Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Many organisms like coral — and even people — create their own minerals to perform basic life functions. Geologists can study these biominerals to learn more about Earth. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

National Museum of Natural History

How Biominerals are Stepping Stones for Climate Change Research

Celebrate Earth Day online again with Earth Optimism.

Earth Optimism

Earth Day Is Going Digital Again, but Don't Let That Get You Down

CULINASIA panel discussions will be held May 5, May 19, June 9 and June 23.

Smithsonian Associates

CULINASIA Conversation Series Explores the Future of Asian Food in America

Chinese poetry carved on the wall of the Angel Island Immigration Station in the San Francisco Bay. (Text from Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940)

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

The Chinese Poetry Left at Angel Island, the “Ellis Island of the West”

A sea lion at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

5 Free Programs Streaming for Earth Week

Landscapes have been managed by humans for thousands of years – some sustainably, others less so. The Martu people of Australia burn the grasses in continent’s Western Desert. The practice yields food, but also increases biodiversity in the area. (Rebecca Bliege Bird)

National Museum of Natural History

New Study Pushes Origins of Human-Driven Global Change Back Thousands of Years

Shreya Ramachandran created her own nonprofit, The Grey Water Project, to educate and provide resources to diverse audiences on water recycling both at home and in the workplace.

Earth Optimism

Meet Shreya Ramachandran, Water Hero and Advocate

Photograph for a Coca-Cola ad featuring Selena, 1994. Photo by Al Rendon. (NMAH)

National Museum of American History

How Do We Remember Selena?

The periodical cicada species, Magicicada septendecim, will erupt from the ground this spring in the mid-Atlantic region. The last time the species from Brood X appeared for their cyclical mating cycle was in 2004. (ARS Information Staff, USDA)

National Museum of Natural History

What to Expect When the Cicadas Emerge This Spring

Rendon working on a photoshoot with Selena, 1994. Photo courtesy of Rick Tolar. (NMAH)

National Museum of American History

How an Advertising Photographer Created Some of the Most Iconic Images of Selena

Entomologist and Collections Manager Dr. Floyd Shockley cares for the 35 million specimens in the Entomology Collection at the National Museum of Natural History. He also studies the diversity, natural history and evolution of fungus feeding beetles. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

National Museum of Natural History

Say Hello to the Scientist Caring for Smithsonian's 35 Million Entomology Specimens

This view of Gemini VII from VI-A in December 1965 shows the spacecraft’s orbital configuration.

National Air and Space Museum

Gemini VIII’s Near-Disaster

Vera Rubin and Kent Ford (white hat) setting up their image tube spectrograph at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. (Photo: THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE)

National Air and Space Museum

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory and Women of Chilean Astronomy

The Perseverance captured this image of itself and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter days before its maiden flight. (NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU/ MSSS/ Seán Doran)

National Air and Space Museum

The Wright Moment: Ingenuity Prepares for Flight

Clavelina puertosecensis, a species of tunicate, taken by Shih Wei, a student of the Tunicates course at the Bocas del Toro Research Station, in Panama. Experts teach courses and create instructional videos on how to collect, preserve and observe marine invertebrate groups. (Credit: STRI)

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

Like A Cooking Show With Worms: Smithsonian Videos Teach Tropical Taxonomy of Diverse Marine Creatures

Example of a new meeting background in use, featuring the Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology. (Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)

Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

Celebrate National Library Week with Virtual Meeting Backgrounds

National Museum of American History

How Do the Arts Promote Social Change?

The National Museum of Natural History’s 146 million objects and specimens are studied by researchers worldwide who are looking to understand all aspects of the natural world. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

National Museum of Natural History

How Museum Collections Advance Knowledge of Human Health

Elizabeth Acevedo (Photo by Jonathan B. Tucker)

Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage

How Poet Elizabeth Acevedo Brings Sacred Monsters to Life

This leaf-tailed gecko hatchling receives his medication from a syringe, which he laps up with his impressive tongue.

National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

How Do You Give Medicine to Zoo Animals?