Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Pages and jars of preserved plant specimens cover a counter in the foreground while cabinets full of pages of preserved plants line the background.

Iconic Photos Give Rare Glimpse of Smithsonian's Storage Rooms

Director Kirk Johnson explains what goes on behind the scenes at the world’s largest natural history museum

A green ridged cactus towers vertically over the camera with a deep blue sky in the background

How a Smithsonian Botanist Cracked the Cactus Code a Century Ago

A large elm tree with branches full of green leaves stands in the sunlight

How a Historic Smithsonian Elm Thrives, Over 150 Years After its Planting

Yoshino cherry tree

The Hybridized Nature of Washington's Iconic Cherry Trees

Rain falls from a small group of clouds over the open ocean as the sun shines behind the clouds.

From Clouds to Currents, What Is the Water Cycle?

Five specimens of mistletoe fluid-preserved in clear jargs with black caps.

Five Things You Didn't Know About Mistletoe

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 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

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

The broad-tailed hummingbird uses its fiery throat feathers, called a gorget, to attract a mate. (Kati Fleming, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Eight of Nature’s Wildest Mating Rituals

Leconte’s flatsedge (Cyperus lecontei) has distinctive spikelet scales and fruit which are used by scientists to identify it. (Carol Kelloff)

Get to Know the Scientist Behind the Smithsonian’s 140,000 Grass-Like Sedges

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

Smithsonian anthropologists hold up the world’s longest beard after it was donated to the National Museum of Natural History in 1967. (Smithsonian)

Five of Nature’s Best Beards for World Beard Day

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that are similar to objects in the show “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” (Smithsonian)

Six Avatar-Themed Items in the Smithsonian Collections

Pressed flowers can be used in journals, plant identification booklets and other projects. (Erika Gardner, Smithsonian Institution)

How to Press Plants from Your Backyard

Invasive species like lionfish can harm natural, human, and economic health. (Barry Brown)

Five Species to Wrap Up Invasive Species Week

Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History are filled with all sorts of eerie specimens. (Clockwise from top left: Gilles San Martin via Wikimedia, Smithsonian Institution, NoahElhardt via Wikimedia, Karie Darrow)

Six Bewitching Smithsonian Specimens to Get You Ready for Halloween

Past and present female scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History have advanced humankind’s understanding of the natural world and its place in it. L to R: Adrienne Kaeppler, Hannah Wood, Marian Pettibone, Sorena Sorenson and Kay Behrensmeyer. (Smithsonian Institution).

Get to Know the Leading Ladies of Science at the Smithsonian

Researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History traveled the world and made many new discoveries this year—including 18 new species of pelican spiders. (Nikolai Scharff)

Check Out Some of Our Most Popular Discoveries From 2018

The seeds of common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) only germinate when the soil in which they live is disturbed. Intense fighting during World War I decimated Europe’s physical environment, causing thousands of poppies to bloom where battles once raged. (Gary Houston, CC0 1.0)

100 Years Ago, Poppies Became More Than Just Flowers

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