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National Museum of Natural History

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

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

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

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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How Smithsonian Fossil Preparators Are Re-Excavating a Tyrannosaur From Its Past on Display

This National Fossil Day, take an inside look at the effort to free the skeleton for research after more than a century in museum fossil halls

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Get Up Close With Bat Specimens and More Natural History Programs This October

Stop by for programs about bats, fantastic fossils and more at the National Museum of Natural History

A giant eye sits in a clear, glass container next to a smaller octopus and squid in glass containers on either side of the eye.

I Spy… A Giant Squid Eye

Gaze into the enormous eye of a giant squid behind the scenes in the museum’s Invertebrate Zoology collection.

A man wearing a ripped white shirt stands among thick greenery, holding a plastic sample bag

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Untangling the Branches of Hawaii’s Evolutionary Tree

From fragile ferns to towering trees, NMNH botanist Warren Wagner has spent over 30 years researching plants from the dense forests of the Pacific Islands.

A colorful worm is lit up against a black background

How 3D Worms Provide a Peek Into Historic Smithsonian Collection

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, Smithsonian scientists provide worldwide access to some of the museum's most delicate specimens

A large, brown tooth sits on top of a colorful map of the California coast

Summer Summary: A Mysterious Fossil Tooth, Metallic Planet and Marine Hitchhikers

Catch up on the museum discoveries you may have missed over the past few months

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For the Love of Lizards: Meet One of the Smithsonian’s Lizard Experts

For more than fifty years, museum herpetologist George Zug has studied all manner of reptiles and amphibians

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Smithsonian Expedition Yields a New Species of Deep-Sea Coral

Collected from the deep waters off Puerto Rico, the species is a member of an enigmatic, and threatened, group of corals

The ceiling of the NMNH rotunda creates a circular pattern above the underside of the grey trunk of the elephant.

Behind the Lens: Meet the Photographers Capturing the Museum’s Most Stunning Moments.

From tiny bat jaws to colossal geodes, the photography team at the National Museum of Natural History has spent decades documenting the Smithsonian’s hidden wonders.

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Starstruck: A Suite of Strange Sea Stars Discovered in the Smithsonian’s Collection

Museum researcher describes several new species from specimens collected decades ago from Antarctica

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New Museum Display Showcases the Mineral Building Blocks of Cellphones

The story behind the specimens at the center of the museum’s new exhibition “Cellphone: Unseen Connections”

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“Endlessly Fascinating Devices”: Why the National Museum of Natural History is Exploring the Cultural Nature of Cellphones

A behind the scenes glimpse of the museum’s new exhibition, “Cellphone: Unseen Connections”

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