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National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Voices

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NMNH in Review: How an Asteroid Sample Traveled From Outer Space to the Museum's Mineral Hall

After a 500 million mile journey, a piece of the asteroid Bennu is now on display at the Smithsonian. But how did it get here?

Ellyn Lapointe | December 27, 2023

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1.1 Billion Objects and Counting: Inside the Effort to Tally Natural History Specimens Around the Globe

This year, NMNH director Kirk Johnson helped spearhead an effort to add up the collections of the world’s largest museums

Jack Tamisiea | December 21, 2023

A blue bird with white and grey spots lies against a white background.

Celebrate the Holiday Season with the Museum’s Stunning Collection of Blue Specimens

Learn how this rare hue shows up in the natural world with some of the Smithsonian’s bluest specimens

Ellyn Lapointe | December 12, 2023

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Meet the Archaeologist Leading the Museum’s Repatriation Efforts

With more than 20 years of experience at the Smithsonian, Dorothy Lippert is championing a collaborative approach to repatriation

Jack Tamisiea | November 30, 2023
A black monkey sits on a tree branch, looking at the camera and eating flowers

Embark on a Journey to the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Station

Join a museum intern on a visit to Panama’s Barro Colorado Island to celebrate 100 years of scientific discovery

Ellyn Lapointe | November 21, 2023
A black plate of whale baleen is lit up against a dark background with brown hair-like material coming from the bottom of the specimen.

How a Whale Skull at the Smithsonian Became a Beacon for Marine Mammal Conservation

Take a dive into the museum’s marine mammal collection and learn how a rare North American whale is racing against extinction

Emma Saaty | November 16, 2023
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Meet the Scientist Studying the Scary Speed of Spider Jaws

This Halloween, learn how arachnologist Hannah Wood uses the fossil record to track the evolution of these misunderstood critters

Ellyn Lapointe | October 31, 2023
A shelf of brown boxes with white bones peeking out of the top has small black beetles crawling all over them.

Meet the Smithsonian’s Spookiest Staffers: Flesh-Eating Beetles

This Halloween season, learn how the National Museum of Natural History’s dermestid beetle colony transforms decaying animal carcasses into spotless skeletons.

Emma Saaty | October 26, 2023
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What a Drawerful of Dung Reveals About the Lives of Ground Sloths

For International Sloth Day, learn about the scientific clues preserved in petrified poop

Jack Tamisiea | October 20, 2023
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