Skip to main content
Smithsonian Magazine white logo
Search Shop Newsletters Renew Give a Gift Subscribe
i

Sections

  • Smart News
  • History
  • Science
  • Innovation
  • Arts & Culture
  • Travel
  • At the Smithsonian

More from Smithsonian magazine

  • Newsletters
  • Photo Contest
  • Podcast
  • Videos

Our Partners

  • Smithsonian Store
  • Smithsonian Journeys

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

National Museum of Natural History

Smithsonian Voices

Trees line a winding river, and the blue sky is reflected in the water

Building a Library of Life: How Smithsonian Collections Are Revolutionizing Ocean eDNA Research

Unlocking natural history collections is key to monitoring and protecting Earth’s environments using eDNA

Emma Saaty | June 5, 2024

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.

Emma Saaty | October 26, 2023

NZP-20181224_002MC.jpg

How Lugging a Liquid Nitrogen Tank into the Amazon Helped Spark Ornithology’s Genetic Revolution

Almost 40 years ago, Smithsonian zoologist Gary Graves collected tissue samples in the jungle that formed the nucleus of the museum’s DNA collection

Jack Tamisiea | May 5, 2023

The National Museum of Natural History’s entomology collection has many Asian giant hornets. Recently, the collection grew with new specimens from an eradicated nest in Washington State. (Matthew Buffington, USDA-ARS)

Family Members Follow Original Asian Giant Hornet to Smithsonian

Scientists plan to analyze the hornets’ DNA to learn more about the invasive species' mysterious arrival.

Abigail Eisenstadt | November 17, 2020
Categories
  • Administration (1)
  • Anthropology (56)
  • Botany (34)
  • Earth BioGenome Project (1)
  • Education and Outreach (39)
  • Entomology (42)
  • Exhibitions (40)
  • Invertebrate Zoology (51)
  • Laboratories of Analytical Biology (2)
  • Mineral Sciences (52)
  • Office of the Director (4)
  • Paleobiology (77)
  • Smithsonian Marine Station - Fort Pierce (10)
  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (1)
  • Specimen Spotlight (13)
  • Vertebrate Zoology (86)
Archive
  • 2016 (1)
  • 2017 (11)
  • 2018 (21)
  • 2019 (32)
  • 2020 (57)
  • 2021 (74)
  • 2022 (55)
  • 2023 (43)
  • 2024 (47)
  • 2025 (16)
Smithsonian Magazine Logo in white on the site footer

Follow Us

Explore

  • Smart News
  • History
  • Science
  • Innovation
  • Arts & Culture
  • Travel
  • At the Smithsonian
  • Photo Contest
  • Podcast
  • Video

Subscription

  • Subscribe
  • Give a gift
  • Renew
  • Manage My Account

Newsletters

  • Sign Up

About

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Content Licensing
  • FAQ
  • Feedback
  • Internships & Employment
  • Member Services
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • Staff

Our Partners

  • Smithsonian.com
  • Smithsonian Store
  • Smithsonian Journeys
  • Smithsonian Channel
  • Smithsonian Books
  • Smithsonian Membership

© 2025 Smithsonian Magazine Privacy Statement [5/20/25] Cookie Policy [5/20/25] Terms of Use Advertising Notice Your Privacy Rights Cookie Settings