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National Museum of Natural History

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Top Discoveries at the National Museum of Natural History in 2024

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

Meet the Smithsonian Fellow Alumni Helping to Save the Planet

Two red, orange, and white starfish with intricate patterns sit side by side against a black background

Meet the Smithsonian Scientist Who Has Spent Decades Exploring Ocean Depths

A large research vessel with a cell tower on top sails across a dark blue stretch of ocean that expands towards a paler blue sky along the horizon.

Smithsonian Scientists Unearth Signs of an Ancient Climate Calamity Buried Beneath the Seafloor

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2022 in Review: The Year’s Top Discoveries by Museum Researchers

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Lucy’s Legacy: Celebrating the 48th Anniversary of Her Discovery with a Selfie

6) Eroding Late Holocene Native American oyster midden at low tide in Fishing Bay, Maryland.JPG

When Was the World Our Oyster? We Asked the Anthropologist Investigating Sustainable Oyster Practices Through History

A grey, orange, and brown expanse of layered rock formations under a gray sky.

Ancient Pollen Offers Clues to How Plants Adapted to Climate Change in the Past — and Potentially the Future

A diver uses a camera to study a barnacle-covered submarine resting on the seafloor

How Shipwrecks Shape the Seafloor

Three black and white acorn woodpeckers perched on a branch with wings spread.

Discover How Animals Show Their Love and Other Natural History Programs This February

“Unsettled Nature” features artworks by Bethany Taylor and six other contemporary artists that show how humans have changed nature. (James Di Loreto, Smithsonian)

Artists Show Human Impact on the Planet in New Exhibit

The Smithsonian’s new fossil hall includes myriad stories and details – big and small – about Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history. (Smithsonian Institution)

Five Things You Shouldn’t Miss in the New Fossil Hall

Miniature dinosaurs are staged in a scene from 150 million years ago while guests peruse another display showing the same species at full-size. (Smithsonian Institution)

The Experts Behind the New Fossil Hall Wrap Their Minds Around ‘Deep Time’

Will the Blue Marble Stay Blue? This famous Earth photo, known as The Blue Marble, was taken on December 7, 1972 by astronauts on the Apollo 17 spacecraft – the last manned lunar mission that provided humans with such an opportunity. Beautiful and fragile, the Blue Marble became a symbol of the environmental movement and part of the official Earth Day flag (Photo credit: NASA).

This Earth Day, the Planet’s Health is Your Health

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