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National Museum of Natural History

Zircons are the oldest minerals in the world and come in colors like the rich blue above. Researchers have now used these gemstones to identify when modern plate tectonics began. (Ken Larsen)

New Study on Zircons Finds Plate Tectonics Began 3.6 Billion Years Ago

The research reveals how one of Earth’s defining geologic features likely formed — and set the stage for the emergence of life

Through research on living and preserved fungus-farming ants, entomologists are learning more about the insects’ deep connection to their environment and how that relationship might evolve in response to a changing climate. (Smithsonian)

How Fungus-Farming Ants Fertilize Climate Research

Research on deeply connected insect species is illuminating how interspecies relationships might evolve in response to climate change

Through research on living and preserved plants, botanists are learning more about how flora has responded to climate change over the past centuries. (USDA photo by Preston Keres)

Why Plants are Seeding Climate Studies

The National Museum of Natural History’s herbarium is helping botanists research climate-driven changes in plants, their biology and their abundance

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History welcomes its new Head of Education, Outreach and Visitor Experience, Carla Easter. (James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution)

Meet the Smithsonian Natural History Museum's New Head of Education, Outreach and Visitor Experience

Carla Easter to champion widespread community engagement and accessible scientific outreach as the museum’s new Broh-Kahn Weil Director of Education.

Filmmaker and Director Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu will talk about the role of storytelling in her film “Kapaemahu” in a panel discussion presented by the Mother Tongue Film Festival on May 14. (Still from “Kapaemahu,” courtesy of Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu)

Eight Free Natural History Programs Streaming in May

Stream these free programs and more this May through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Fossil plants reveal information about the temperature and precipitation of past climates. Scientists use what they learn from fossil plants to inform their research on modern climate change (USNM PAL 606436, Smithsonian)

What Fossil Plants Reveal About Climate Change

Paleobiologists use fossil plants to reconstruct Earth’s past climate and inform climate change research today.

Many organisms like coral — and even people — create their own minerals to perform basic life functions. Geologists can study these biominerals to learn more about Earth. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

How Biominerals are Stepping Stones for Climate Change Research

Studying biominerals can help geologists learn more about how Earth might transform from climate change in the coming decades

Landscapes have been managed by humans for thousands of years – some sustainably, others less so. The Martu people of Australia burn the grasses in continent’s Western Desert. The practice yields food, but also increases biodiversity in the area. (Rebecca Bliege Bird)

New Study Pushes Origins of Human-Driven Global Change Back Thousands of Years

Understanding people’s past land use strategies could help us better conserve global biodiversity now.

The periodical cicada species, Magicicada septendecim, will erupt from the ground this spring in the mid-Atlantic region. The last time the species from Brood X appeared for their cyclical mating cycle was in 2004. (ARS Information Staff, USDA)

What to Expect When the Cicadas Emerge This Spring

A trillion cicadas expected to invade the Washington metropolitan region when the ground warms to 64 degrees.

Entomologist and Collections Manager Dr. Floyd Shockley cares for the 35 million specimens in the Entomology Collection at the National Museum of Natural History. He also studies the diversity, natural history and evolution of fungus feeding beetles. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

Say Hello to the Scientist Caring for Smithsonian's 35 Million Entomology Specimens

In this Meet a SI-entist, Smithsonian Entomologist and Collections Manager Floyd Shockley reveals how insects impact our daily lives.

The National Museum of Natural History’s 146 million objects and specimens are studied by researchers worldwide who are looking to understand all aspects of the natural world. (Chip Clark, Smithsonian)

How Museum Collections Advance Knowledge of Human Health

The National Museum of Natural History's collections are important sources of information for scientific research on health and medicine.

Participate in the City Nature Challenge by spotting and recording animals and plants in your city starting Apr 30. (Katja Schulz)

11 Free Natural History Programs Streaming in April

Stream these free programs and more this April through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

All modern dogs are descended from a wolf species that when extinct around 15,000 years ago. Grey wolves, pictured here fighting for food with now extinct dire wolves (red), are dogs’ closest living relative. (Art by Mauricio Antón)

Meet the Scientist Studying How Dogs Evolved From Predator to Pet

Learn about how humans of the past helped build the bond between us and our favorite furry friends.

There are over eight million feet of film in the Human Studies Film Archives (HSFA), which is part of the Smithsonian’s National Anthropological Archives. HSFA specializes in storing ethnographic footage created by anthropologists, filmmakers and travelers. (Brittany M. Hance and James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution)

How Film Helps Preserve the World’s Diversity

The Smithsonian's Human Studies Film Archive houses eight million feet of film which can help future generations reflect on the past.

Dom Pedro aquamarine was cut from a 100-pound crystal that was mined in the late 1980s. It weighs around 4.6 pounds, making it one of the largest aquamarine gemstones in the world. (Donald E. Hurlbert, Smithsonian)

How the World’s Largest Aquamarine Gem Came to Be

The Dom Pedro Aquamarine is one of the largest mineral crystals found inside Earth's rocks.

Sylvester Musembi Musyoka, a Kenyan colleague and field crew leader, recording a large mammal fossil bone during a virtual field project to collect fossils in Kenyan excavation sites that were in danger of being damaged by severe weather. (Nzioki Mativo/Smithsonian)

How the Pandemic Changed Scientific Exploration

How seven Smithsonian scientists continued to discover the secrets of the natural world safely during the pandemic

The cyanobacteria species that produces gatorbulin-1, tentatively identified as Lyngbya confervoides, forms these reddish-green, hair-like structures which are a collection of connected single cells rather than a true multicellular organism. (Raphael Ritson-Williams)

Scientists Find Blue-Green Algae Chemical with Cancer Fighting Potential

The discovery shows how studying marine biodiversity can enhance biomedical research.

Traverse our universe in a special program from the National Museum of Natural History and National Air and Space Museum streaming on Mar. 3. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Nine Free Natural History Programs Streaming in March

Stream these free programs and more this March through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

The parasitoid samurai wasp, Trissolcus japonicus, is one of many microscopic wasps being studied and sometimes used as biocontrol agents in the fight against invasive species. (Elijah Talamas, USDA)

How Tiny Wasps Became Agricultural Defenders

Scientists are studying how different species of wasps can be used for insect biocontrol in the United States.

This fossilized dinosaur head and vertebrae were discovered in 1883 but only recently gained its name, Smitanosaurus agilis. (Smithsonian)

Scientists Give Old Dinosaur a New Name

A new study has reclassified a fossil discovered in 1883 as a dicraeosaurid — a family of long-necked dinosaurs rarely found in North America.

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