

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National Museum of Natural History

15 Years Later, the National Museum of Natural History Is Still Asking What It Means to Be Human

The museum’s groundbreaking Hall of Human Origins centers around the adaptations that set early humans apart

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National Museum of American History

When Algorithms Take the Field

A Look Inside MLB’s Robo-Umping Experiment

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National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

Why Do Shorebirds Stand on One Leg?

It's a question visitors ask staff all the time at the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Bird House. The answer may surprise you!

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Office of Academic Appointments and Internships

Hawaiian Plant Lineage With an Identity Crisis

Using current technological and scientific advances, we are able to observe a snapshot of a plant group that is rapidly diversifying.

Three Nail Art Projects

Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery

Talking With Our Hands: Nail Art Inspiration at the Smithsonian

Finding ourselves in art, objects, and stories.

Three men, two holding acoustic guitars, pose in front of a festival tent.

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

A Life in Folklore: Frank Proschan’s Community Work and New Internship Endowment

After fifty years in culture work, Proschan has gifted his research as a folklorist and anthropologist to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections.

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Smithsonian Books

The Man Who Helped Predict Black Holes, Both Real and Hypothetical

A new book demystifies black holes and explores what we still don't know about them

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National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Scientists Discover That Traditional Agricultural Practices in the Amazon Helped Yield an Enduring Crop Clone

Genetic analyses and interviews with Indigenous farmers revealed that most manioc crops resemble each other across time and space

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Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

A Composting Fly Could Significantly Reduce Organic Waste at the Smithsonian Institution

An innovative and low-cost project aims to bio-convert food scraps into fertilizer, animal feed and extractable oil using the Black Soldier Fly

Black and white photograph of a woman sitting behind a desk. She has short, wavy hair and wears glasses. The desk is covered in rectangular carpet samples and blueprints are spread across the desk. A black telephone rests on the desk amid the supplies.

Smithsonian Affiliations

How One of the First Female Civil Engineers Transformed Railroad Passenger Service

Hailed as the “Lady Engineer” who “took the pain out of the train,” Olive Wetzel Dennis made her lasting mark on passenger service and paved the path for future female civil engineers.

Illustration from the cover of "The First 100 Years of Research on Barro Colorado: Plant and Ecosystem Science (Volumes 1 and 2)"

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The First Volumes of the BCI 100 Celebration Series Are Now Available Online

To celebrate a century of scientific research in the Barro Colorado Nature Monument, a series of volumes will provide a record of the major contributions to plant and ecosystem science, animal science, and the physical environment for future generations of researchers

Wooden shelves and counter filled with jars are lit by two oil lamps.

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

In Appalachia, Women Carry Traditions in Folk Magic and 'Granny Witchcraft'

Folk magic goes by many names in the Appalachian Mountains: root work, granny magic, kitchen witchery, Braucherei, witchcraft

Carollia perspicillata

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Bat Salad: First Record of Bats Eating Entire Leaves and Not Spitting Them Out

Bats are known to chew and spit out leaves, like humans chew and spit out tobacco or coca, but this is the first continuous recording of a bat eating entire leaves

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Smithsonian Books

How the Myth of Feminist Bra Burning Spread

Celebrate Women's History Month by learning about second-wave pageant protests

A circular rock is cut in half against a black background, revealing the plant material fossilized inside.

National Museum of Natural History

Meet the Scientist Studying 'Fossil Snapshots' of Ancient Insect Life

Paleobiologist Scott Lakeram analyzes 300-million-year-old coal ball fossils to reveal prehistoric plant-insect interactions frozen in time