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National Museum of Natural History

Scientists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History traveled the world and made many new discoveries this year--like this Cyrtodactylis payarhtanensis, a new species of bent-toed gecko. (Daniel G. Mulcahy)

Countdown to the New Year: 7 of Our Favorite Discoveries from 2017

Tlingit Killer Whale Clan Hat digitized and repatriated by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in 2005. (Nick Partridge, Smithsonian)

Is 3D Technology the Key to Preserving Indigenous Cultures?

Four views of a Shee aan. SI Catalog #E7899. (Brittany M. Hance, Smithsonian)

3D Technology May Revive this Ancient Hunting Tool

A team of Smithsonian scientists excavating the Hart Chalet site found a double tournois copper coin minted for French King louis XIII in 1634. In pristine condition, it would have looked similar to this 1638 double tournois coin. (Images courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Image composite by Anna Torres)

Some Archaeological Dating can be as Simple as Flipping a Coin

Onboard science leads Drs. Chris Mah and Chris Kelley and NOAA Educational Partnership Program Intern Nikola Rodriguez discuss and take a closer look at deepwater habitats explored with remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer on Horizon Guyot. (Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 Laulima O Ka Moana)

Can Technology Bring the Deep-Sea to You?

The 2016 Arctic sea ice summertime minimum, reached on Sept. 10, is 911,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average minimum sea ice extent, shown here as a gold line (NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio/C. Starr).

Can Science Help Policymakers Create the Arctic Policies We Need Right Now?

A new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History will dive deep into the Arctic world of narwhals to explore what makes this mysterious animal and its changing ecosystem unique and important. “Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend” will present Inuit perspectives on their relationship with narwhals and the latest scientific knowledge about these animals, while illuminating the interconnectedness among narwhals, people and their ecosystems (Smithsonian Institution).

Narwhals, Narwhals, Swimming in the...Smithsonian?

Ginkgo biloba leaves could be the key to reconstructing past changes in carbon dioxide and climate (Rich Barclay, Smithsonian).

Can You Help Us Clear The Fossil Air?

Before its residence at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, this pressed plant (Cyananthus macrocalyx subspecies spathulifolius) was housed at London's Natural History Museum where it survived a bombing during World War II (Photo Credit: Ingrid P. Lin, Smithsonian).

Are Pressed Plants Windows Into World History?

Will the Blue Marble Stay Blue? This famous Earth photo, known as The Blue Marble, was taken on December 7, 1972 by astronauts on the Apollo 17 spacecraft – the last manned lunar mission that provided humans with such an opportunity. Beautiful and fragile, the Blue Marble became a symbol of the environmental movement and part of the official Earth Day flag (Photo credit: NASA).

This Earth Day, the Planet’s Health is Your Health

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