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National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Voices

Yellow and white lichens are pictured against a back background on a tree branch.

Meet the Smithsonian Fellow Alumni Helping to Save the Planet

This Earth Day, learn about early-career researchers who are tackling issues from green technology to lichen biodiversity and coral rehabilitation

Emma Saaty | April 22, 2024

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

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.

Emma Saaty | September 21, 2023

A small, tan fox with large, pointed pink ears blends into its sand-colored enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Five Wild Ways Animals Beat the Summer Heat

As we enter the dog days of August, learn how several animals stay cool

Megan Kalomiris | August 3, 2022
From forests to fish to flakes of snow, the science behind ice cream reaches beyond the cone. (Taryn Ellio)

The Strangely Scientific Endeavor of Making Ice Cream

Ice cream's texture is the result of the same processes that govern concepts like forest recovery, rock formation and sub-zero survival in animals.

Cypress Hansen | July 15, 2021
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

Check out these unexpected adaptations to extreme cold.

Erin Malsbury | December 10, 2020
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