National Museum of Natural History

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has hundreds of scientists, researchers, curators and collection managers who connect people everywhere to life’s unfolding story. Here is a sampling of the unique voices that make up the chorus of ideas at the museum.

Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History sequenced the genomes of 363 bird species in 2020. (Brian Schmidt, Smithsonian)

10 Popular Scientific Discoveries from 2020

December 31st, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Erin Malsbury

Take a virtual field trip to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute to see clouded leopards in a National Museum of Natural History Program streaming Jan 13. (Smithsonian)

Six Free Natural History Programs Streaming in January

December 28th, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Anna Torres

The original photos from late 1800s by famous snowflake photographer Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, are stored in the Smithsonian Archives. His pictures were instrumental in helping scientists examine snow’s crystalline properties. (Erin Malsbury, Smithsonian Open Access, Wilson A. Bentley)

Why Scientists Find Snowflakes Cool

December 21st, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Abigail Eisenstadt

Tens of millions of years of bird evolution guided some of the most important elements of human-powered flight. (Pixabay)

How We Lifted Flight from Bird Evolution

December 17th, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Erin Malsbury

Sequencing entire genomes from ancient tissues helps researchers reveal the evolutionary and domestication histories of species. (Thomas Harper, The Pennsylvania State University)

How Ancient DNA Unearths Corn’s A-maize-ing History

December 14th, 2020, 3:00PM

/ BY Erin Malsbury

Plants and animals around the globe use a wide variety of evolutionary strategies to survive harsh winters.

How Seven of Nature’s Coolest Species Weather the Cold

December 10th, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Erin Malsbury

Scientists discovered a new species of odd-scaled burrowing snakes in northern Vietnam. (American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists)

Rare Iridescent Snake Discovered in Vietnam

December 7th, 2020, 12:00PM

/ BY Erin Malsbury

The National Museum of Natural History’s newest curator in the paleobiology department, Dr. Stewart Edie, opens a drawer with mollusk fossils in the museum’s invertebrate paleobiology collection. (Katie Collins, National History Museum, London)

Say Hello to the Smithsonian’s Newest Mollusk Expert

December 3rd, 2020, 6:00AM

/ BY Abigail Eisenstadt

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