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National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Voices

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This Fall at the Museum: Fossils, Fossils and More Fossils!

There are also events about mushrooms, bats and much more at the National Museum of Natural History in September and October

Jack Tamisiea | August 29, 2024

uroderma_bilobatum_bites_fig_fruit_photo_by_merlin_tuttle.jpg

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

Ellyn Lapointe | October 4, 2023

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Peer Through the Glare to Glimpse the Night Sky in New Smithsonian Exhibition

‘Lights Out’ explores how ecology and culture revolve around the night and how light pollution is threatening this essential darkness

Jack Tamisiea | March 23, 2023

A tan woolly mammoth skeleton facing left bends its front legs and tilts its tusks towards the bottom of the frame.

Celebrate Fabulous Fossils and More Natural History Programs This October

Tune into programs about pioneering archaeologists, festive bat celebrations and more with the National Museum of Natural History

Jack Tamisiea | October 5, 2022
A fruit bat with large, dark eyes, big ears and light brown fur wraps its gray wings around a tree branch.

To Uncover the Origins of Diseases, Smithsonian Researchers Dust Bat Specimens for Viral Fingerprints

Smithsonian scientists utilize a new formula to extract fragile genetic data from bats collected decades ago

Jack Tamisiea | September 12, 2022
An orange-colored fly, as seen from above and below

Get to Know the Scientist Studying How Parasitic Flies Stomach Bat Blood

Microbiologist Kelly Speer uses museum specimens to study blood-feeding insects and their mammalian hosts

Jack Tamisiea | April 7, 2022
A bat hangs upside-down on a thin branch during the day. Green leaves line the frame of the photo.

Real Bats Are Superheroes Too

They might not wear capes, but these mammals have superpowers to spare

Madison Goldberg | March 3, 2022
A small bonfire burns in the foreground with a sunset in the background.

Explore How Fire Shaped Human Evolution and More Natural History Programs This March

Tune in to programs on the future of biodiversity, how to talk about climate change and more through the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Madison Goldberg | February 28, 2022
Headshot of a person under a canopy wearing a headlamp and holding a bat in gloved hands near their face

Get to Know the Biologist Who Identifies Bats by the Color of Their Poop

Melissa Ingala studies how the bacteria living in bat guts help them stay healthy

Tess Joosse | October 26, 2021
From leaf-engineering to complex social circles, there’s more to bats than flying and echolocation. (Charles J Sharp)

Five Reasons to Love Bats

For Bat Week this year, we rounded up five reasons to love and conserve these misunderstood mammals.

Erin Malsbury | October 27, 2020
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