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National Museum of Natural History

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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?

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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

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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

The National Museum of Natural History rotunda is lit up with green garlands hanging from the balconies, with the elephant standing the the middle of the image.

Deck the Halls With Nature Crafts and More Natural History Programs This December

Join us for programs about colorful corals, ancient art and more at the National Museum of Natural History

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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

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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

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

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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

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.

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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

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