Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Eggs, Luck and the 1957 Bird Flu: Will History Repeat Itself?

A past pandemic was narrowly avoided—can the U.S. dodge another as a new strain spreads?

The interior of the Forensic Science on Trial exhibition. Several large cases with objects and text panels are visible.

Going Behind the Scenes With 'Forensic Science on Trial'

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Soldiers in Fur Coats and 'Doggles'

Pocket sundial

How Did a 17th-Century French Sundial End Up Buried in a Field in Indiana?

Robert Abbe's hourglass (NMAH)

Curing Cancer with a Single Gram of Radium

This glass tube, part of the museum’s collection, once contained a sample of helium. Its paper label reads, “HELIUM / SIR W. RAMSAY, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. / THOMAS TRYER & CO., Ltd. / STRATFORD, LONDON, ENGLAND.”

The History of Holding Helium